Shrugging, he laughed at her dismay. “We talked to each other about everything. Don’t forget—she was only twenty years older than me. She wasn’t so far removed from her own teenage years that she couldn’t remember what it was like to be in love for the first time.”

“It’s a good thing I didn’t know then that you were telling her everything.”

“Why’s that?” he asked, his face alight with amusement she could barely see in the waning daylight.

“First of all, you wouldn’t have gotten any more, and second, I never would’ve been able to face her.”

“Don’t be silly. She loved you.”

“I loved her, too. I was so sad to hear she’d passed away.”

“It was a rough time. She died far too young.”

“Yes.”

“I never regretted staying here with her, if you wondered.”

“It never occurred to me that you would. I know how close you always were. Of course I didn’t know just how close…”

Laughing, he released her hand to bend and pick up a flat stone that he sent skimming across the calm surface of the water. “You were close to your mom, too.”

“Not as close as you were to yours. I’m almost thirty-six, and I’ve still never had a conversation with her about sex.”

Luke picked up a stick that he tossed for Buddy, who ran into the small waves to get it. “I bet she knew what we were up to when we were kids.”

“Which is probably why she went to such great lengths to keep us apart.”

“They couldn’t stand me.”

“Oh, Luke, they didn’t dislike you. They hated seeing me serious about a boy when I was so young. I imagine I would’ve been the same way with my kids.”

“You would’ve been more tolerant after what we went through.”

“Maybe.”

“Do you ever think. . .”

“What?”

“About having more kids. Someday.”

The query sent a ripple of anxiety through her. “I’m getting kind of old to start all over again.”

“You’re a regular senior citizen.”

She tried to give him a playful shove but ended up with his arm tight around her, engulfed in the scent of soap and citrus that was so Luke. He’d never been one to wear the expensive cologne Seth had favored.

“So do you think about it?” Luke asked.

“I have. At times. I just can’t imagine what a freak show I’d be, worried all the time that something would happen again.”

“It wouldn’t.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Do you know anyone, anyone in your whole life, who’s had what happened to you happen to them?”

“No,” she said softly. “I can’t say I do.”

“Neither do I. You’re all done with epic tragedy. Now you get to live in peace, knowing the worst that life has to offer is behind you.”