" The good news is, you’re less of an ass nowadays.”
Duncan put his head back and laughed. Hard. It took him a moment to stop laughing. “That was the nicest backhanded compliment anyone has paid me in a very long time.”
She shrugged. “I only said it because it’s true.”
“I like you, Lena.”
She sat upright, placed her glass on a side table, and put her cute bare feet back on the porch floor. She blinked at him. “I like you, too, Duncan.”
“You’re an intriguing woman.”
“You’re a complicated man.”
That little voice in his head was now a screaming banshee. Over and over it yelled for his attention. Like a warning, like a mantra . . . Don’t do it. Don’t say it. Don’t go there. Duncan ignored the warning and told the banshee that he had the situation on lock. "

― Susan Donovan , Moondance Beach (Bayberry Island, #3)