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single and willing.” She wound the reel a couple of clicks like she had seen him do. “You still want to get married and have kids, right? So why didn’t you make that happen?”
    Rick rubbed his forehead with his free hand. “Were you not there when I got publicly humiliated?”
    “It’s been five years. People forget.”
    “You have hundreds of letters a week that say otherwise.” He turned his gaze on her. “I guess no one wanted to date a loser.”
    “You’re not a loser.” Elizabeth pulled her pole back slightly, mirroring Rick’s movements. “You are a catch. And any woman who doesn’t realize that is not only blind, but also not worth your time.”
    “Then I live in a town full of the sightless.” Rick reeled his line in and cast it farther out. “Do you know they had a viewing party at the diner for the night of the finale? All my family and friends were gathered together to watch me propose. Instead they saw me dumped and humiliated.”
    “I think you’re the only one who’s not over that already.” She glanced at his eyes shadowed beneath his ball cap. “But I do have one question.”
    “Only one? You’re slipping.”
    “Did you love Brandy?”
    He swallowed and adjusted the ball cap again. Then he moved his fishing pole and wound the reel a couple of turns, clearly stalling for time. “Yes.” His voice croaked. “And the crazy thing is I thought she loved me, too. Only, she was pretending for the cameras.”
    “You don’t know that.”
    Rick looked up at her with troubled eyes. “She chose him over me. How else do you explain it?”
    She reached out and touched his knee. Then she quickly removed her hand. “You knew she was dating you both. That there was a chance...”
    “But it felt real.” He shrugged. “That’s why I’m conflicted about doing the show. How am I supposed to know what’s real and what’s for the sake of the cameras? How can I trust my heart to someone else who might be pretending?”
    She longed to remove the hurt from his eyes. “That’s why you have me. I’ll protect you. Like I should have the last time.” She glanced out toward the lakeshore. “We were friends. I should have...” She looked back at him. “I want to be friends again. And I’ll help you get what you want.”
    “How do you know what I want?”
    “Because it’s my job to figure it out. With your help, of course.”
    He gazed into her eyes until she supposed he could see her soul. If they were any two other people, this would be the perfect moment to kiss. Her lips tingled at the thought.
    Rick leaned forward. She closed her eyes. “I think you’ve got a bite.”
    Her eyes flew open, and she tugged on the line. Sure enough, something was resisting at the other end. She squealed and stood up. Rick reached out and put a hand on her calf. “Careful. You’re going to capsize the boat.”
    She wound the reel and shouted as a long silvery-green fish appeared at the end of her line. “I caught a fish!”
    Rick reached up to steady her, and she threw herself into his arms.
    Later, as they sat dripping wet at the campfire, she could point out where she went wrong before the boat capsized. Thankfully, Rick never raised his voice. Unfortunately, he didn’t say a word, either.
    Elizabeth held out her hands toward the fire to absorb the heat. She looked over at Rick, who pulled his hooded jacket closer around him. “I’m sorry. Again.”
    Nothing.
    She looked into the fire, hoping to find the right words. “I know you warned me, but I was so excited. I’ve never caught a fish.”
    Still nothing.
    She sighed. “I’m sorry it got away.”
    He cleared his throat.
    She settled farther into the Adirondack chair. “And that we lost your fishing pole.”
    His eyes flickered to hers briefly, then concentrated on the campfire again. Elizabeth closed her eyes and rested her head on the back of the chair. Silence was good. They were both tired. And wet.
    Her stomach growling broke the