She studied him for any hint of what he was thinking, but she came up empty. Cody Boggs had become difficult to read. He said these things that made her think maybe they could start over, that maybe he did forgive her—but then in the next breath, he’d say other things that made her positive he’d crafted a permanent parking space for the chip on his shoulder.

She braced herself for the flip side of his coin, but it never came. Instead, he gave her hands a tug and drew her a little farther into the water.

Seconds later, she realized the water was at her shoulders and she was still breathing normally.

“Okay, I’m taller than you,” he said.

“Not by much.”

“Yeah, I get it, you’re tall.” He smiled at her—a real smile. She felt it in her toes. “But I’m going to ask you to do something that requires you to trust me a little.”

“Haven’t I already proven that I trust you? Look where we are.” She glanced back toward the spot where they’d left their clothes, and her pulse kicked up.

“No,” he said firmly. “Look at me. Don’t look back there.”

She did as she was told.

“You’re safe, okay? Remember—elite swimmer.”

She inched back and looked into his deep-brown eyes. She had the feeling he was about to ask her to do something terrifying. So why wasn’t she scared?

“I want you to lie back. Just float in the water.”

“No way.” If she could run in neck-deep water, she would—straight for the shore. He was crazy if he thought she was ready for that.

“Lou, how many times have you been in the ocean?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. Lots.”

“Right. Lots. But this summer was the first time you’ve ever had a close call.”

“Yes.”

“And even you admit that could’ve been avoided if . . .”

“If?”

“If you’d been a little more careful.”

She glared at him, but the innocent expression on his face told her he wasn’t going to apologize for speaking the truth.

He put a hand on her back and sent a shiver straight down her spine. “I’m going to be here the whole time, and I’m not going to let go of you once.”

Goose bumps crawled up her arms, but they had nothing to do with the temperature of the water.

“Okay?”

She nodded. Her hair was tied up in a bun on top of her head, and she knew that taking it down after it was wet would be painful, so she pulled the elastic out and wrapped it around her wrist, shaking out her long hair until the ends of it landed in the water.

She glanced up and found him watching her, turning her self-conscious, but she didn’t look away.