“Are you all right?” His voice was rough and she nodded.

“Fine. Just jet-lagged, I guess. You know how it is.”

“We don’t have to take the kayaks out. I just said that to keep the adults happy. I’ve got the key to the boathouse. We can grab some drinks and chill on the deck if you prefer.”

“Sure.” She stepped carefully on the shiny, slippery rocks, determined not to lose her footing. By the end of the holiday they’d probably laugh about it together, but right now their relationship still had that slightly roughened edge. Neither was sure who the other was, or if they had changed.

As soon as she was safely on the path again, she pulled her hand from his.

They made it to the boathouse and she slid off her shoes and walked inside in her bare feet.

“This place is incredible. Do you ever get used to it?” She gazed up at the soaring ceiling, the acres of glass that somehow brought the lake into the room. “I mean, I’d live here.”

Aiden headed for the kitchen area. “You’d go crazy, city girl.”

“Just because I live in a city doesn’t make me a city girl.”

He reached into the fridge and pulled out a couple of cans. He seemed older somehow, as if an extra year in the world had added layers that weren’t visible to the naked eye.

“The way I see it, we have a choice.”

She took the drink from him. “What kind of choice?”

“Either we dive in and start where we left off, or we tiptoe around each other politely for a week or so and then finally click the way we always do and wish we hadn’t wasted half our time together trying to find our way back to the place we always end up.”

He had a way of finding clarity in situations that always seemed murky and complicated to her.

Flustered, she took a swallow of her drink. “What place is that?”

“The place where we feel comfortable to push each other into the water.” He grinned and nudged her toward the jetty. Now he seemed young again. A boy about to push a girl off the dock.

“I haven’t reached that point yet. I’m not ready to get wet.” Her bathing suit was in her bag along with an oversize towel that Clare had thrust at them, but she wasn’t in the mood. She sat down, watching sunlight dance over the surface. “I’d forgotten how perfect this place is. You’re lucky living here.”

“Yes, although I don’t often have time to sit here. And we usually have strangers occupying this place.”

“That must feel weird.”