Page 37 of The Beachside Rental

“Does he know how lucky he is to have you?”she murmured as she stared into Gus’s big brown eyes.

Someone cleared their throat.

Jenna tilted her chin upward until her gaze met Simon’s blue eyes.“Oh, hi.”

“Hi.And I don’t know if I’m the lucky one.I think maybe he’s the lucky one.”

She arched a brow.Her gaze moved between man and dog.“Maybe you’re both lucky to have found each other.”

Simon pressed his lips together in a firm line as his brows scrunched together.

“Seriously?”She straightened.“You’re going to disagree with me?”

His brows smoothed.“No.I was just thinking that you should have someone, um...a dog to come home to.”

“I do.”Her gaze turned to Gus.“You don’t mind greeting me, do you, boy?”

“I take it you had a rough day at work.”

“Do I look that bad?”

He shook his head.“No.Not at all.You always look beautiful.”

Beautiful?Her heart soared.And suddenly, she didn’t notice the ache in her feet or the soreness in her lower back.She felt as though she got a second wind.

A bit flustered, she said, “I need to change my clothes and then, if you’re still willing, we can head over to my mother’s.”

“Sure.No problem.Just knock on my door when you’re ready to go.”

She nodded and headed inside.All she could think was that he’d called her beautiful.It wasn’t the first time a man had said she was beautiful, but when Simon said those words, it felt different.He was different—in a good way.

Chapter Eleven

Thiswasn’tadate.

And they weren’t teenagers.

And yet, Simon felt that way as they pulled into the driveway of Jenna’s family home.He hadn’t been this nervous about meeting someone’s family since picking up his date for the high school prom.

He couldn’t help but wonder if her family would like him.He’d already met Neil, and he couldn’t decide if her brother offered him this dinner invitation because he liked him or not.

Simon noticed a number of people working in the yard.They glanced in their direction, but then went back to work.

“Who are all of these people?”he asked.

“My family,” she said matter-of-factly.

“Wait.Exactly how many siblings do you have?”

“Five.”

“Five?”He failed to hide the surprise in his tone.

She let out a laugh.“I take it you don’t have a big family.”

“No.I’m an only child.”

“Ah...Now I understand your surprise.When I was growing up, there were a number of times that I longed to be an only child.”