“So why did you pick this place?” Riley asked him when she was shown to the table Trevor was sitting at. He was on the deck overlooking Mirror Lake. In the short time she’d lived in Lake Placid, it was already feeling like home to her. Exactly what she’d been hoping for all along.

“It’s casual and has good food. I figured since you’d changed your mind so fast once, you might do it again, so why not keep the pressure low.”

He said it with a grin, but she could see the seriousness behind his eyes. “I’m not wishy washy.”

“So you’ve said. You also said that you like to give things one hundred percent. Why don’t you tell me a little about that?”

She hesitated, pulled the seat out, and sat across from him, preparing to get comfortable and deciding how much she wanted to say. In the past, she never held back anything; lately it seemed like that was all she did. But if she wanted a glimmer of the person she was before to return, she had to relax and just try harder.

“You know Max is a plastic surgeon, right?”

“I do.”

“So is my father. Well known in New York City. Has a big practice. One that he had hoped Max would take over. Well, one that he’d hoped both his kids would take over.”

“Ah, so you’re afraid you’ve never measured up?”

She frowned. “No. I’m smarter. Smarter than Max, but don’t tell him I said that. If I’d wanted to be a plastic surgeon, I could have been. I could have stepped right into my father’s shoes in ten years, easily.”

“You don’t lack any confidence,” he said, before he picked up his beer.

The waitress came over. “Can I get you a drink before you order?”

“I’ll have what he’s having,” she said, noticing Trevor’s surprise. Good, throw him off. What, did he expect her to order a fancy wine? Maybe a glass of champagne? She liked a good beer now and again. “Are you ready to order?” she asked him.

“Sure am,” he said.

When the waitress walked away with her drink and their food orders, Riley said, “Back to your comment. No, I don’t lack confidence. Not when I know it’s warranted. I’ve worked hard my whole life. I wasn’t interested in anything other than dentistry. I’m not sure why. I’ve just always been fascinated by teeth. Maybe it’s because that’s the first thing I notice on a person. Their smile.”

“I wasn’t smiling when I met you,” he said. “And yet here we are having dinner together. Had to be more than that.”

“No, you weren’t. But you tried and when you did, it still came through.” He’d had a smile in his eyes that day, trying to override the pain.

“And that throbbing smile I tried to give you is what made you change your mind about having dinner with me?”

She could lie and say no, or she could be completely honest and add to it. Honesty won out. “You’ve got a nice smile. A normal one that isn’t overly perfected. Too much perfection is a sign of hiding something. What is that person trying to accomplish? Do they need to be perfect for more money? Do they need it to feel better about themselves? Both are acceptable reasons, but I don’t like trying to figure that out.”

“Maybe my teeth aren’t perfect because my parents wouldn’t spend the money on braces.”

She laughed. “There is that, too. But I’m thinking it’s more about the fact they knew how much you hated going to the dentist and figured you were confident enough to pull off teeth that weren’t perfection.”

“You’re good at reading people,” he said.

“I am. Comes from trying to prove to everyone that I’m not the ‘other Dr. Hamilton’ in the family.”

“So that hit a nerve,” he said, laughing at her.

She should be insulted he’d said that, but surprisingly she wasn’t. “It did. It still can, but not with you. Not as much as it used to. I’ve worked hard at proving myself to others, but found in the past several months that I really only need to prove it to myself and those that care about me.”

“So what happened in the past few months to make you realize that?” he asked.

“Maybe that’s a conversation for another time. Another date, if we make it past this one.”

“Sounds fair. So ask me a question. We can ping pong back and forth.”

“Why chief of police? Why not state police? You didn’t like the uniform, I bet.”

He was wearing jeans, along with a plain T-shirt that showed just how toned his arms and chest really were. She liked that about him. That his appearance was simple, but he seemed complex deep down. There was more to him than she would have guessed before. And she wanted to know as much as she could.

“Had to follow in my daddy’s footsteps. As for no uniform, lets say it’s the only thing I do the same as him.”

She nodded. She wanted to ask more, but decided not to. Might not be the time for that right now either. “Guess we have that in common too.”

“Not really. You didn’t follow in your father’s, and I did.”

“Care to share why?” She decided to ask after all, testing the waters. He seemed open enough and they had time on their hands.

“I like where I am. Some people want out of this small town, out of the Adirondacks and the woods. I did at one point too. They want the big city and action. Not me. Not anymore. Been there, done that. State police could send me anywhere, and anywhere isn’t where I want to be.”

Made sense. “From someone who came from the big city, I can tell you this lifestyle isn’t so bad.”

“You’ve figured that out in all of a month or so?”

“I’ve been heading this way all along. Max and I are both people in the slow lane. My parents knew that. I think they’re happy I stayed within the same state, even if it’s at the other end of where they are. And being by Max is a plus for everyone. Kind of keeps the family all together in a way.”

That had been the deciding factor for her. She’d wanted to be on her own. Wanted to get away, but knew that in her fragile state of mind and confusion she’d need some kind of support system. It was a good compromise without anyone knowing what was really going on.

“Family is important to you?” he asked.

“Absolutely. What about you?”

“I’ve known no other way.” He got a bit more comfortable in his chair. “Tell me why you were so stressed over the accident today. Was it really your vehicle or just the accident in general?”

“Probably some of both. It rattled me. I’m sure it does most people. You seem to read people well. What do you think?” She was curious to see where his head was at. If he could see more of what she was trying to hide.

He looked at her, held her stare, waited what seemed like ten seconds—but was probably no more than two—and said, “You’ve got complications hidden deep down, I can tell already. On the outside, you seem to have it all, but there’s something bubbling right under the surface. So my guess is, the accident rattled you like it would most people, but something else was triggered. Whether it was your vehicle or a memory, that is what stressed you, not the accident itself.”

Damn, he was good. Too good, and she was at a loss for words. “You might be right.”

It was all she was saying. Her Range Rover had a deep meaning to her in that it was her rebellion. Her first rebellious move of finding herself again. Of taking a stand. She wasn’t letting anyone tell her what she could and couldn’t buy or do. What suited her or what was ridiculous. She wanted it and she bought it. End of story.

That something might have happened to it or to have it taken away when she’d only had it a few months triggered her anxiety. It was just a vehicle, she knew, but she was in a good place in her mind and didn’t want it disrupted at the moment.

Then again, looking at Trevor sitting across from her made her realize that her life was going to be disrupted anyway. Except this time, it was a much-needed—and wanted—distraction.