The spot at which Locust Street met Sarnia Street was the closest a person could park to Paradise Cove, and it was where Jake left his truck. From there you had to walk the rest of the way.

Or maybe it was more like portage the rest of the way, when you were carrying a canoe.

“You want me to help?” He got out of his car as the others hoisted the boat.

“Nope, just lead the way,” Jake said.

Soon they were wading into the water in front of Jake’s cottage and paddling out.

Well, the other two were paddling. They were seated on the canoe’s two seats and had relegated Sawyer to sitting on the floor in the middle, like he was their kid.

“Maybe we should have tested this with one person first,” Sawyer said, mentally estimating their combined weight.

“You lacking faith in your own work?” Law needled.

“Well,” Sawyer said, “I started this thing ten years ago and we finished it by watching YouTube videos.” Which sounded better than teaching yourself to swim from a book, but only just.

“But look, it’s fine.” Law, who was seated in front of him, pulled his oar out of the water. He heard Jake, behind him, doing the same. As the boat slowed, they stayed silent, rocking gently in the waves.

Well, damn, they’d built a boat. Evie’s boat.

Just in time for her to leave.

He twisted around to look at Jake. “So I guess we can start selling canoes now.”

Jake didn’t say anything, which wasn’t inherently unusual. But there was something about the way he was not saying anything that made Sawyer feel like maybe this wasn’t just a canoe-testing trip.

“We wanted to talk to you,” Law said.

Shit. He had let himself get suckered into Bromance Intervention: Nautical Edition. He should have seen this coming.

He didn’t even have an oar. He tipped his head back and sighed. He needed to start paying attention to what was happening around him. Well, he needed to start paying attention to something other than Evie.

“You’ve been distracted lately,” Law said.

No kidding. He didn’t bother saying anything. They had him in their clutches, and they would be determined to speak their piece. Or Law would. Jake would probably just grunt in agreement.

“You’ve been sleeping with Eve, haven’t you?”

There was no point in hiding it. “Yep.”

Law didn’t jump all over that like Sawyer had expected. “I heard she’s coming with you when you drop off Clara at school.”

“That was Clara’s idea.” That had come out a little too defensive. He cleared his throat and tried again. “I think she thinks having a local there will be helpful.”

“It’s almost like you guys are married. Dropping your kid off at school,” Law said.