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become adept at blowing off the advances of men who didn’t matter to her. But this situation called for an unusual amount of finesse.
    “Katie?”
    “I… It’s very nice of you to ask, Shane, but I can’t. I’m sorry.”
    “Oh. Okay. Sorry if I was out of line by asking.”
    “You weren’t.” God, could this be any more awkward? Because their siblings were married, she needed to keep things friendly with him. Their families were tied to each other forever now, and their paths would cross frequently. “Not at all.”
    He gestured for her to go up the stairs ahead of him.
    As she went, she figured her heart was racing from the exertion of climbing the stairs. It couldn’t be because a handsome, sexy, seemingly nice guy had asked her out. It wasn’t that at all.

Chapter 4
    Following Katie up the stairs, Shane couldn’t figure out what had possessed him to ask Owen’s sister to dinner the way he had. He hadn’t asked a woman to have so much as a cup of coffee with him in two years. So why now? Why her?
    He couldn’t say exactly, except there was something so sweet and peaceful about her, and he couldn’t deny he was drawn to those qualities. But obviously the attraction was one-sided. At least the spontaneous gesture had proven he wasn’t totally dead inside, which was progress.
    Asking her out was a big deal for him, not that she could possibly know that. It was probably just as well she’d declined. With their siblings now married and babies on the way who’d be their shared nieces or nephews, it was better not to let things get weird or complicated with Katie. They’d see each other at family events, and the last thing either of them needed was that kind of awkwardness every time they got together.
    At the top of the stairs, the family gathered at a big, long table for brunch. Shane carried Holden toward the table, where Adele and Russ were holding court. Katie was surrounded by her siblings, several of them blond and athletic-looking, like her and Owen. Her twin, Julia, and two of their brothers had darker hair.
    Katie smiled and laughed as she interacted with her brothers and sisters, each of whom hugged their mother, Sarah, when she and Charlie joined the party.
    When Shane’s dad, Frank, came in with his girlfriend, Betsy, Shane walked over to say hello to them. Holden let out a happy squeal at the sight of his grandfather, who took him from Shane.
    “Hey, guys.” Frank peppered the baby’s chubby cheeks with noisy kisses that made him laugh. “How was boys’ night?”
    “Perfectly uneventful.”
    “Your sister won’t be happy to hear that.”
    “I’m told I shouldn’t tell her or run the risk of getting ‘stuck’ with him every night, which I wouldn’t mind.” If nothing else kept him on the island after the latest job he was doing for Mac ended, remaining close to his nephew would be a major incentive to figuring out a way to stay on Gansett.
    That his father and sister were here, too, was also great, but Holden… He was more than enough on his own to have his Uncle Shane thinking about putting down some roots. Shane didn’t want to miss a thing with Holden or the babies his sister was expecting. If he wasn’t destined to have a family of his own, at least he’d have Laura’s kids to love and spoil.
    It was probably time to talk to Mac about a permanent job on the island, if his cousin was amenable to keeping Shane on the payroll.
    “Your sister is lucky to have such a hands-on brother to help out with the baby,” Betsy said as Holden wrapped his pudgy hand around her index finger.
    At first it had been odd to see his dad with another woman. He’d been single for more than twenty years, since his wife—and Shane’s mother—died of cancer when Shane was seven and Laura nine. Betsy was the first woman Frank had been serious about since then, and Shane couldn’t be happier for them.
    “I love him,” Shane said in response to her comment. “It’s certainly no hardship