A mosquito buzzed between Annabelle and Jeremy, and they both went to swat it. Annabelle laughed as their hands knocked into each other and then checked to see if Connor had noticed. He was busy listening to something Jordan was saying, though.

Jeremy finished his ice cream and tipped the cup toward him so he could slurp up the melted liquid. It got all over his mouth before he pulled a napkin from his pocket and wiped it off. Annabelle thought of Mia, who would have teased Jeremy about how his lips were covered in chocolate lipstick if she were here.

“Hey, so I know I already asked you this same thing once,” Annabelle started, scooping out a bite with a big piece of peanut butter cup.

“You don’t want me to tell Mia about tonight,” he said. She let the bite fall off her spoon. “How did you know that’s what I was going to say?”

Jeremy shrugged. “’Cause you didn’t want her there that day at the pool. And . . . how things have been with you guys.”

“How things have been with us?” Annabelle echoed.

Things had been weird—she knew they had. But she didn’t like the idea that Jeremy had noticed. Or, even worse, that Mia might have said something to him.

And if Jeremy was hanging out with just her and not saying anything about it to Mia, did that mean he was also hanging out with just Mia and not saying anything about it to her?

Jeremy balled up his napkin and pressed it into the bottom of his empty ice cream cup. “Well, yeah. I mean—”

But Annabelle never got to hear the rest, because Jordan stood up from the bench. “You know what I could go for?” he called out. “A nice, refreshing dip. Who’s in?”

Connor stood up, too. “Let’s do it!”

Annabelle looked at Jeremy, who shrugged. She felt that same surge of frustration as she had when he kept apologizing to everyone they cut in line. It was annoying how often Jeremy shrugged. Had he always shrugged this much?

“I’m in,” she said, pushing herself up off the curb.

Chapter 18

Annabelle had assumed Jordan meant they’d run down to the ocean. There was a beach just down the hill from where they were eating their ice cream. She figured they’d wade partway in. Maybe go in up to their knees, or far enough to get the bottoms of their shorts wet.

“It’s less than a mile up the road,” Jordan announced. “And Dennis and his wife are gone for the weekend.”

“Wait, Dennis Martin?” Annabelle asked.

The famous movie guy? The one Jordan and Ruby had been talking about the other week at the pool?

Jordan pointed at her. “Ding ding ding!”

“What about that huge fence?” Ruby asked, and Jordan wiggled his eyebrows.

“I know the code.”

“Dennis Martin gave you the code?” Connor asked.

“Well, technically his wife gave it to the pool guy. But I was listening! And I happen to know their security system’s busted, because I also heard her setting up an appointment for somebody to come fix it next week.”