He saw her coming half a block away. It was her stride. Purposeful, yet unaware. Nicole looked all around her as she walked, taking in everything from the traffic on the street to the bread in the bakery’s window to the birds in the trees.

Aidan folded his arms across his chest and leaned against the SUV, waiting for her with all the patience in the world. He could watch her till the end of time and never get bored.

Right before she got to the pier’s parking lot, Nicole noticed him. A faint smile danced on her lips as she walked his way. She was dressed in shorts and a T-shirt, with a baseball cap on and a tote bag slung over her shoulder. It was the opposite style from the night before, but she looked just as beautiful.

“Hi,” he called across the parking lot.

She waved. “Hello.”

Nicole stopped in front of the SUV and Aidan straightened up. He wanted to wrap his arms around her and pull her in close but wasn’t sure how she’d react to that. They’d only kissed for the first time the night before and there were a few other people in the parking lot.

“What are we doing here?” she asked, switching her bag to the other shoulder.

“You like boat rides?”

“Um—yes?”

He laughed. “Don’t worry. There are life vests.”

Twenty minutes later, Aidan was maneuvering the Jon boat away from the pier and along the edge of the sound. The boat wasn’t much, but it was what he had experience driving. Nicole, for her part, seemed to be enjoying herself.

“This is so relaxing,” she said, looking out over the water. “I didn’t think this is what we’d be doing.”

“I can still rent us a fancy yacht for the day. There can even be a butler on it, if you want.”

Nicole made a face. “Yuck. No, thanks.”

Aidan chuckled. He’d only been half-kidding. Really, he’d rent any kind of boat Nicole wanted. One thing he liked about her, though, was that she didn’t seem to be fascinated by luxury. She was happy right there, sitting in a little flat-bottomed boat, cruising peacefully along the shore.

“How’s Lauren?” he asked.

“She’s good. She’s pretty thrilled that I’m out here with you.”

“Oh, yeah?”

Nicole stretched her legs out, getting more comfortable. “Yeah, she’s afraid I’m going to die alone.”

“No way. Not you.”

Nicole cocked her head. With her baseball cap pushed so low, her eyes were hidden. “You’re sure about that? Even after everything I told you?”

Aidan swallowed hard, not knowing how to answer. If he was going to be honest, he’d tell Nicole that he was completely certain something permanent was starting between them. He’d stayed up half the night thinking about her. Everything about their first date had been so smooth, so perfect. He could easily imagine spending each and every day for the rest of his life with her, and he’d never had those kinds of thoughts before.

“I have absolutely no doubt about it,” he finally said before turning from Nicole and looking past the boat’s stern. He’d stopped the engine a while ago and they floated just past the edge of town. From where they sat, the rows of colorful beach houses and the brick downtown area looked so picturesque.

“I hope people never find out about this place.” He inhaled deeply.

“More people, you mean.”

Aidan looked back at her. “Right. Is that selfish?”

“The wildlife around here is already suffering from the human population, so no.”

He nodded.

“Do I annoy you, talking so much about how important animals are?”

“No,” he answered immediately. “It’s refreshing.”

The boat rocked gently, the waves lapping against its hull.

“I heard from my dad last night.” Nicole looked down. “First time in a few months.”

“Really?”

“He’s in Miami for the next two months. He has a house there. He wants to see me, but I—I don’t know.”

Aidan’s heart squeezed tight. “Did something happen recently?”

Nicole scoffed. “Nothing new, if that’s what you mean.”

Leaving the engine, he went and sat on the bench next to her. She looked up, her eyes intense beneath the hat’s brim.

“He never apologized for what he did—for destroying our family. He just—” Her voice grew thick. “He left and acted like everything was fine. No harm done. Not in his head, anyway.”

Aidan sighed and reached out to take her hand. It seemed forever till she responded. When she finally pushed her fingers through his, he breathed in deep and clean. “I’m sorry,” he said.

She shrugged. “It is what it is. He has a whole new life now. A girlfriend. These houses I’ve never even been to. What’s up with your dad?”

She flipped the subject so quickly, Aidan had to take a moment to catch up.

“Uh, not much,” he answered. “I haven’t heard from him. Not since he stormed out after I told him I was staying here and that—”

“What?”

“That I didn’t want to do this reality show he’s pushing on me.”

Nicole stiffened. “Reality show?” There were likely very few people on Earth who were triggered by the term ‘reality show,’ but Nicole was definitely one of them.

“Yeah, he wants me to do this show where a camera crew follows me around. That’s all I know about it.” Aidan shook his head and held onto her hand a little tighter, hoping the news wouldn’t make her withdraw. “I told him no for the second time, and he walked out and went back to L.A.”

Nicole’s shoulders hunched. “I guess it makes sense. He is your manager.”

“Yeah, but I don’t want to do that,” he reiterated.

“What do you want to do?”

The boat swayed and a sea gull cried out somewhere nearby. Over the last year, the future had been so fuzzy. Finally, it felt like things were beginning to take shape. Aidan could see the outline of his future—nothing extremely specific, but enough to give him some relief.

“I think I want to live in a town like this,” he said. “Somewhere small. Away from everything else.”

Nicole tilted her head and peered at him from under the ball cap. “That sounds nice.”

“Is there any chance the NGO will give you a permanent job?”

“Here?” Nicole looked back at the shore, like the answer sat over there. “I don’t know. I don’t think so, but that would be amazing.”

“You said you don’t want to move back to New York, right?”

“My mom wants me to,” she mumbled.

Aidan stroked the top of her hand. “You have to do what’s right for yourself. I know it’s hard. Trust me, I know...”

“Your dad?” she prompted.

Aidan swallowed the lump in his throat. “My whole life, it was about pleasing him.” He snorted. “I didn’t even figure that out until recently. All these years, I thought I was living my own life, but maybe I wasn’t.”

“Hey.” Nicole scooted closer on the bench, her thigh pushing against his. “Don’t beat yourself up. You loved tennis, right?”

“Yeah.”

“So you’ve at least been living some version of your own life.” She paused. “Does that make sense?”

“It does.” Aidan laughed and wrapped one arm around Nicole’s shoulders. She leaned right in, fitting perfectly into the crook of his arm.

“You make me feel better,” Aidan said.

Nicole smiled gently, relaxing further into his chest. “Same here.”

“Do you know what’s going to happen with your dad? Are you going to go see him?”

“No,” she answered tartly, tensing against him. “Do you think that’s bad?”

Aidan took some time before answering. “It’s up to you. I can only give you advice.”

“And what’s your advice?”

“That relationships with parents are hard, but they’re important.”

Nicole’s laugh rang out across the open water. “That’s not advice. That’s a fact of life.”

“Picky.” He tickled her side a bit and she squirmed but didn’t move away. “Fine. Here’s some advice. Forgive him.”

“I—” Nicole didn’t go on. Her head dipped forward and she stared at her feet.

“Whatever you do after that is up to you. Never talk to him again, if that’s what you want, but at least forgive him. You have to set yourself free from the anger.”

“Is that what you’ve done with your dad?”

Aidan bit into his lip. “I’m working on it.”

“It takes a lot of effort, doesn’t it?”

“Yeah, but I think it’s worth it. The only other alternative is to keep living in pain—keep putting others through pain. And who wants that?”

“Not me.”

Aidan ran his palm up and down Nicole’s arm. “Ditto.”

She turned on the bench to look straight at him. “I’ve tried to forgive him. I’ve tried for years. I know I need to forgive him, but I—” She closed her eyes.

“How about this?” Aidan suggested. “Forgive for yourself first. Do it so that you have less of a burden to carry around. And if that feels good, take the next step and do it for your dad.”

Nicole opened her eyes, and even from under the baseball cap Aidan could see the tears shining there.

“You’re too good to be true,” she said.

Tenderness whizzed through Aidan and he cupped Nicole’s face. “How did you know that’s exactly what I’ve been thinking about you?”