Warmth suffused Susanne’s side as Anja immediately leaned in to her shoulder. She slung one arm around Anja. Buying the lounger had definitely been a good idea since it forced them to cuddle up.

Anja looked at Franzi. “I forgot to ask earlier because I got distracted by your crazy story about the kid with the braces. How was the ropes course?”

Franzi hastily swallowed a mouthful of tortilla chip. “Amazing! They had rope swings, suspension bridges, zip lines, and an obstacle that had you slide from one tree to the next on a surfboard. We had a blast. You should try it sometime.”

“Anja is afraid of heights, remember?” Susanne took her hand.

Anja stroked her thumb along the side of Susanne’s index finger as if thanking her for protecting her.

A tingle swept up Susanne’s arm and through the rest of her body. She stared down at her hand in disbelief. Wow. If this innocent little touch had that effect on her, she would probably spontaneously combust the first time Anja touched her more intimately.

“There was a guy ahead of us who said he was afraid of heights too, but he did great,” Franzi said.

Anja hesitated. “If they have a kiddie course or something like that, I would consider trying it.”

“You would?” Susanne searched her face. She didn’t want Anja to feel pressured into it just because Miriam and Franzi had done it.

“Mm-hmm. If you go with me.”

Susanne nearly suggested doing it in the summer, when being in the cool, shadowy forest would be a nice change of pace from the heat, but she bit her tongue before the suggestion could slip out. By the time summer came, she would be long gone from Freiburg. “Sure. We could do that sometime if you really want to.”

“Why not? I mean, there’s no shame in climbing back down if I really can’t do it, as long as I try first, right?”

Susanne knew she was talking about the ropes course, but the words fit their relationship too. “Right. No shame in it at all.”

Franzi launched into an enthusiastic recap of every obstacle on the tree-top ropes course, but Susanne missed half of the descriptions because she was too distracted by the slow caress of Anja’s thumb across her finger.

Not too much later, Miriam let out an exaggerated yawn. “Oh gosh, sorry. I’m really beat.”

Franzi got up immediately. “Yeah, me too. Must be all that fresh air. I think we should drag our tired asses home.”

“Now?” Susanne glanced at her watch. It was a quarter to nine. They had barely touched the tortilla chips and the guacamole Anja had made.

“Sorry,” her sister said, already on the way to the door. “I’ll see you for brunch tomorrow before I drive back.”

Quick hugs and they were out the door.

Anja and Susanne stayed behind and traded gazes.