“So, are you coming in?” She unbuttoned her shorts and slid them down her legs, then pulled her T-shirt over her head. She stood in her yellow bikini, hitting Matt with a look that said, “come on.”

He seemed dumbstruck—and as though he was making a concerted effort not to look at her body. She grinned at him. She knew she had a terrific body—she worked out nearly every day, even in the dead of winter.

“Well?”

He put his hand on the back of his neck and dropped his head, grinning. “Didn’t bring my swimmers. And it’s kinda cold.”

“Lame!”

“After you, then.” His arm swept in a wide arc of mock chivalry.

Jules strode into the water up to her mid-thigh, paused for a beat and swore loudly. Matt threw his head back and laughed as she spun around and jogged out of the water.

“How? It’s like ninety degrees today,” she laughed, her skin prickling with goose bumps.

Matt raised his eyebrows at her and grinned with an “I told you so” look. It was the first time she’d noticed he had dimples. She was still staring at them when he added, “Wait here. I have a beach towel in my truck.” He was gone less than a minute, but it was long enough for her to start shivering.

“Here.” He wrapped the striped towel around her. “You have to be a masochist to swim in the bay. The footy clubs send their teams down here to do laps when they lose.”

“Really?” She pulled the towel tightly around her.

“Nah.”

She laughed at her own expense but stopped as her teeth started to chatter. Concern etched his face. “Geez, you really are cold. Come ’ere.” He stepped forward and wrapped Jules up in his arms, rubbing her back through the towel.

It was completely unexpected, but it felt … what? It felt right.

After a moment, Matt stood back, the furrow of concern still between his brows. His hand lifted, as though he was going to tuck a stray lock of her hair behind her ear, but he hesitated. Then she watched as his eyes dropped from hers and settled on her mouth. For a moment she wondered if he was going to kiss her. She wanted him to kiss her.

“Well, your lips aren’t turning blue, so I think you’ll survive.”

Oh, so not a kiss then. Matt stood back and Jules felt the absence of him—something else that was unexpected. “Come on, pop your clothes back on. I want you to meet Callie and Thea.”

She composed herself, consciously slipping back into I’m-just-a-friend-of-a-friend mode. “Oh, sure,” she said, dropping the towel and stepping into her shorts. “Can we walk, or do we need to take the truck?” She slid the T-shirt over her head and picked up her sandals.

Matt retrieved the towel from the sand, then stood and pointed to a block of condos across the wide esplanade. “See the building with the dark blue tinted windows?”