She won.

He took it good-naturedly, laughing and giving her an easy, one-armed celebratory hug that hit her like a bolt of lightning. She froze.

So did he.

They stared at each other, and before she could get control of her limbs, both of her arms slid around his broad shoulders. She let herself have the moment of victory, pushing close in a full-body hug. Her face pressed into his throat, his several-day-old scruff scraping deliciously against her skin. He smelled like Heaven.

When she pulled back, he was looking into her face like he wasn’t quite sure what to do with her.

He could join her club.

When their food came, they did what they’d always done. They walked down the pier and found a quiet place to eat while looking out over the water.

It was like a security blanket, the bay sprawled out in front of her, eating her favorite takeout, and sitting next to the one person who’d always gotten her. “I haven’t been here since…” She tried to remember and then closed her mouth. The last time she’d been at the pier had been with him.

“Me either,” he said quietly.

She looked at him. “Do you miss it here?”

Holding her gaze, he shook his head. “I didn’t let myself think about it. When I left, I…” He shrugged. “Left. Mentally and physically.”

She nodded. She got that. She just wished it hadn’t happened like it did.

She took her last bite and pushed away her basket, leaning back in satisfaction before realizing that he was watching her. “What?”

He smiled. “Nothing.”

That was a lie, so she looked down at herself. When Diego first picked her up, she’d been work-ready. Now, hours later, she’d shucked her blazer, the top few buttons of her blouse were undone, her hair was down, and…her face felt achy from all the smiling and laughing.

When she looked up again, he was still watching her in that way he did, like he was both happy to be with her and surprised at feeling that way.

“You lost the stick up your ass,” he said. “You let yourself relax around me. I like it.”

She’d opened her mouth at the stick comment, but his next words disarmed her.

“We’re still attracted to each other.”

And he was still blunt as always. But Daisy saw no use denying it. “But we both know that physical chemistry, no matter how off the charts, isn’t what’s important.”

“What is important?”

She lifted a shoulder. “Honesty. Communication. Real friendship.”

“Are you saying we didn’t have that?” he asked.

“I thought we did, but…” She shook her head. “At the end of the day, no, we didn’t have that.”

“We didn’t even stay friends.”

She laughed mirthlessly. “I didn’t want to be your friend. I wanted to run you over with a car.” Needing a distraction, she gathered up their trash. “So, you’re not staying at Rocco’s.”

He let her change the subject with a small shake of his head. “Didn’t want to ruin anything for him, not this week.”