At first she thought she was imagining the sexual tension between them, but after the near-kiss, she was certain of it lingering on the air whenever they were near each other. She was painfully aware of his presence all around the B&B as he worked…and she definitely hadn’t been imagining the looks she’d caught him sending her way when he thought she wasn’t looking.

But in the last few days, he’d also seemed to be trying harder not to be around her…avoiding her, even.

“My guys will finish the kitchen renovations this week, and then we will start on the guest room balconies.”

“Sounds great.”

“Ready to go?” he asked Marissa as she joined them in the foyer, her laptop under her arm and backpack on her back.

“Yep,” she said, then glanced at Sarah. “Hey, you should come to dinner with us tonight.”

This wasn’t the first invite, and Sarah was running out of excuses. She sensed a slight matchmaking attempt on Marissa’s part that she wouldn’t be completely averse to if Wes seemed at all interested in exploring the attraction between them, but as usual, he interjected. “We’re having dinner with Grandma and Grandpa, remember?”

Marissa looked disappointed that they kept putting her off. “Oh, right. Well, maybe another night?”

Sarah looked at Wes, then nodded slowly. “Yeah, maybe.”

Wes shifted from one foot to the other and cleared his throat. “Um…Marissa’s spending the night at her grandparents’ house, so a few of us were going to Trent’s Tavern. If you’re not busy, you should come,” he said.

Okay, that was different.

She hadn’t been out since she’d been back. A night out sounded great, and she wouldn’t lie to herself—seeing Wes in a different setting, enjoying a few drinks and laughs, didn’t sound terrible at all.

Which was why it was a bad idea.

Marissa’s hopeful expression confirmed how much of a bad idea it would be. They probably shouldn’t encourage the matchmaking going on in that genius little mind.

“That would be fun; thank you for the invite…but I thought I’d get started on the guest rooms.” She’d bought the paint the day before, and there was no time like the present to get started. She may not be great with a hammer and nails, but painting wasn’t that hard, and the faster she could get the renovations done and the place listed, the better.

“Are you sure?” Marissa asked as Wes led the way outside. “You deserve a night out.”

Sarah laughed at the persistence as she stepped out onto the deck and wrapped her cardigan around herself while the ocean breeze blew the flaps open. “Yeah. I should probably start pulling my weight around here.”