He ran the wax over his surfboard a final time and sighed. What the hell was he supposed to do now? They still had renovations to finish at the B&B. He couldn’t avoid her.

Most troublesome was the fact that he didn’t want to. He did somehow have to make up for the blunder, but how did he do that without addressing the kiss and whether or not it would be happening again?

Did she want to talk about it? Did she want to kiss him again?

He doubted it. What woman would after that aftermath of excuses and regret?

He stood and forced a smile as he addressed that morning’s group. Mostly beginners. Should be an easy class. Focus on balancing on the board.

Balance. Not an easy thing to do when his world felt like it had been upended the night before.

“Okay, everyone ready to get out there in those waves?” he asked the group.

“I am!” the camp counselor, a young girl about eighteen who was eyeing a group of male surfers with obvious interest, said.

Wes forced a smile. Obviously he’d be in charge of making sure these kids didn’t drown that morning. “Wonderful,” he said. “Today, we’re going to learn to stand on the board. It sounds easy, but believe me, it can be tricky,” he told the kids. “Head on down to the water’s edge, and I’ll be right there.”

He picked up his and Marissa’s surfboards and glanced across the beach to where she sat reading a book on the edge of the boardwalk. “Hey!” he called out.

She glanced up, and Wes hesitated.

Don’t try so hard to put her into a box she doesn’t want to fit in.

Sarah’s advice the night before had impacted him as much as the kiss. She was right. He was trying to encourage Marissa to be someone she wasn’t. That stopped now.

“Make sure to put on sunscreen, okay?” he said, putting her surfboard back on the sand and joining the others out in the water.

He may not have a clue how to fix things with Sarah, but at least he could start making a better effort with his daughter.

…

Sarah rolled the painting tarps in the last room and pushed the furniture back into place. That day, she’d attacked the walls with a new urgency. These renovations couldn’t be done a moment too soon. Her desperation level to get back to the city was higher than ever. This inn was now the site of a second rejection from Wes Sharrun.

Unbelievable.

The guy wasn’t interested in her years ago and he wasn’t interested in her now. The impulsive kiss had been silly. She hadn’t been thinking. She’d been wrapped up in the moment.