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I just wanted to spend time with you, was what she wanted to say. But instead, she went with, “You can teach me.”

Ellie’s lips curled into a smile as she bit her lip. She walked around the table slowly until she arrived by Sadie’s side. Slowly, she extended the stick out to Sadie. Sadie nervously took it as Ellie walked behind her.

She could feel Ellie’s breasts pressed into her back as Ellie positioned her hands and the stick where they should be. But Sadie knew there was no way in hell she’d ever be able to remember what Ellie was saying. Her heart was beating so fast in her ears that Sadie could barely focus on anything else.

Well, aside from the feel of Ellie’s body pressed against hers.

“And then you just pull it back like this,” Ellie put her hand on top of Sadie’s, pulling it back along with the stick, “and then strike the ball.”

As she said the words, she made the motion with Sadie’s hand. To her surprise, the white ball hit a colored ball and knocked it into one of the pockets. Ellie clapped her hands as Sadie turned around. She was expecting a hug—she didn’t know why—but was met with a high five instead.

“That was great.”

“I think I should stick to softball.” Trying to be as casual as possible, Sadie leaned up against the pool table and smiled at Ellie. “Or air hockey.”

“You’re not very good at air hockey either.” Ellie took a step toward her, her voice slightly lower than before.

“Only because you cheat.”

“Are we going to have to have another date to play air hockey to prove I didn’t cheat?”

Sadie’s mouth was dry, and she nervously licked her lips as Ellie took another step toward her. Her voice was still low, and her eyes seemed darker, if that was even possible. And did she just sayanother date? Had their time together the other night been an actual date?

Dammit. I knew I should have kissed her.

“I—I’d like that.”

“Yeah?” Ellie arched an eyebrow as she raked her eyes up and down Sadie’s body. “Me too.”

Just like down on the pier, Sadie thought Ellie was going to kiss her. They were mere inches from each other when Everleigh appeared like a ghost out of thin air.

“Moms are ready to go.” Even at twelve, Everleigh had a slight attitude about her. She wasn’t mean by any means, just sassy. And her hand on her hip made her look like a mini-Vera.

“I’ll be there in a minute, Evie.”

Once Everleigh walked off, Sadie put the stick back into the holder with the other sticks and sighed. She hoped it wasn’t too loud; she didn’t need Ellie to know how upset she was over their kiss getting ruinedagain.

“You’re lucky,” Ellie said as they walked back to their table.

“How so?”

“You don’t have a large family to keep interrupting you.”

Chapter 15

Ellie

Moving into the garage apartment had become a rite of passage for the Mackenzie kids. Mason started it when she moved in there, and Blake spent some time living there when she moved to the Cove. Even her Aunt Walker had lived there for a spell. And now it was Ellie’s turn.

She’d beaten Brayden for it by using logic. He would be going away to college in the fall. Ellie would be living at home. It made the most sense for her to move in there.

Despite Brayden’s complaining, her parents had agreed, which was how Ellie found herself carrying boxes from her bedroom, down the stairs, out the front door, and over to the detached garage. And up yet another flight of stairs.

“We should have hired movers,” Mason groaned as she dropped a box by the top of the stairs. Ellie rolled her eyes as she unpacked a box of books and put them onto the shelf. “How did all this stuff fit into your room?”

“I honestly have no idea.”

The garage apartment was an open-concept design, with only the bathroom behind closed doors. At the top of the stairs was the living room, followed by the kitchen, a small dining room, and the bedroom. It wasn’t a huge space, but even Ellie’s childhood bedroom seemed to contain more than enough things to fill the apartment.