The ease of our friendship made it so easy to forget that he was a summer boy. Made it easy to let my heart get involved. Hearts were fickle things, always willing to beat for the exact wrong person. First Elodie, who couldn’t be with me the way I wanted us to be together. Now Levi, someone who would be as fleeting as this summer itself. I had to harden my heart. I had to remember that Levi wasn’t mine to keep.

“Right,” I said faintly. “You probably need it for your residency. There’s usually a big summer show at the end of the program.”

His eyes looked more gray than blue. For a second, it looked like he wanted to say something. Levi’s lips parted, and the intensity of his face made me yearn for a thousand different things that I hadn’t even known I wanted until now.

I waited, but then the moment was gone.

“Want to grab lunch?” he asked. “I’d love to try real New England clam chowder.”

Relieved by the change of subject, I couldn’t help but tease him. “Is this you trying to get out of eating at my place? I promise I won’t charge you two bucks for a drink.”

He didn’t seem to notice. “Let’s go,” he said, laughing as he put his stuff back in his backpack. “Would you mind if I left the canvas here?” After a pause, he added, “I mean, assuming that you’ll let me come back to finish it.”

“Sure,” I said quickly.

It would give him a reason to come back.

And even though I hadn’t worked out what—if anything—I hoped to get out of being friends with Levi Keller, I wanted him to come back, too.

six

The next day, I met Lucy on the beach before work. Around us, some early birds had already started prepping for the sandcastle competition. Lucy bounced her well-loved, graying volleyball on her thighs. “Hey, you entering the Clamshell Queen pageant?”

That was a bit of a loaded question. Penny’s mom had played fairy godmother when Penny and I had entered two years ago. She’d helped us design our gowns and taught me to use her sewing machine to stitch it all together, making sure my stitches were straight and neat. Penny had won the pageant that year, and no one had cheered louder than me.

The next year was a different story. That was the year I’d won, and the crushing look of hurt on Penny’s face had broken my heart. I’d taken the tiara off my own head and placed it on hers, announcing to the entire crowd and all the judges that we were best friends and we’d win—and lose—together.