“Don’t hold it against him,” I urged. “He’s nothing like his dad, judging by the little I know. I swear you’ll love him.”

The prospect of their imminent meeting excited me. I would get to see Cory through new eyes and Maggie would understand me—she would understand everything—differently. I liked them both, so it seemed inevitable that they would like each other.

“Cory!”

I gave a broad wave and a broader smile as he reached the sand, but he still made no response. Maggie was busy fitting the thermos together, but she shot him another look.

Cory picked his way across the shingle, wincing on bare feet. Every now and then he stooped to gather up a shell, or a pebble, or a ribbon of seaweed. By the time he reached us he’d collected quite a handful, but when he finally caught my eye he let them slide to the ground and stuffed his hands in his pockets.

“Here you are.”

“Here I am,” I echoed. “You weren’t worried, were you? I just thought, since you were still asleep . . . And then I got talking to Maggie. This is Maggie, by the way.”

Maggie’s mouth made the shape of a “hi,” and Cory moved his head in the semblance of a nod. They were equally aloof, but after they’d sketched their greeting, Cory went back to watching me, whereas Maggie continued to watch Cory.

“I was worried,” he said, with his hand against the small of my back. “You came out without your engagement ring.”

Cory opened his hand and presented it with a flourish. Maggie angled her head, as if she’d like to take a polite look, but I hid it inside my fist and Cory pulled me sideways for a kiss. I tripped on the edge of my flip-flop, grazing the side of my toe.

Cory wanted to make the kiss linger, as if we were alone, but I glowered and turned my face away. My toe was hurting.

Maggie cleared her throat and rolled her swimming costume up inside her towel. “I’ll be off,” she said. “Nice to see you, Freya. Glad to have met Cory.”

She shot me a quick glance that said something quite different and more complex.

“Who was she?”

The two of us scrambled up the path, Cory in the lead. I fumbled with the ring, trying to push it onto my finger without dropping my towel.

“My friend Maggie. I told you. Why were you so rude to her?”

Cory shrugged.

The ring bumped over my knuckle and into place.

“Why didn’t you like her?” I persisted.

He shrugged again. “I don’t know. She’s got cold eyes. Plus, she doesn’t seem to realise this is a private beach.”

He glanced up toward the house and I saw his face in profile. His lower lip was sticking out further than his upper one, and his jaw had tensed.