Free Flirty by Cathryn Fox Page B

the restoration committee will answer me and even though I keep leaving messages, no one will call me back.”
    Sam’s arms moved to her shoulders and he turned her around. His dark eyes moved over her face. He exhaled slowly then said, “They’re never going to approve your plans, Alexis. Not unless you change them. You do realize that, right?”
    She threw her hands up in the air. “What’s wrong with modernizing this place?”
    “Everything,” he said simply, and went quiet for a moment, looking past her shoulders like he was remembering something very important from the past. Then he glanced at his watch and redirected the conversation. “You’d better get going, otherwise you’re going to be late.” He grabbed her hand. “Come on, I’ll walk you. The guys and I are going out on Braydon’s boat for the day, and Josie’s place is on the way to the dock.”
    Lex bit her bottom lip, wondering if she really should be going to Tabby’s baby shower at her friend Josie’s house. Sure she liked Tabby, as well as the rest of the women in this town, and while they all made her feel welcome, she knew they were only being polite by extending an invitation. They were a tight-knit group and she really wasn’t a part of it, didn’t really belong.
    They stepped into the kitchen and she looked at the shiny gift bag on the counter. “Maybe I shouldn’t go.”
    Sam gave a casual shrug, one that said no matter where he went or who he was with, he always fit in. “Why not?”
    She took in his laid-back look. “Is everything always so easy for you?”
    Something moved over his eyes, some deeper emotion that she’d never before seen on his face. As she tried to puzzle it out, it disappeared as quickly as it appeared, and he gave her one of his infamous grins. “Yeah, it is,” he said. “Now come on, let’s go.”
    Twenty minutes later, Lex sat on the sofa next to Katy and played a game of peek-a-boo with her sweet daughter, Katherine. All around her kids played together and women chatted about their work, their families and the bountiful fishing season they were having in Whispering Cove while they partook in silly shower games.
    On the other side of her she half-heartedly listened to a conversation between Lila and the bikini-clad girl with the chocolate lab, who happened to be Lila’s sister visiting from Chicago. Apparently Lila’s sister Eden had been flirting with Sam during the beach party in an effort to get Jacob to see her as something more than a fellow dog walker. Unfortunately, her efforts proved futile.
    A door opened and Lex glanced up in time to see Josie stepping into the room with Tabby, whose cheeks were glowing with happiness. After all the Braxton Hicks Tabby had been experiencing recently it was easy to tell how ready she was to be done with her pregnancy and get on to mothering.
    “Okay, time to open the presents, then we can eat,” Josie said, rubbing her little baby bump as she quieted the crowd down. “Katy made her famous lemon chiffon cake, and I know we’re all dying to dig in.”
    Laughter broke out and then they spent the next hour unwrapping presents. As Lex watched Tabby showcase the new baby clothes, a strange sensation began growing in her stomach. She’d never thought about having kids before, never thought about settling down and raising a family. But seeing how happy these women were and watching their kids play seemed to have flicked a maternal switch in her.
    The women all oohed and aahed over the tiny clothes and gifts and even though Lex was sure she’d feel like an outcast, like she didn’t belong at this gathering, she couldn’t deny that everyone here made her feel welcome. It was the first time in her life she had a sense of belonging. No, she corrected herself. It was the second time. The first was with Sam.
    An uneasy feeling curled through her. Oh, boy. Maybe agreeing to this affair wasn’t her smartest move. Then again, she hadn’t been making a lot of great