“RYAN WANTED TO change it to granite or soapstone, but I love this butcher’s block.” Emily ran her hand over the counter and Skylar nodded.

“I love it, too. It’s a little stained in places but that’s because it’s a natural material. And each mark tells a story.”

“I’m a little worried the story it’s going to tell about me is that I shouldn’t be allowed in the kitchen. What do you think, Brittany?”

Brittany was staring over the garden, watching the last of the evening light fade away. Her stomach felt hollow and she felt physically sick.

“Brittany?”

“Sorry?” She blinked and realized both her friends were staring at her. “What?”

“We were talking about the kitchen. What do you think of the counters?”

“I—” She couldn’t think of anything except Zach, the midnight black of his eyes as he’d held her gaze and surged into her. The heat of his mouth on hers as they’d shared every breath. “I think you should do whatever feels right to you.”

Or maybe not.

Sex with Zach had felt utterly right at the time and utterly wrong five minutes later.

For years he’d been a mistake in her past and now he was right back in her present.

“Is something wrong? You’re very distracted.” Emily stirred the chowder. “I called you twice yesterday and you didn’t answer. I was about to drive over when you texted.”

“I was catching up on some things, that’s all. I did some reading, answered some emails—” Sat on the beach, stared at the sea, wondered what the hell it was about Zachary Flynn that drove her to do crazy things. What was she going to say next time she saw him? Their relationship had been complicated before, but nothing compared to now. “I put my phone down somewhere and couldn’t find it.” The thought of what Emily might have found had she driven over made Brittany vow never to let her phone out of her sight again. “Were you calling for a reason?”

“Ryan was giving Lizzy a sailing lesson and I was going to ask you to the Ocean Club for dinner. I wanted to hear what happened at the hospital.”

“It was uneventful. I have to keep the cast on a while longer. Which means I’m doomed to be bored and cross for the rest of the summer.”

Bored, cross and sexually frustrated.

“You could help Lisa at Summer Scoop. Her business has really picked up over the last couple of weeks. Sky, there’s a fresh loaf from The Beach Bakery in that bag. Can you slice it?” Flustered, Emily checked the chowder again and then turned her attention back to Brittany. “Is that why you’re upset? Because you were hoping the cast would come off?”

“I’m not upset. I’m just impatient. You know me.”

Unfortunately they did know her, which was why neither was prepared to accept that explanation.

Skylar sliced fresh bread into chunks. “Is Zach the reason you’re upset? Did something happen when he flew you to the hospital?”

Before Brittany could reply, the door opened and Ryan walked into the kitchen.

“Do you need any help with the food?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Emily’s face was pink from standing over the stove, wisps of hair falling around her face. “I may not be an experienced cook but I can follow a recipe.” She glanced nervously at the pan. “At least I think I can.”

“It smells delicious and that was a genuine offer of assistance, not veiled concern.” Ryan strolled across the room and wrapped his arms around his fiancée. “Don’t turn into one of those women who imagine things that aren’t there.”

Skylar cleared her throat pointedly. “You’re in a room with three women and hot liquid. Think before you generalize based on gender or we might add certain delicate parts of you to the chowder.”

Wincing, Ryan kissed Emily and then released her, hands raised. “Hey, I’m as simple as I look. All I want is food.” Dodging Skylar, he reached for the bread. “We can start with this. The three of us are dying of starvation.”

“The three of you?” Emily tasted the chowder. “Lizzy is supposed to be asleep.”

“She is asleep. I checked her ten minutes ago.” Ryan found some plates for the bread. “Zach is here.”

Brittany felt her insides turn over. Those were the three words she least wanted to hear. “Zach?” Her voice didn’t sound like her own. “Why is he here?”

“Because I invited him.”

“You—? Why would you do that?” Emily stared at Ryan, appalled, and he raised his eyebrows.

“Because he’s our friend,” he said slowly, “and as our friend, he’s welcome in our home.”

“But—” Emily shot Brittany an agonized look. “I’m so sorry. I had no idea he’d be here or I would have warned you.”

“Why does she need warning?” Ryan looked baffled. “He flew her here on her first day, drove her home from the store the other day, flew her to the hospital and back—I assumed everything was cool between you guys.”

“Oh, Ryan!” Emily looked at him reproachfully and he looked at her blankly.

“What? If there’s a problem here, then you need to spell it out.”

“For a start it would have been nice to have known I was catering for six, not five.”

“Whenever you cook you always make enough for the entire island but you’re right, I should have mentioned it. I would have done but I just happened to bump into Zach a few hours ago.” Ryan put the bread and the plates down on the table, then walked over to her, cupped her face in his hands and kissed her. “Forgive me.”

Emily melted, murmured a few words that the others couldn’t hear, and then eased away. “It’s not me you should be asking for forgiveness, it’s Brittany. This is awkward, Ryan.”

Ryan smoothed Emily’s hair back from her face with a gentle hand and then glanced at Brittany. “Is it awkward? Am I in trouble?”

Brittany managed a smile. “Of course not. It’s fine.”

“There. I told you. They’ve been divorced for a decade. They’ve both moved on. Is this ready? I’ll carry it through. It’s heavy.” Ryan reached for the chowder. “You can bring the bread and bowls, Sky.”

Skylar waited until he’d walked through the door and shook her head. “Men,” she said slowly as she juggled the bread and the bowls. “Utterly clueless.”

“I’m not arguing with that, but in this case he’s right. I’ve moved on.” Keen to avoid a conversation, Brittany grabbed the bread. “I’ll take that before you drop it.” She didn’t know which was more stressful, facing her friends or facing Zach.

How should she handle it?

Did she smile and pretend nothing had happened?

Did she just ignore the whole thing?

Deciding she might as well get it over with, she walked through to the dining room and almost fell over Cocoa, Ryan’s spaniel, who was running around, excited at having so many visitors in the house.

“Sit.” Ryan placed the chowder in the center of the table and glared at the dog. “Do not jump up.”

Ignoring him, Cocoa wagged her tail hard, almost vibrating with the effort not to jump and put her paws on his legs.

The distraction gave Brittany a moment to compose herself.

Zach was lounging in tense, brooding silence at the far end of the table.

Even without looking she was aware of him, as if her body had some sort of internal radar that sent off signals whenever he was nearby.

Deciding that the longer she left it, the worse it would be, she glanced at him and acknowledged his presence with a brief nod.

Those volcanic dark eyes focused on her for a brief moment and she felt as if she’d been fried alive. Dark lashes shielded his expression and his slim, sensual mouth was unsmiling.

Remembering everything he could do with that mouth made heat rush from her toes to her neck.

Last time she’d seen him, he’d been stripping her naked in less time than it took most people to switch on their phone. And she would have done the same to him if she hadn’t been a fumbling wreck. Fortunately, he’d had enough skills for both of them, which was why they now found themselves in this embarrassing situation.

The level of physical intimacy contrasted starkly with the emotional distance between them.

Awkward? No, it wasn’t awkward. It was so much more than awkward, there wasn’t a word for it.

She deposited the bread on the table.

What should she say?

She wanted to leave, but that would stimulate questions she didn’t want to answer. It would also potentially create a problem between Ryan and Emily and she didn’t want to be the cause of friction.

She slid into the only vacant chair, wishing it wasn’t so close to Zach.

Alec and Ryan were locked in an argument about one of the yachts moored in the marina and Emily was busy ladling creamy chowder into the deep bowls. The atmosphere was warm and relaxed, laughter and conversation flowing around her. Brittany was aware of nothing except the pounding of her heart and the incredible stillness of the man seated at the end of the table.

She couldn’t breathe.

Couldn’t think.

She kept her eyes down, reminding herself that these were her friends. Four friends and one ex-lover.

Except he was no longer an ex.

Brittany’s studied contemplation of the table was disturbed by a clatter and a gasp as Emily stepped forward to pass a bowl and almost fell over Cocoa.

Ryan’s hand shot out and he caught the bowl with one hand and Emily with the other. “She isn’t used to having so many people in the house at once. I’ll put her in the kitchen.”

“No.” Finally Zach spoke and he snapped his fingers gently to attract the dog’s attention. “Come.”

He’d said the same thing to her, Brittany thought. Right in the middle of the most mind-blowing sex of her life, he’d said the same thing. And she’d obeyed without hesitation.

Apparently Cocoa was equally seduced by his charms. Or maybe she was equally lacking in willpower. Sensing an ally, the dog went to him instantly, pressed her face to his palm and looked up at him hopefully.

Zach smiled at her.

Brittany felt the breath jam in her throat.

He smiled so rarely that when he did, she found it impossible to look away.

“You need to calm down or someone is going to fall over you.” He spoke quietly to the dog, his tone gentle. “You stay here with me.”

Cocoa pressed closer to him and the moment he tried to withdraw his hand she nudged him, so he continued to stroke her ears with gentle, casual rubs of those long, strong fingers.

Brittany’s heart started to pound a little harder.

He’d always been good with animals. Animals and vulnerable people.

Ryan looked amused. “From now on you’re in charge of animal taming.”

Zach’s fingers continued to stroke and soothe. “She’s tame enough.”

“She’s usually pretty good.” Emily carried on serving the chowder. “She gets overexcited sometimes, that’s all.”

Who wouldn’t? Keeping that thought to herself, Brittany reached for the bowl Emily handed her. If Zach were stroking her like that, she’d be overexcited, too.

Heat spread through her body and pooled in her pelvis.

That first time they’d had sex, he’d been so careful with her. So gentle.

Her mouth felt dry and her mind woolly.

“I was speaking to Rachel today.” Ryan picked up his spoon. “She said they could do with help up at the camp. They’ve lost a couple of counselors and one instructor who had a wilderness first-aid certificate.”

“Can’t they recruit?” Alec gave an appreciative sniff. “Smells good, Emily.”

“Too late in the season to recruit. They’re managing to cover water sports, but they lost their archery instructor last week and they’re short of people to help with outdoor adventure activities.”

Brittany was only half listening. She kept reliving the moment Zach had slid his hand into her hair and stared down into her eyes.

Her breathing grew shallow.

She couldn’t take her eyes off his hand, hypnotized by the slow stroke of his fingers as he calmed the dog.

Cocoa was in a coma of ecstasy.

Brittany dragged her eyes from his fingers but only made it as far as his biceps. Unsettled, she forced herself to look up and collided with the heat of his gaze.

She waited for him to look away, but he didn’t. He kept looking at her until her heartbeat was like a pounding drum and it felt as if all the air had been sucked from the room.

Through a fog of desire she could hear Ryan’s voice, but not the words.

Then she heard her name and realized everyone was staring at her.

Everyone except Zach, who finally turned his attention to Emily’s chowder. He picked up his spoon in one hand while with the other he continued to gently soothe Cocoa.

He was calm and relaxed whereas she was a simmering ball of tension.

Aware that she’d missed an entire conversation, she tried to focus. “Sorry, what were you saying?”

“That you could have taught archery if you hadn’t broken your wrist. This chowder is delicious.” Ryan smiled at Emily, an intimate glance that briefly excluded everyone around the table.

“Thanks. It was Kathleen’s recipe. Brittany gave it to me.” Emily looked across at her and frowned. “You’re not eating. Something wrong with your appetite or are you just scared of my cooking?”

Brittany blinked. “I— Neither. I was watching Cocoa.” She ignored Skylar’s raised eyebrows. “So what happened to the camp staff? It’s unusual to lose people this late in the summer season. Usually if they’re going to drop out they do it early on.”

Ryan reached for his beer. “Family emergency in one case, illness in another. Why don’t you call Philip? You often helped out in the past and you have all the qualifications.”

It wasn’t her ability to do the job that worried her. It was the fact that spending time at Camp Puffin would increase the likelihood that she’d bump into Zach and she wasn’t sure how she felt about that. “I can’t teach archery with one hand.”

“Do you have to demonstrate? You can push and pull the kids into position. Use your good hand.” Ryan pushed the bread towards Zach. “Do you want me to take Cocoa? Is she bothering you?”

“No. She’s fine.”

She was more than fine, Brittany thought. Cocoa was in doggy heaven.

“Zach, you know more about what’s going on at the camp than I do.” Ryan cleared his bowl. “You should be trying to persuade Brittany to help out.”

Zach put his spoon down slowly. “I believe people should make their own decisions.”

He didn’t want her there.

It was clear in his tone and his body language.

He might as well have told her bluntly to stay away.

“I loved camp.” Skylar’s cheery voice cut through the tension. “The alternative was spending the summers at home playing mock trials with my brothers so I talked my parents into letting me stay the whole summer. It was at camp that I first made jewelry. Right there and then I knew what I wanted to be.”

Alec glanced up from his food, his gaze lingering on Sky’s silver-blond hair. “Ballerina? Fairy princess?”

Sky’s eyes flashed. “Artist.” She spoke through her teeth. “I wanted to be an artist, although for your information, ballet is a seriously athletic sport and definitely not for wimps. Did you want to be something else when you were younger or was ‘asshat’ always your goal?”

“That’s not a career,” Ryan said mildly but neither was paying attention.

Knowing how easygoing Skylar was, Brittany was puzzled by the tension pulsing between her and Alec. They seemed to have temporarily forgotten everyone else in the room.

Alec’s gaze was fixed on Sky’s face. “For about two terms in junior school I wanted to be a submarine captain. After that, an academic.”

Sky gave him a witchy smile and reached for another piece of bread. “Professor Asshat.” She turned back to her food, missing the appreciative gleam in Alec’s eyes.

“You were telling us about camp, Sky,” Emily said hastily. “You spent your whole time painting and making jewelry?”

Hearing Emily’s conciliatory tone, Brittany concluded this wasn’t the first time Alec and Sky had clashed.

“I found a camp that focused on art and spent most of the time covered in paint or up to my elbows in clay. Bliss.”

Alec took a last long look at that shiny waterfall of blond hair and then turned his attention back to his food. “You don’t seem the type to relish being messy.”

Sky put her spoon down with a clatter. “You think you know me but you don’t and, by the way, someone with your reputed brain power should know better than to judge on appearances.”

Alec carried on eating. “Like it or not, our unconscious minds take the available data and shape our perceptions.”

“And your unconscious mind has decided I’m a fairy princess? Based on what? The color of my hair? Carry on making comments like that and you really will be unconscious.” Sky caught Emily’s eye and subsided. “This chowder really is delicious, Em.” She was about to say something else when her phone rang. She checked the caller ID and immediately her spirit and energy evaporated. “Sorry, I know we have a ‘no phones at the table’ rule, but I need to take this. It’s Richard.” She mumbled the words and stood up, almost knocking the chair over in her haste. Mumbling apologies, she shot out of the room.

Alec’s gaze followed her to the door. “Who,” he said slowly, “is Richard?”

“Her asshat boyfriend,” Ryan said cheerfully. “You handled that well, Al. Your charm is second only to your tact. I can see why you’re in such demand as a dinner guest. And why you’re single.”

“He’s the perfect guest.” Emily served seconds of chowder. “But you have Sky all wrong, Alec. She’s not the person you seem to think she is.”

Alec stirred. “I’m single because, having sampled the alternative, that’s the way I prefer to live my life. And I don’t think about Skylar at all.”

“So her boyfriend calls and she answers no matter where or when?” Ryan frowned. “Doesn’t seem like Sky.”

“Richard is stressed about the campaign. Sky is being supportive.” Emily swiftly sprang to Sky’s defense but Brittany knew they were thinking the same thing—that with Richard Everson, Sky was a different person.

Ryan wisely changed the subject and soon they were engaged in a lively discussion on how they’d spent their summers during childhood.

Zach was the only one who didn’t participate.

Brittany knew that camp for him had been an escape, not a luxury.

The links with the university and the marine center meant that they attracted a mix of children from different backgrounds. Camp Puffin offered a few sponsored places so that kids from the cities had a chance to learn more about the outdoors.

Zach had been one of those.

Ryan glanced at her. “So what do you think, Brittany? Would you consider helping in some capacity? You used to love it.”

Her brief moment of respite was over and the focus was back on her.

Camp was intimately entwined with her relationship with Zach. Their relationship had begun while she’d been helping out there.

“It’s not a bad idea.” Emily reached for her drink. “You’re bored, Brit. And you loved working with the kids. Why not do it?”

Her reason for not doing it was seated close to her.

His gaze connected briefly with hers. Those devil-black eyes gave no hint as to what was going on in his head, but she knew instinctively that he wanted her to help out at Camp Puffin as much as she wanted to be there.

She stood up abruptly. “I’ll clear the plates.”

Skylar reappeared at that moment. She made no reference to the call. “I’ll help.”

“And I need to prepare dessert. No—” Emily held up her hand as Ryan started to stand “—tonight is on me. You can do the whole thing next time.”

The three girls vanished into the kitchen.

ZACH PUSHED BACK from the table and rose to his feet. “Thanks for dinner.”

Ryan frowned. “Where are you going?”

“Back to my cabin. I shouldn’t have come.” Next to him, Cocoa gave a whimper of protest and he stooped to give her a last stroke. She pressed into his hand adoringly, apparently the only female in the world who didn’t sense that he was a bucket load of trouble.

“Dinner isn’t finished yet. Sit down.” Ryan pushed another beer towards him and Zach straightened and shook his head.

“I appreciate the sentiment but it’s awkward for you, me being here—”

“I said, sit down.” Ryan’s tone was polite layered over steel. “You’re not going anywhere. It will upset Cocoa and it will upset me.”

Zach thought about all the things Ryan didn’t know. “Look, you and Brittany have been friends a long time and—”

“You and I have been friends a long time, too. Which is why I’m offering you another beer and a seat at my table.”

“Best to sit,” Alec said mildly. “You know he never gives up. It’s one of his more annoying traits.”

Ryan raised his eyebrows. “I have annoying traits?”

“You want a list?” Alec drained his beer. “Because I could put that together for you, with references.”

Zach felt as if a heavy weight were crushing him. “It’s Emily’s table, too.”

“Which is another reason you’re not leaving. After all the hours she spent in the kitchen, she’d be offended.”

“Maybe not.” He wondered if Brittany had told her friend what had happened. “Seems to me she’s in an impossible position. I don’t want to be the one causing friction.”

“The friction seems to be between Sky and Alec, and if Brittany has a problem with you being here, then she needs to get over it,” Ryan said pleasantly. “You were the one who flew Lizzy and Emily to the hospital that night. And you were the one who bothered to pick up the phone and tell me what had happened. You were a good friend to both of us. And let’s not forget I was best man at your wedding.”

If Zach could have found a way of forgetting, he would have done. “The wedding I screwed up.”

“I share the blame for that. You tried to run and I wouldn’t let you.”

“Another time you’ve been put in a difficult position because of me.”

Ryan shrugged. “Relationships are messy things. You don’t have the monopoly on screwing things up. Alec here will support me on that one.”

Alec stretched out his legs. “I will. The happiest part of my marriage was the divorce.”

“Sit down, Zach.” Ryan jerked his head towards the chair. “While you’re drinking that beer, tell me more about Cessna capabilities. I’m thinking of expanding next summer and offering skippered yacht holidays. We already have the Alice Rose, but at the moment if people want to charter her they have the hassle of a ferry trip. I’m thinking you could fly them direct to her and land on the water. Joint venture. Are you interested?”

“In working with you?” Zach curbed his natural desire to run from anything that looked remotely like a commitment and cautiously sank back down. “I might be.”

“Good. I’ll play with some ideas and then we’ll talk again.”

Zach eyed the kitchen door, which had remained firmly closed. “Are you sure you don’t want me to leave? Seems to me dessert is taking a while longer than it should.”

“It’s always the same when the three of them are together. They’re probably just talking.”

Zach felt heat spread through his body. He suspected he knew exactly what they were talking about.

“I HAD NO IDEA Ryan had invited him for dinner,” Emily hissed behind the closed kitchen door. “We agreed we’d invite our friends. I just didn’t think—”

“It’s fine.” Brittany stacked the dishwasher. Usually she was a clear, methodical thinker, but since Zach had come back into her life, that skill seemed to have deserted her.

“Yes, it’s fine,” Skylar echoed brightly. She still hadn’t mentioned the phone call that had required her to leave the room. “After all, they’re both civilized people and anyway, Brittany has been pretending to be indifferent so this is a perfect way to prove it. Isn’t that right, Brit?”

“Yeah, that’s right. I—actually no, that’s not right.” Giving up the pretense, Brittany plopped onto the kitchen chair. “Things are—complicated.”

Emily abandoned the dirty plates and gave her a worried look. “Has something else happened?”

“You could say that.”

“Another spider? Something else? You finally lost control?”

Brittany gave a moan and covered her face with her hands. “Yes.”

“No one is going to blame you for that. So you shouted at him. You shouldn’t feel bad about it,” Skylar said stoutly. “It will have done him no harm to find out how you really feel. There’s certainly no reason to be avoiding him. You can hold your head up high. He’s the one who should be hiding in the kitchen.”

“I didn’t just shout at him.”

“You punched him? Nobody is going to blame you for that, either. What you need is dessert. What are we having, Em?”

“Ice cream.”

“Perfect. It will cool her down. Just give her the tub and a spoon.”

“I didn’t punch him.” Brittany rubbed her fingers over her forehead. “I had screaming sex with him.”

Silence descended over the kitchen. Skylar stared at her and then turned to look at Emily, who was also mute.

“Stop gaping at each other,” Brittany muttered. “It happened. I can’t change that. But I have to work out what to do next.”

“But—why?” Skylar sounded faint. “How—how did you get from ‘I have no feelings for you’ to screaming sex?”

“Well, for a start because you told her to!” Emily glanced at Sky in exasperation. “You told her she should have sex with him to see if it was still as good as she remembered.”

“I didn’t mean for her to actually do it! It was the wine talking!”

“We’re never giving you wine again.” Emily looked at Brittany. “Where? When?”

“He gave me a ride home after my trip to the hospital.”

“That explains why you didn’t call me.”

“I did, but your phone kept going to voice mail.”

“You’re kidding.” Emily groaned. “Lisa called me to tell me what a great week she’d had at Summer Scoop.”

“So in fact this is all your fault.” Skylar closed the dishwasher. “Our friend was in trouble and you were talking about ice cream? You need to reevaluate your priorities.”

“I didn’t know that was going to be the exact moment she called. Why didn’t you leave a message?”

“Because I didn’t know how long you’d be and I didn’t know how to refuse his offer without looking as if I cared.”

“So he dropped you home and then what?”

“He followed me into the house.”

Sky blinked. “He forced you?”

Brittany glanced towards the door. “No! Look—we should get back out there—”

“So basically it was a wild-animal moment. No romance or emotional bullshit. No bunches of roses or singing cherubs. Just mind-blowing sex.” Sky grinned. “That’s not so hard to understand. The man is in crazy shape.”

Emily closed her eyes. “Sky—”

“What? I know you’re blind to every man but Ryan, but you should take a closer look. I don’t know which I prefer, his pecs or his abs. And the way he calms Cocoa does something indescribable to my insides. Did you see his hands? It’s all so quiet and understated. I love that. And I love a man who is kind to animals. Did he use a condom?”

“Skylar!” Emily glanced nervously towards the door.

Brittany felt heat rush into her cheeks. “Yes.”

“Wow. He carries one in his pocket just in case his rampant sex drive overwhelms him in the middle of Main Street. Good to know.”

Emily intervened. “He protected her. That’s all that matters. Now can we—”

“So he followed you into the house and the next thing you were ripping each other’s clothes off.” Sky gave a slow smile. “Mmm. That is so hot. Definitely time to fetch that ice cream, Em.”

Emily kept one eye on the door. “This is definitely not the time or the place for this conversation. I’m supposed to be sorting out dessert. If we don’t go back in there soon, Ryan will come looking for us.” She pulled open the freezer and dug out a tub of blueberry ice cream emblazoned with the Summer Scoop logo. “I hope everyone likes blueberry. Fetch some bowls, Sky.”

“In a minute. She still hasn’t answered the most important question—was it or wasn’t it?”

“What?”

“As good as you remembered.”

Brittany stared blindly out the window. “It was nothing like I remembered.”

“That’s to be expected.” Emily opened the tub of ice cream. “You were very young and you’re probably seeing the past through rose-tinted glasses.”

“I think she’s saying it was better,” Sky murmured. “Get her a bigger bowl, Em. She might need to push her whole heated self into the ice cream. And I guess Zach might want the option of licking it off.”

“Better still, I might just push you in there,” Emily muttered. “Cause of death, ice-cream inhalation.”

Sky was still looking at Brittany. “It’s all falling into place. The fact that you had wild sex with your ex explains the smoldering glances and the suppressed tension around the table.”

“I’m not smoldering. And there was no tension.”

“Honey, that look you gave him could have lit a candle without a match and I could have sliced the tension with the bread knife. But I’m starting to understand why you don’t want to help out at Camp Puffin. You’re right. It would be crazy to throw yourself in his path again given that you have no willpower. We’ll get you out of it.”

And that was the sensible thing, of course. The easiest way. So why did she feel a twinge of regret?

She always loved her summers at Camp Puffin. There were plenty of things she’d enjoyed that had nothing to do with Zach. Building camps in the forest, surrounded by the smell of pine. Kayaking in the bay beyond the camp, toasting marshmallows over a campfire and scaring each other to death with spooky stories as night fell. Starlight Adventure had been one of her favorite nights of the year, an overnight camp deep in the forest. And friendship. Talking late into the night with her friend Helen, Ryan’s other sister, and creeping into each other’s cabins after dark for feasting and fun.

The summer she’d worked as a counselor had been happy, too. So happy, that for a short time she’d toyed with the idea of training to be a teacher.

Helping out at the camp would have been the perfect way to occupy her time over the next few weeks. Even though she didn’t have the use of both hands, she would have been able to improvise and find ways of making herself useful.

Only one thing was stopping her from phoning Philip Law and volunteering her services.

Zach.

“We need to go or they’ll send out a search party.” Emily smoothed her hair and opened the kitchen door.

It was like a Shakespearean farce, Brittany thought.

“So what do you think?” Ryan took the ice cream from Emily. “Will you help Philip out for a few weeks, Brit?”

“Ryan, how can she with her wrist in plaster?” Armed with new information, Emily immediately leaped in to defend her. “Be practical.”

Sky nodded. “Em’s right. It’s out of the question.”

Brittany felt a rush of love for her friends. No matter what the situation, they always had her back.

There was a pause while they both waited for Brittany to confirm that there was no way she’d be doing it.

She looked down at the ice cream, slowly melting in her bowl. It was the way she felt when she was with Zach. One look and her insides melted into a puddle.

But that was her problem to deal with.

Why should she stay away from a place that had played an important part in her life, just because of something that had happened ten years ago?

And as for what had happened yesterday, well, that was just sex.

This time she wasn’t going to make the mistake of dressing it up with roses and hearts in her brain.

“I’ll do it,” she said firmly. “I’ll help out at camp.”

“But—” Skylar looked startled. “Brit, you can’t possibly do it with your wrist in plaster. Everyone understands that.”

“There will be plenty of things I can do. I want to do it. I’m going to do it. Unless Zach has a problem with that?”

Zach’s gaze locked on hers.

Brittany felt her heart start to pound.

He was wondering what she was doing. Probably thinking to himself that she was attaching meaning to what had happened. Perhaps even wondering if her decision to help out at camp was driven by a desire to get closer to him.

The thought of him reaching that conclusion made her squirm.

She wanted to tell him he had no reason to worry. She wanted to assure him she was no longer a naive, dreamy teenager. That she knew his feelings didn’t go deeper than sexual attraction.

She wanted to tell him all that but she couldn’t with their friends looking on, waiting for his response.

Finally he stirred, reaching for his spoon with the same economy of movement that characterized everything he did.

“No.” He spoke slowly and deliberately. “I don’t have a problem.”

BACK HOME, Zach stripped off his shirt and was about to do the same with his jeans when he heard a light tap on the cabin door.

People rarely knocked on his door. His cabin was far beyond the edge of the camp and off-limits. Although he helped out during the day with activities when it suited his schedule, he didn’t have direct responsibility for any of the children. He’d only ever had two people knock, and each time it had been an emergency and the person had been looking for Philip, so he crossed the room in three strides and dragged open the door, anticipating trouble.

Trouble faced him, but not in the shape he’d expected.

“Hi.” Brittany stood there, thumbs tucked into the pockets of her cargo pants, her shiny dark hair illuminated by the wash of light from the cabin. Her gaze slid from his face to his bare chest and then away. “I know it’s late, but do you have a minute? I thought we should talk.”

Talk?

He wondered what it said about him that talking was never the first thing that came to mind when he was face-to-face with her.

“I seem to remember I already suggested that and you didn’t have anything to say.”

Instead they’d found other ways to communicate. Ways that were now lodged in his head, disturbing his concentration and his sleep.

The corner of her mouth tilted into a faint smile. “I have things to say now, unless this is a bad time …” Her voice tailed off and her gaze slid from his bare chest to the snap of his jeans that wasn’t completely fastened and then to the cabin behind him. “You’re busy. You have company and I didn’t think—which was stupid of me—and it’s none of my business who you—sorry—” Flustered, she backed away and he took one look at her face and realized she thought he was with a woman.

He wondered what she’d say if she knew he’d never brought a woman back here.

He should have let her leave, but not doing the things he should have done had been a trademark of his life, so he pushed the door open a little wider, letting her see the interior of the cabin.

“I don’t have company.”

“Are you sure?”

“You think I don’t know when I have a woman in my bed?” His blunt response brought a flush to her cheeks.

“I—” She glanced from the cabin to his face. “In that case, can I come in?”

The cabin was small and rustic. It was big enough for one to live in comfortably. Two, if they didn’t mind an intimate atmosphere.

Given what had happened last time they’d been alone together, Zach decided not to take the risk.

“We can talk on the deck.” He snatched up his shirt from the back of the chair and saw her frown.

“Why the deck? It’s fine by me if you haven’t made the bed or something. I don’t care if the place is a mess.”

“It’s not a mess. I’m methodical. Comes from being a pilot. Routines keep me alive.”

“So why can’t we—oh, never mind.” Sparks danced between them like the crackle and pop of a bonfire.

“It isn’t that I don’t want to invite you in,” he lied. “I feel like fresh air, that’s all.”

Deciding that the more layers between them the better, he pulled his shirt on over his head, noticing that she kept her eyes fixed on the room behind him.

“I always loved this cabin. It’s romantic.” She spoke without thinking and then looked at him and gave an awkward laugh. “Except not right now, of course. We didn’t do romantic, did we?”

He didn’t want to think about what they’d done. And he definitely didn’t want to think about all the possibilities of the cabin. “What did you want to talk about?” As if he didn’t know.

As if it wasn’t obvious.

Restless, she paced to the edge of the deck. Occasionally when the sea was rough, the waves hurled spray over the broad planks and anyone standing on them, but tonight the sea rolled in quietly, licking the shore in slow, sleepy waves.

She leaned on the railing and stared down into the inky depths. Then she took a deep breath and turned to look at him.

“I want to forget what happened. And if the only way of forgetting is to talk about it first, then let’s talk.”

This was the Brittany he remembered. Frank, honest and straightforward in her approach to a problem. Lies didn’t suit her.

And they didn’t suit him. “You want to talk about what happened? I’ve always found you sexy as hell and you didn’t exactly seem in a hurry to stop me,” he said roughly. “That’s what happened.”

There was a gleam of wry humor in her eyes. “I meant what happened ten years ago, not what happened the other night. We don’t communicate well, do we?”

He couldn’t argue with that.

It was like a game of catch, and each of them kept missing the ball.

“You want to talk about what happened back then?” His mouth was dry. “Go ahead. Say what you want to say.” After what he’d done, he owed her that much.

“When Ryan asked me about helping at camp, my first instinct was to say no. I thought it would be awkward for both of us. And then I realized that saying no would mean missing out on something I love. Camp was part of my life. Some of my happiest memories come from the time I spent here. I’d like to help, and the only thing stopping me from doing that is you.” She pushed her hands into the pockets of her cargoes. “We’re both adults, Zach. It was a long time ago. I just want to forget it and move on.”

Braced for a litany of his own deficiencies, Zach stared at her. “That’s it?”

“Yes. It was a long time ago. Was I upset? Yes, I was. The worst part was that I thought we were friends and the fact that you’d just leave like that without talking to me—” she bit her lip “—well, that was the saddest thing of all. But I got over it. I want to work here. I want to spend some time at the camp, and I don’t want it to be awkward. Tonight, with our friends, it felt awkward. And I don’t want that. It makes it difficult for everyone.” She drew in a breath. “I think we should both forget it and start again. Can we do that?” She stood like a little warrior, her eyes fierce and her head tilted slightly to one side as she waited for his response.

“Are we forgetting our marriage or what happened the other night?”

“Definitely the first, and probably the second, too. That would be the sensible move. And this time round we’re going to be sensible. We don’t have youth as an excuse for doing crazy stuff anymore.”

Zach wondered what she’d say if he confessed she was the one woman he’d never forgotten.

Except for Brittany, his relationships had all looked the same.

The only thing the women he’d met had in common was that he’d disappointed each and every one.

He wondered how much she’d told her friends when they’d all vanished to the kitchen.

“Ryan invited me for a drink and to discuss the changes he was making to the house. I didn’t know dinner was included and I didn’t know he had a houseful of guests.”

“Not guests,” Brittany murmured, “just us.”

And that was the difference between them, he thought. She took the friendship for granted, and assumed she’d always be welcome. She’d grown up with these people, their lives interwoven like the fronds of seaweed on the seabed. The Forrest family was rooted on Puffin Island, as was Ryan’s family, the Coopers. They wandered in and out of each other’s houses, sharing conversation and hospitality. Friendship, so easy and natural to her, still seemed alien to him. He didn’t trust it not to explode in his face.

“Do your friends know you’re here now?”

“No.”

“I expect they warned you to stay away from me.”

Instead of denying it, she nodded. “Emily did, but she’s almost as cautious about relationships as you are. Sky had already told me to have sex with you, but I think she was a little surprised to discover how quickly I took her advice.”

He swore under his breath and raked his fingers through his hair. “You told them?”

“We talk about things.” She was up front and honest. “If I hadn’t told them, they would have guessed. They’re my closest friends. I trust them.”

And that was another difference between them.

What did he know about trust?

About as much as he knew about the sort of friendship she was describing.

He couldn’t imagine revealing such intimate details to another person. He’d never revealed anything, confessed anything or confided in anyone. He didn’t see the point of giving someone ammunition they could use against you when they managed to find plenty without help.

And never in a million years would he have discussed his sex life with anyone.

“I can’t believe you did that.”

She leaned on the railing and stared out at the sea, darkened to an oily black under a midnight sky. “When I was young I used to love this place almost as much as Castaway Cottage. Did you know Philip was offered a huge sum of money by a developer for the land? The same person who wanted to buy my place?”

“Yes.”

“Of course you do.” She traced her finger over the smooth wood of the railing. “You stayed in touch?”

“He was better at it than I was.”

She nodded in understanding. “Sometimes when you’re busy living your life, home seems very far away. How involved with the camp are you?”

He could have told her the exact extent of his involvement but that would have meant revealing information he made a point of not sharing.

“I help out when they need it.”

She gave a crooked smile. “You knew every path through the forest. You could name every tree and every berry.”

“I liked being outdoors. It made sense to me.”

“Philip tells me the sponsorship money has increased. That’s good. I still remember those kids who came from the city for the first time. They arrived here not knowing the difference between an oak and a pine and by the time they left they could build a camp in the forest and cook their own food.”

“I was one of those kids. It’s an important education. Connecting kids with the outdoors.” For him it had been more than that. It had been life changing and it had triggered his interest in nature and the wilder areas of the planet.

“Philip tells me the Marine Center is involved.”

“They run sessions on coastal ecology and the marine environment. He’s thinking of adding in archaeology.”

“Good plan.” She nodded. “I ran an archaeology club for local kids when I was in Cambridge. It was four times oversubscribed. Everyone wants to be Indiana Jones.”

“You should talk to him.”

“Which brings me back to my reason for being here. Do you mind if I spend time here over the next few weeks? I don’t want it to feel awkward.”

“It isn’t awkward.” It was other things, though. It was tense and arousing.

And it was dangerous.

Her gaze met his, direct and honest. “So we’re cool?”

Cool wasn’t the word Zach would use to describe the heat coursing through his body but he managed a nod.

“Yeah. We’re cool.”

And he knew that this time he was the one telling the lies.