Redemption Bay (Haven Point Book 2) (Contemporary Romance) by RaeAnne Thayne

he would go inside and spend the rest of the evening with paperwork. Something kept him out here, waiting for her.
    The lake was filled with recreational watercraft of all descriptions, from pontoon boats to Jet Skis to old fishing boats. That didn’t stop him, several moments later, from picking out a single kayak as it moved swiftly toward his Delphine.
    She reached the shore and climbed out, then started to pull the kayak the last few feet to dry land. She wore a pair of cargo shorts over a bright red one-piece swimsuit and an unfastened life jacket, which exposed plenty of luscious skin.
    A wise man who found himself fighting an attraction he knew would end badly should probably wave politely and head inside his house.
    While Ben usually prided himself on his logic and common sense when it came to women—and everything else—he was halfway across the lawn without even thinking about the wisdom of spending more time with her. He couldn’t seem to help himself.
    “Evening.”
    She glanced up and he saw surprise and disquiet in her expression before she nodded politely.
    “Hi.”
    “Need a hand?”
    Her eyes seemed to sparkle in the fading rays of the sun as she looked first at him, then down at the kayak. “This thing weighs all of thirty pounds. I think I can handle it.”
    “So can I. You stow it in the shed, right?”
    Without waiting for an answer, he picked it up and carried it toward the small red structure. He didn’t miss the little frustrated huff she gave at his high-handedness but she didn’t argue, only picked up the double-bladed paddle and followed him, shrugging out of her life jacket on the way.
    “Just there is fine, next to the lawn mower. Right. That works.”
    He set it down and she hung the life jacket and paddle next to the door.
    “Thanks for your help,” she said as she led the way back out of the small structure.
    “You’re welcome.” It was a little hard to reconcile this fresh-faced, vibrant woman with the flyaway braid and the bright eyes to the buttoned-down, self-contained mayor who had hosted breakfast that morning in a tailored skirt and high heels.
    He wasn’t sure which one attracted him more.
    “Lovely evening, isn’t it?” he said, to distract himself from the sudden impulse to reach forward and push a stray tendril of hair behind her ear.
    “The best.” She smiled. “July is one of my favorite months on Lake Haven. At least in the top twelve.”
    He smiled and suddenly realized that was one of the things he found most attractive about McKenzie. He smiled more often around her than he remembered doing in a long time.
    He had spent far too much time being serious since he had left Haven Point. First, he had thrown himself into his studies and after meeting Aidan and teaming up with him to build Caine Tech into the powerhouse it was today, he had dedicated every spare moment to the company.
    His social life usually consisted of entertaining vendors and clients, traveling to trade shows, attending charity benefits.
    For so long, he had been fiercely driven to push out the harsh voice in his head telling him he was lazy and stupid and worthless.
    At some point along his journey—perhaps after his father died—that voice had stopped mattering to him, but those workaholic habits still consumed him.
    Watching the changes that had come over Aidan these past few months since he and Eliza connected had been both illuminating and disconcerting. Aidan had learned to relax, to slow down a little and savor the life he was building with Eliza and Maddie.
    Ben knew that was one of the reasons his friend had encouraged him to take this assignment to spend a few quiet weeks in Haven Point after Marsh Phillips’s unexpected death.
    It was working, at least when it came to McKenzie. Right now, he wasn’t thinking about Caine Tech. Instead, he had a sudden fierce urge to be out on the water with her, kayaking through golden-hued ripples and sending those Canada geese into