Michael propped himself against the door jamb, crossing his arms over his chest. “Just checkin’ on you boys.”

Cam smiled. At least once a week, sometimes more, his father stopped by to see how Cam, Roan, Dare, and Teague were doing. And not to talk business, either. Although Cam’s father had fronted the money for the marina in the beginning, Cam had since paid him back and assumed full responsibility. So Michael’s visits were always personal in nature, a chance for them to catch up. He would stick around for an hour, sometimes several hours, but he never left until he had a chance to talk to all four of them. Cam figured that was the cop in him. Sort of like a welfare check to ensure everything was kosher.

Not that Cam minded. He enjoyed spending time with his father, and these days, they didn’t do enough of it.

“We’re doin’ good,” Cam told him. “Gonna be busy startin’ next week.”

“Need any help?”

“Not yet, but if it comes to that, I won’t hesitate to call. Why? Are you bored?”

Michael laughed. “Bored? Not a chance. I’ve got a boat and a fishin’ pole. And three grandkids. What more do I need?”

Cam knew his father was playing up the whole retired fisherman routine. Michael had spent forty-five years on the force, every day a new adventure according to him. The fact that he’d retired at sixty-five had surprised everyone, but he’d insisted it was time. Now, not only did Cam’s father visit the marina frequently, he’d been known to man the office, help Holly out with the events, even assist Hudson out in the repair shop. Rarely did he go out on the boat to relax.

“What more do you need?” Cam echoed.

The radio on his desk chirped and Cam reached over to turn it down.

“Well, I won’t keep you,” Michael said, glancing down at the computer on Cam’s desk. “Looks like you’re focused. But maybe we can have lunch one of—”

Before Michael could finish his sentence, a deep voice echoed down the hall, coming from the front counter. “Anyone here?”

Cam frowned. He hadn’t heard anyone come in.

“Coming!” Cam hollered back as he pushed out of his chair. Looking at his father, he smiled. “And yes to lunch. That sounds good.”

“All right then.” His father grinned, clapping Cam on the shoulder. “I’m off. Gonna go find the boys.”

“Give Dare hell.”

“Oh, I plan to,” his father said. “Don’t you worry.”

“See you, Pop,” Cam said as his father led the way back to the front office, then maneuvered past the newcomers on his way out the door.

Cam followed behind, and after offering his father a casual wave, he pulled his attention to the two people standing at the counter. He did a double take after grabbing the appointment book and pulling it toward him.

Well. This was certainly new.

He fought the urge to smile as he watched the well-dressed man and woman peering around as though they’d never seen the inside of a marina office before. Cam wasn’t even sure they’d noticed him as they studied the rules they had posted on the wall.

Through the years, Cam had seen all walks of life come through that door, and these two … they were clearly the corporate types, which made him wonder if they were lost. It wouldn’t surprise him if they were. The way they were dressed, Cam doubted they’d seen much more than an office building in years.

The boyishly handsome man was suited up, sans the jacket, wearing a white dress shirt, buttoned at the wrists, along with a blue silk tie and—Cam peered over the counter—fancy black loafers. He looked kind of … starchy. As well as completely out of his element in the small office.

As for the woman… Cam’s initial assessment leaned more toward rich-girl chic. With her fancy … er … skirt-suit … outfit … or whatever it was called, her swanky though messy up-do, big hoop earrings, and bright red heels, she looked as though she should be in a boardroom, not in a marina office. She was pretty, in a New York law firm type of way. But he had to give her a little credit, she looked slightly more at ease than her partner.

“Can I help you?” Cam asked politely, trying not to think about the T-shirt and board shorts he was wearing. Then again, at least he had his shirt on. Most of the time they spent their days shirtless, because, for one, they were often in the water, and two, it was much easier to endure the ridiculous Texas summer temperatures that way. Even with his sun-faded Pier 70 T-shirt, he suddenly felt incredibly underdressed up next to these two.

The woman elbowed the man, and Cam noticed the guy’s dark eyebrows dart down in confusion before he made eye contact with Cam.

“Gannon Burgess,” he introduced, covering his grunt with a cough. “We’re here to rent a boat.”

Cam couldn’t hide his amusement as he leaned against the counter after opening the rental book. “I’m thinkin’ you’re a little overdressed for the occasion, but to each his own.”

When those dark eyes locked with his, Cam’s body went on high alert. But then … Gannon smiled, and that slight curve of his lips and the dimple that formed in his cheek transformed his boyishly handsome face into something far more intriguing.

The man’s smile was … mesmerizing.

Oh, hell. And now Cam was eye-fucking the suit.

Shit.

Shaking off the thought, he followed with, “What’d you have in mind?”

Gannon’s spellbinding smile faded, replaced by an incredibly puzzled expression. It obviously was his first time at a marina.

Glancing over at the woman, Cam noticed the dazed look there, too.

“Okay, let’s start simple,” Cam said, taking pity on the couple. Twirling his pen between his fingers, he bounced his gaze between them. “How many people? Just the two of you?”

“Oh, God no,” the woman said quickly, her take-charge tone telling him he’d pegged her accurately, though the sweetness of her face, and those bright blue eyes, didn’t seem to match. She glared over at Gannon as though expecting him to do the talking. When he didn’t, she released a heavy sigh. “It’s for a party.”

“A celebration?” Cam inquired, glancing down at the woman’s hand to see if there was an extravagant engagement ring.

Nope. No ring.

Without permission, his eyes strayed to Gannon’s left ring finger. No ring there, either. Huh.

“Not exactly,” Gannon answered thickly. “Just a small get-together. Roughly ten people.”

“Ten gives you plenty of options,” Cam informed them, watching for a reaction. “Pontoon, yacht? Tritoons’ll allow you to pull someone on a tube. What’s the plan?”

Gannon glanced down at the woman, whose name Cam still didn’t know. She simply shrugged her slim shoulders, looking somewhat bewildered. The man’s penetrating gaze, framed by the thin, black rectangular rim of his glasses, came back to meet Cam’s. While he waited for an answer, Cam did his best not to notice how those eyes were the color of espresso.

Deep, dark … devastating.

Shit.

Looking over at the woman, he spotted the slow smile that curved her full, red lips.

Fuck.

Busted.

Glancing down at the rental book as though that might help rein in his wandering thoughts, Cam took a deep breath.

“So, what’ll it be?” the woman asked Gannon.

“Hell if I know,” Gannon answered straightforwardly, making Cam grin as he lifted his head and stared back at Gannon once more. “I take it you’re the expert. Maybe you can help.”

“I can help,” Cam confirmed, pulling his gaze from the intense mocha-brown eyes of the boyishly handsome, dark-haired executive standing before him. Peering down at the rental book, Cam skimmed the pages looking for an available time and date. “What day were you lookin’ to rent?”

“Whatever day you’ve got,” Gannon said. “Weekday, though.”

Cam nodded. “Next week? Week after?”

This time the woman spoke up. “The sooner the better. Morale’s down at the office, and a little relaxing time is just what we need to kick off a busy summer.”