He smiles, a soft, warm, authentic smile that twists my insides up for reasons I can’t quite name. “That’s good to know.”

“Have you ever looked for your birth parents?” I ask, thinking he might actually have more than just his mom in the world.

He’s quick to shake his head. “No. I don’t think my mom would be able to deal with that. According to my neighbor Judy, who’s my mom’s best friend, my mom had a really hard time with the fact that she couldn’t have a child of her own. Adopting me was a huge deal for her, and she’s super possessive, to this day. Doesn’t even like me to mention that I’m adopted.”

“Makes sense,” I say, but deep down I’m thinking that his relationship with his mother sounds a tad suffocating.

I walk him down to the dock to say good-bye and thank him for bringing dinner. He says he’ll be away for a couple of days—he has to pick up a boat for one of his customers—but when he gets back, he wants to see me again.

“Too bad we can’t go for a nice dinner at Windset,” I say, nodding in the direction of the closed-down resort. “Whatever happened, anyway?”

“Poor management, mostly, and some scandals with senior staff members, or something like that.”

“It’s really too bad. As a kid I used to watch my mother get herself all done up for her evenings over there. I’d always thought I’d do the same when I grew up.” I sigh deeply, feeling sorry for myself. “Obviously, that was never meant to happen.”

“I may be able to arrange that night out for you.” There’s a hint of mischief to his voice.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, be ready and waiting on this dock at seven o’clock Wednesday, and you’ll find out.”

“I don’t like surprises,” I say flatly.

“Well, you should really get over that. Surprises are fun, and so am I.” He gives me a quick peck on the cheek and then steps into his boat. “See you Wednesday.” He starts the engine and reverses away from the dock without taking his eyes off me.

I stand there watching until the lights of his boat disappear into the darkness. He’s left me with that new-relationship sensation; life suddenly feels shiny and hopeful. I certainly wasn’t expecting this to happen when I came to Avril Island. Most of me wants to fall right into it, drown myself with the distraction of it all, but I can hear May’s voice in my head: it’s not the right time; you barely know him and there’s too much history; don’t use him as a way to escape your problems and pain.