On Sunday morning, Paige decided there was no way she could deal with Luke without swimming first. The date with Walt Jr. had been tepid at best, and her mom's constant harassment had made her dreams far too interesting.

She had to be better in control of herself by the time Luke got there. "Come on, Bandit!" Paige took a running leap off the wooden float, sailing through the air and landing with a splash. Bandit landed just behind her, his toenails scraping down her back. "Eeeiii!"

She arched her back against the pain, yowling in protest. As if she didn't have enough scars from his toenails already. "We are so trimming those today."

Bandit had some issues when it came to toenail trimming, like howling, squirming, and basically falling apart when she tried to trim them, but clearly, they'd reached the limit of acceptability. "I promise to distract you with peanut butter, okay? It'll be a breeze."

He paddled past her, swimming toward shore, clearly not impressed with the offer.

She sighed, grimacing as the water stung her cut. Ah, well, she would just add them to her other scars from swimming with dogs. She flipped over on her back and swam toward the dock, squinting against the morning sun. A quick glance at her watch told her that Luke would arrive in a half-hour, so she needed to drag herself out of the water, much as she didn't want to.

If she hadn't had to get up early and revise the contract, she wouldn't have gotten such a late start on her swim. She'd felt the pressure to write it well, knowing that experienced eyes would read it. That need to impress had irritated her, taking the pleasure out of her work. Already he was drawing her back into her law-induced misery. She had to resist the urge to be sucked back in. It didn't matter what he thought of the contract.

Bandit was paddling beside her, loving his water excursion. Ever since she'd put the step on the float so he could get on it, he'd been partaking in her morning swims. It was so much nicer than swimming alone.

Bandit barked suddenly, startling her. Paige gasped, sucking a mouthful of water into her lungs. She flipped over so she could hold herself upright while she choked.

"Morning."

Her stomach flipped, and she looked up, still coughing. The sun was bright, blinding her so all she could see was the silhouette of a person. But she knew who it was. "You're early."

She closed the distance to her dock, where Luke was standing. Muffin was beside him, straining on his leash to go visit Bandit, who was already climbing out of the water, eager to visit their guests.

"Yeah. I was ready, so I came over."

Paige grabbed the wooden ladder and looked up. His broad shoulders were now blocking the sun, so she could see him clearly. He was wearing khaki shorts and a t-shirt, with the same hiking boots he'd been wearing at the restaurant. He was more appropriately dressed to go on a hike than work in a law firm. It was a good look for him.

"Want a hand up?"

She started to reach for his hand, then remembered her skimpy bikini. She shook her head and sunk back down in the water. The man had a way of catching her in the most revealing of attire. "Um, no."

"You ready to train? I have to get through this and get to the office. I have work to do."

Paige pushed away from the dock and treaded water. The man was treating her like his precious underling again. He had work to do, so it was perfectly acceptable to show up a half-hour early and expect her to drop everything for him. That attitude was why she had to stop having the fantasies about him.

She lifted her chin defiantly. "Actually, no, I'm not. I have about fifteen more minutes of my swim. I'll change and be ready for you at ten, like we agreed. You're welcome to go up to my cottage and look over the contract while you wait. It's on my kitchen table." Paige grinned at the surprised look on his face. "Or you can go do errands and come back in a half hour."

She rolled onto her stomach and swam away, heading out toward the float. After a few minutes, she heard a splash. Good ol' Bandit. He had chosen to swim with her instead of hanging with Luke and Muffin.

Then a hand closed around her ankle. Paige shrieked and kicked, her foot slamming into something solid. Her heart racing, she whirled around, only to see Luke treading water, his face contorted in pain.

"Next time don't aim so low," he grunted.

Paige grimaced, realizing where she'd probably kicked him. "Sorry. You startled me."

Luke dragged himself the short distance to the float, discomfort still etched on his face. "You didn't hear me dive in?"

She swam after him. "I thought the splash was Bandit. You scared me when you grabbed my ankle. I'm really sorry."

He hauled himself up the ladder, his arms bulging with muscles that threatened to pop through his taut skin. His calves were chiseled, and his wet shorts clung to a butt that was solid muscle.

She had her answer. He was not a fluffy, out-of-shape lawyer who worked twenty hours a day. Somewhere in his schedule, he had made time to take care of his body. He was a hard, sculpted male, who was far hotter than she'd had any idea when she'd seen him in his suit.

Hello. This view was doing nothing to quell her ridiculous attraction to him. She grabbed the ladder and pulled herself partway onto the float, making sure the interesting parts of her body were out of his sight. Luke was sitting down, looking unhappy. "You okay?"

He winced. "Yeah," he grunted. "Great."

She grimaced at the tension in his voice. "It really hurts, huh?"

Luke raised his eyebrow. "Of course it does."

"Will it ache for a few days, or does it wear off in a few minutes?"

At his curious look, Paige blushed and sank back in the water. "I didn't have brothers. I always wondered exactly how bad it was."

Luke grinned. "It's okay. It's sort of refreshing to be around a woman who isn't too uptight to discuss these kinds of things." He looked startled by his confession, and plowed forward to answer her question. "This time it'll be fine in a few minutes. When I was a teenager, I was kicked by a horse. I couldn't walk for a week, literally."

Paige returned to the ladder and pulled herself up far enough that she could lean on the float. "Really? Did they swell?"

She saw his eyes dart toward her chest, then he looked across the lake, shifting his position so his legs blocked her view of the front of his shorts. Was he reacting to her? She looked down, realizing that her breasts were now visible over the top of the float. Did he think she was hot?

No, it was probably just those dumb fantasies of hers acting up again.

Luke cleared his throat, still not looking at her. "Yeah. Swollen, purple. My dad thought I wasn't going to be able to...well...have sex, but there was no way I was going to the doctor to be checked out. Way too embarrassing for a teenage boy. My mom was worried that she wasn't going to get any grandchildren out of me."

"Can you?" Paige leaned a little further out of the water, entranced by the story.

"Can I what?" Luke kept his gaze on the lake.

"You know...have kids...and..."

Luke laughed, finally looking at her again. "Everything is in working order."

"Well, that's good." At his raised brow, Paige cursed under her breath. "Not that I have any personal interest in whether everything works properly."

"Uh huh." His voice was slightly strangled, sounding kind of like she felt.

"So, do you want to have kids?" Paige grimaced at the question that had popped out. Why would she care about his family aspirations? Maybe he would interpret it as just making polite conversation. Which she was. Right? It had nothing to do with the fact that she'd spent seven years with Howard before he'd told her that he wasn't interested in having kids, because they would take too much time from his work.

Luke was quiet, watching the dogs play by the water's edge.

Apparently, he wasn't going to answer the question. She'd probably pried too far, given their business relationship. It wasn't as if they were friends.

Her arms were getting tired from hanging on the ladder, but Luke didn't look like he was moving. Reluctantly, she climbed out of the water and stretched out next to him on the wooden float. It was too close for her comfort, but there was nowhere else for her to go. She was the reason the guy was sidelined, so it was the least she could do to keep him company until he could swim back to shore.

Each drop of water that fell from her body seemed to echo as it hit the planks. She felt so naked, next to him. Was he as aware of her as she was of him? When he groaned and rolled onto his stomach, she thought maybe he was.

"I'm not sure if I want kids," he said.

Paige felt a surge of disappointment, before she remembered that it didn't matter what he wanted. It wasn't as if she were going to marry him. "Why not?"

Luke rested his chin on his hands. "I don't have time in my life for a family. My parents spent a lot of time with me and my sister, and I can't make the same sacrifices."

She sighed at the story she'd heard before. At the one her dad had lived by. "It's not a sacrifice to spend time with family. It's what life is about."

"Not for me. My life is about my career. I wouldn't want to have a family and neglect it. I don't have time for a dog now, let alone a family. It just won't work."

Paige heard the hitch in his voice, and wondered if there was more to his answer than he was willing to share. "If you had more time in the day, would you want a family then? Is it just time that's the problem?"

"If I had more time in the day, I'd just work more."

"But does that make you happy?"

"Happier than living in a tiny town like this and spending my days engaged in manual labor."

She turned to look at him, detecting an undercurrent of both disgust and yearning in his voice. "What about a small town where you could practice law? Then you could have both." If she weren't so burned out on law, that would be a perfect life for her.

Luke didn't look at her, but a muscle ticked in his cheek. "I like my life."

"But would you like being a small town lawyer better? One who only had to work forty hours a week and could spend mornings swimming like this? Wouldn't that be even better?"

"No." His voice was so tight that it sounded like his vocal cords were going to snap.

Paige sighed and dropped her head to her arms. It was the typical lawyer work ethic. When he was eighty and alone in his fancy house, he'd realize the mistake he'd made. She was glad she'd realized it early enough in life. Not that she had a family to devote her time to, but at least she had a dog. Bandit was the male who would love her and devote his life to her. She didn't need anyone else, even if her mom was convinced otherwise. And if she did, well, Walt Jr. might just be the man for her. He said he'd call when he got back to Boston, and she knew he would. He was that kind of man.

"What happened to you?" Luke asked suddenly.

She opened her eyes to find him staring at her back. A warmth spread over her at the look of tender concern on his face...followed by a sudden brush of fear that he'd somehow found out about her nervous breakdown. "What?"

"Your back. Did you dive on a rusty nail or something?"

"Oh, that." She closed her eyes again. "That's from Bandit. He scratched me when we were swimming."

"You need to put something on there."

"My mom'll do it next time I go over there. I can't reach it."

"I'll put something on it. That'll get infected."

"No! That's okay. I'm fine." The thought of Luke caressing her back as he put lotion on her cuts made her stomach clench up in knots. She decided it was time to end their intimate discussion. "I'm ready to go train Muffin."

She rolled off the float, dropping into the water before Luke could stop her. She had swum a few yards when she heard a splash. Luke appeared beside her, swimming on his side, so he was facing her. Unable to indulge in casual conversation while she could still picture his hands on her body, she said, "Race you."

Not waiting for his response, she kicked into high gear, her body cutting through the water. After months of swimming daily, she was pretty fit. She could feel the water swirling as Luke began splashing beside her, but she didn't dare lose time by looking up.

Her lungs bursting, Paige pushed herself to the dock, battling against the waves from Luke. When her hand touched the wooden ladder, she lifted her head, turning to look behind her. He wasn't there. He was already standing in the water, his chest barely moving.

He grinned at the disgruntled look on her face. "I played water polo in college."

"Dumb sport." She wanted to say more, but she was breathing too hard to talk.

Luke just laughed as he pulled himself up on the dock, not bothering with the ladder. His triceps flexed as he lifted himself out. "You'd beat me at dog training any day, though."

"Yeah, yeah."

Luke extended a hand toward her to pull her out, and she grabbed it without thinking. Despite their wet, slippery skin, Luke's grip was firm. He lifted her out of the water with ease, her thigh sliding against his on her way up. When her feet landed on the dock, she jumped away, her leg burning from his touch.

"I'll go change." She had to get some clothes on before she attacked him.

Luke picked a towel off the dock and draped it over her shoulders. "I think this is yours."

She peeled it off and handed it to him. "You can use it. I'll grab another one upstairs."

He wrapped it around her again. "No, I would rather have you use it. Please, use it."

The heat in his gaze made Paige shiver. "I'll keep the towel."

She led the way up to the cottage, no sound but their bare feet padding on the pine needles. Hugging the towel around her, she tried not to think of his heated expression when he'd wrapped the towel around her. She had a suspicion that if she were to suddenly decide that she didn't care he was arrogant and domineering, he'd be happy to play a little no-strings-attached footsie.

Not that she would, of course. And she had to keep reminding herself of that.

Once inside her cottage, Paige grabbed a beach towel out of the dryer and handed it to him. "So you stop dripping on my floor." In reality, it was so she wouldn't be able to keep staring at his wet, hard body that was becoming more and more difficult to resist.

He slung the towel around his neck, the water droplets glistening in the dark curls on his chest. "What do you have for your back?"

"My back?"

"The cut from Bandit. It's pretty bad."

"Oh, right." As if she could feel pain with him dripping in her kitchen. She tugged open her sundry drawer, hoping to find some antiseptic cream in the kitchen. Leading him through her bedroom to her bathroom would not be a good idea. She held up a small tube. "Found some."

Luke walked over to her and slipped it out of her hand. "Turn around."

Paige crossed her arms over her chest and turned her back toward him, then dropped the towel.