Kate felt her temperature soar as heat singed her cheeks. Maybe she wasn’t as small-boned as Susan, but she kept her weight well under control.

“She does,” Lucas said. He looked at Kate. “Mom walks every day too. Maybe you could walk together.”

Kate’s eyes narrowed, but she refrained from outright glaring at the man. Besides, she had to spend time with Susan if she was going to keep her end of the bargain. She just wasn’t sure every day was necessary.

Lucas scooted his chair closer to the table and Kate could have sworn the whole platform shook. Her hand tightened on the metal fork.

“Actually, I use a treadmill,” she said.

Susan poured Brody a second glass of tea. “Well, that’s certainly easier.”

Kate chewed a bite of food, then swallowed the dry lump. “On second thought, walking outdoors might be a nice change of pace from my incline training.”

She wasn’t willing to give up her treadmill time, but walking with Susan would give Kate time to figure out how to help their marriage. If she could stand being with the woman that long.

“It’s settled, then,” Susan said.

“Look, the Porters have their boat out.”

Kate followed the line of Jamie’s finger and saw a bright yellow sail on the water. The view made her dizzy and she focused on her slaw.

Roy was addressing her. “What did you and Luc do on your honeymoon?”

“Roy, for heaven’s sake.” Susan took a bite of white chicken meat.

“Well, I’m not asking for juicy details. I’m just making conversation.”

Kate wanted to crawl under the table.

“We went to the beach.” Lucas smoothed things over. “And to the whaling museum. Kate had never actually gone.”

“We took a boat to the Vineyard and went shopping,” Kate added.

“You went shopping?” Jamie asked Lucas.

Roy set his chicken thigh down and wiped the grease from his fingers with a paper napkin. “It’s amazing the things a man in love will do.”

He said it as if to get a dig in on Susan, though Kate wasn’t sure what it meant.

“Well, I wasn’t surprised Lucas was in love with you,” Jamie said. “The way he spent all that time renovating your apartment and refurbishing your floors. I knew he was falling for you.”

Kate tried to catch Lucas’s eyes, but he seemed intent on his food.

“And all the time he spent on the gazebo,” Jamie continued. “We should have known there was more to it. He worked on it forever.”

Kate wondered about the mottled blush that climbed Lucas’s cheeks. She hadn’t known he was so easily embarrassed. Well, Jamie could think whatever she wanted so long as she bought their story.