“I said a few things about her, ah, career choice,” he explained, selectively choosing the words.

Tracy rolled her eyes and headed in Jennifer’s direction.

“What are you, a fucking idiot?”

“Acting,” Steve grunted.

“Dude, she’s a hell of an actress.” Bill shot a sideways glance in Steve’s direction.

Steve shrugged. He didn’t give a damn what Bill’s opinion of her skills were, he had his own thoughts on the subject. “She does have quite a temper.” Steve attempted to suppress his smile but didn’t succeed very well.

“Oh yeah,” Bill said, as the two of them watched the girls on the beach.

* * * *

“Jen, are you okay?” Tracy asked.

“That jerk had the nerve to laugh at me because I want to be an actress.” She glared at Tracy. “Nice! You said he was a nice guy. He’s an asshole!”

“Shush,” Tracy whispered looking over her shoulder.

“I don’t care if he hears me. You’re an asshole!” she yelled over her shoulder. She closed her eyes, calming herself.

“Sorry Jen, just forget it. Let’s go swimming.”

Jennifer gave a slight nod and peeled her shorts off, dropping them on top of her flip-flops. “I guess in his arrogant way he did pay me a compliment,” she said, wading into the water behind Tracy. “He said I have a pretty face and a decent body.”

Tracy laughed.

Steve took that as his cue and both he and Bill headed toward the water. Bill dove in and came up next to Tracy, wrapping his arms around her and whispering something in her ear. She smiled and nodded.

Jennifer sent a cross glance in Steve’s direction when he approached. Her fiery green eyes pierced his and he looked away.

“I’m sorry,” he said, scanning the lake.

“Look at me when you apologize,” Jennifer demanded.

Her sharp tone yanked his gaze back to her. “I, ah, I said I was sorry.”

“Fine.” She dove under the water.

Lines of aggravation etched into his handsome features and he stared at the smooth surface of the water where she disappeared.

Tracy and Bill retreated, leaving Jennifer and Steve alone.

Steve pressed his lips together in a thin line, watching Tracy and Bill disappear into the woods. When he was sure they were out of hearing range, he turned toward Jennifer and started to clap, his scowl turning into a genuine smile. “Good performance, Jen.”

Jennifer stifled a laugh under her hand. “God, Steve, they’re going to kill us when they find out.”

“I had to call you when Bill told me who he wanted to set me up with.”

“I’m so glad you did,” Jennifer said. “I didn’t even know you were coming to Brooksfield. I thought you already graduated.”

“Well, we kind of lost touch there for a while,” he said, his intense gaze captivating her.

“Yeah, sorry about that.”

“I’m sorry about what happened to Tom.”

She nodded and dunked under the water. When she surfaced, she pressed her lips together and crossed her arms, sending a sideways glare his way.

Steve smiled with his back to the woods, assuming Tracy and Bill had reappeared. It amazed him how she could change her demeanor in a split second. He needed a little more time to get back into character, so he swam to the raft and hoisted himself up on the surface.

* * * *

“Would you mind going home with Steve?” Tracy eyed him on the raft. “We want to go to that new place down the road…unless you want to come dancing with us?”

“I’ll pass on dancing.”

“Then would you mind catching a ride back to the apartment with him?” She waved her hand toward the raft.

Jennifer glanced over her shoulder. He was lying on the raft on his back looking up at the sky. She tightened the muscles in her jaw, letting a beat of silence descend before she turned her head back in Tracy’s direction. Instead of meeting her pleading stare, she opted to focus on her hand making slow trails in the water.

“Please?”

Jennifer sighed and raised her eyes to Tracy. “Fine, but you owe me.”

“I promise I’ll make it up to you.” Tracy dragged herself from the water and joined Bill on the beach. She waved just before she ducked into the passenger seat of the car.

Jennifer waited until Tracy’s car pulled away and then swam to the raft.

Steve rolled on his side, propping his head up on his hand.

“Why criminal law if you don’t want to be a lawyer?” she said, climbing the old iron ladder and folding herself Indian-style in the small space between Steve and the outer edge of the raft.

He shrugged, the setting sun reflected in his eyes and his lips curved into a smile.

“Stop grinning at me like that and answer my question.”

“Law enforcement.”

“That’s more believable than you being a lawyer.”

He pushed her off the raft.

“You bastard,” she said, breaking the surface. She skimmed her palm on the water, sending a wave over the raft, splashing him.

Steve grinned and stood. He arched over her in a perfect dive, spearing into the water a few feet beyond her, his entrance clean enough to produce almost no splash.

Seconds later, a tug on her ankle closed the water over her head, cutting off her sudden yelp.

Steve wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her against him and surfacing. His laughter rang out over the lake, creating a musical echo filling her ringing ears. He grabbed the side of the raft to stabilize them in the water and met her irate gaze.

The flash in his bright blue eyes made her heart skip a beat and his close proximity lit a fire in her that had been dormant for the past two years, silencing whatever scalding comments she intended when they surfaced. The urge to close the distance and taste his mouth took hold and Jennifer licked her lips.

“I’m hungry,” he said releasing her and starting toward the shore.

The moment he pulled away, disappointment flooded her, weighing her down, and for a second she thought she’d be dragged under the surface again. She reached out, clinging to the side of the raft and watched him slice through the water, his strokes powerful and full of grace. Sighing, she followed the path he cut before her.

He walked up on the sand and shook his head, sending spray in every direction, glancing back at her with a playful smile.

Staring at his gorgeous profile, Jennifer felt the breath leave her lungs in a silent rush. The sunset played off the droplets on his body, his muscles glistening as he turned toward her. The intensity of his stare made her knees weak and she almost stumbled onto the sand.

* * * *

His smile faltered. Watching the water slip off her body stirred a long latent heat within him and his gaze lingered on her ample curves above and below her tiny waistline before taking in her shapely legs, the whole ensemble enough to make any man drool. “Ten years,” he whispered stepping closer. “God you grew up to be a beauty.” Gently, he wiped the wet hair away from her cheeks, his fingertips throbbing with the sensation of her skin. Steve squashed the urge to take her face in his hands and kiss her beautiful lips.

This can’t happen.

He retreated and looked out over the water, trying to put some distance between him and Jennifer’s powerful magnetic pull.

* * * *

Jennifer stood still. Her cheek still burned where his fingers had touched, and her hand rose, swiping the same warm path. Blowing a slow stream of air, she reached down and grabbed her shorts and flip-flops, slipping them on. His profile remained distant and unattainable, and she slowed her approach, wondering what exactly was going through his ruggedly handsome mind. The muscles in his arms flexed and he glanced in her direction, but his eyes never left the sand near her feet.

“Are you okay?” she asked cautiously stepping closer.

He swung his baby blues in her direction. “Yeah, I’m fine. Where do you want to go?”

“I don’t think we’re exactly dressed for a sit down meal,” Jennifer said, spreading her arms.