Sophie endeavored not to stare as he grabbed the hem of his shirt and hauled it over his head. His torso was lean and muscular, with gorgeous planes and ridges and a smattering of scars over his chest and back. His skin, tanned and shimmering with perspiration, made her mouth water.

She parted her lips to speak but wasn’t sure what to say. Why should she care if he went for a swim? The night was warm, and he had energy to spare.

A vigorous swim might be just the thing to help him sleep.

But the sight of him shirtless might be just the thing that made her lie awake in her bed for many, many nights to come.

Chapter 13

Stripped down to nothing but his trousers, Reese hurled himself headfirst into the water. It wasn’t an artful, graceful dive, but an athletic, acrobatic one. He disappeared below the surface for several seconds, then popped up, spraying droplets everywhere.

“Will you be all right here for a few minutes?” he asked, treading water effortlessly.

Sophie crawled closer to the edge of the pier and looked down at him. “Of course.”

He kicked onto his back and began floating away. “I’ll return shortly,” he promised, before rolling onto his stomach and swimming in earnest, churning water in his wake.

Sophie watched the easy, rhythmic strokes of his arms until he disappeared from view.

She waited on the quilt, sipping her wine and thinking how very warm the evening had grown—and how very inviting the water looked.

Perhaps she’d just dip her toes.

Spying a wooden ladder at one side of the pier, she kicked off her slippers, hiked up her skirts, and tentatively stepped onto the first rung, just above the surface of the lake. She held the ladder tightly as she bent a knee and swirled one foot in the water, sighing at the delicious coolness.

Ten years ago, while she was at away at school, Lily and Fiona had woken her in the middle of the night and tried to persuade her to sneak out of the dormitory and join them for a swim. Sophie had said no. She’d been too afraid—of the darkness, of things that lurked in the lake, and, most especially, of Miss Haywinkle’s wrath.

Lily and Fiona had reluctantly gone swimming without her, and Sophie still regretted missing out. They’d taken a risk, gone on an adventure, and made a memory that would bring smiles to their faces for the rest of their lives.

And Sophie … well, her prudent behavior and superior judgment had gotten her nothing.

Except, perhaps, an impending engagement to a man she didn’t love.

Something inside her snapped. This was a rare second chance, and she refused to spend the next five decades wondering why on earth she’d stayed high and dry on a pier when she could have been floating and splashing in the lake. With Reese.