By the time she felt the first tentative brush of his tongue over her sensitized lips, she was on the verge of begging him for more. The tangle of tongues and teeth and breathless passion went on until Sydney wasn’t sure how she remained standing.

“God,” he whispered. “Syd…” He cupped her cheek and went back for more.

As they strained against each other, trying to get closer, her nipples pebbled and brushed against his chest. His free hand slid down her back to align her with his erection.

Approaching voices on the porch startled them apart.

Breathing hard, they stared at each other in the darkness, stunned to discover everything they’d once felt for each other was still there, lying dormant, waiting for the opportunity to remind them of what they’d shared so long ago.

“Will you come to my house for dinner tomorrow night?” he asked.

Overwhelmed by the passionate kiss, Sydney continued to stare at him.

“It’s still your choice, Syd.”

“I ah… I don’t know. I just don’t know.” All at once, she recalled the story Maddie and Janey had shared earlier. Janey had done what she thought was best for Joe, which had turned out to be the exact wrong thing for him.

“What don’t you know?” Luke asked. “Talk to me.”

“I’m afraid.”

His fingers spooled through her hair the way they used to when they made love on the beach. “Of what, honey?”

“Hurting you again. I have to go home after Labor Day. After everything that happened between us before—”

“Clean slate, remember?”

“I can’t promise I won’t hurt you again. I wish I could, but I can’t.”

“Remember what I said the other night about being a boy with no options the last time we were together?”

She nodded.

“This time, I’m all grown up with my eyes wide open to what might happen.”

“Still…”

With just the tip of his index finger to her chin, he compelled her to look at him. “I’ve been warned, Syd.” He kissed her softly, sweetly with none of the urgency he’d shown earlier. “Come to dinner and bring Buddy. No pressure. No expectations. Just dinner.”

“I—”

He rested a finger on her lips. “Come if you want to. Or not if you don’t feel up to it. Either way, it’s up to you.”

“You can be very charming when you put your mind to it.”

His smile transformed his entire face. Sydney remembered the punch of that discovery the first time around. “Is that so?”

“Uh-huh.”

“I’d better get you back inside before we start a five-alarm Gansett scandal.”

“Probably already too late.”

“Sorry about that,” he said with what sounded like genuine regret.