Ethan glanced around at all of the kids surrounding them. Little ones, older ones, and some in between. He shouldn’t be there. He should be on the sidelines, cheering on the participants.

And then he glanced over at Hannah as she spoke with Josie and Lily. They all glanced his way, and he had a feeling he was the topic of conversation. He didn’t even want to think about what they might be saying. Because if they were guessing that he wouldn’t be any good at this relay, they’d be wrong.

After all, he was a firefighter. He may not be working now, but he would be soon. And he was agile. Though he’d never run with a jelly bean on the end of a spoon before. Still, how hard could it be?

Hannah approached him. “Are you all set for this?”

“It doesn’t sound so hard.”

“You think so?” When he nodded, she said, “Well, consider putting a spoon in your mouth and then scooping up a jelly bean. Then you have to race with it to your teammate and put the jelly bean on their spoon. Then they get to race back and place the jelly bean in the plastic egg.

“Are you sure you don’t want to back out?”

He didn’t like the thought of making a fool of himself in front of everyone. He’d never done anything like this. But he also wasn’t one to back down from a challenge. “I’ll do it, if you do it.”

“I’m a pro at this.”

“A pro?”

She nodded. “I’ve done the relay all of my life. Well, that is except for the last couple of years.”

“Why not then?”

“Because my sister was always my partner and after she moved to Nashville, I just didn’t bother to find a new partner.”

“Are you sure you want to be my partner?” When her gaze met his, he forgot what he’d been about to say.

“I’d love to be your partner.”

He wanted to ask her if they were still talking about the relay, but he resisted the urge. Whatever was going on between them would have to wait until they were alone.

The sunshine warmed her face.

And the gentle sea breeze swept away her worries.

For the moment, Hannah relaxed and enjoyed the day. Win or lose, the relay would be fun. It would be a treasured memory of her time with Ethan—unless she convinced him to stay on the island.

The whistle blew. Hannah had the jelly bean for the first half of the relay. Even though she’d participated since she was a kid, it was still challenging.

The more the jelly bean fell from the spoon, the more she nervously laughed. The more she laughed, the harder it was to keep the jelly bean on the spoon. And it didn’t help that Ethan was standing at the other end shaking his head in disbelief at her obvious uncoordinated efforts. What could she say? She was a baker, not an athlete.