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He pulled me into him. “I’m gonna explain, and I want you to listen to me. All the way to the end, okay?”

I nodded. Right now, I’d do anything he asked.

Brody smiled and closed his hand around mine. “First, we walk.”

Brody led me down the gentle hill that ran to the lake. The only sound was our footsteps on the path, but after a time, he spoke. “How was your mom?”

I smiled. “She was fine. A little salty. It’s been a few days since my last visit. She likes to gossip more regularly than my derby training schedule allows.”

Brody chuckled, and the sound made my toes curl. I cleared my throat. “How did you know where to find me?”

“Eve.”

I rolled my eyes. Of course. I’d asked her not to tell anyone where I was hiding out, not even Coop. I’d wanted time to myself, and lately, all my brother had were questions about what I was doing and whether I was doing it with Brody. “Where are we going?”

Brody squeezed my hand. “You’ll see.”

As we reached the bottom of the hill, the lake water sparkled through the trees like jewels. I’d forgotten how pretty it was down here. Tuft Swallow’s answer to Lake Como. Maybe GeorgeClooney would buy a holiday house here, too. Take up cornhole or bird watching.

At the bottom of the hill, we stepped onto the grass that led to the jetty. “What are we doing down here?”

Brody grinned. “Do you remember when we used to come to the lake? To fish?”

“Party, more like! And I distinctly remember not being invited on those occasions.”

Again, he squeezed my hand. “We didn’t want to lead you astray.”

“Butyoudid,” I whispered.

His head swung to me, and at the fire that flashed in his eyes, I bit my lower lip.

We walked past the boathouse and down along the creaky wooden jetty that stuck out into the lake. Someone had tied a couple of old rowboats to the pylons, and they knocked against each other in the soft breeze.

When we reached the end of the pier, Brody pulled off his jacket and laid it flat on the planks. “Take a seat.”

I searched his face. Was he serious? Didn’t he know the gauntlet I’d run if I sat anywhere near water at sunset? I’d attract every mosquito for miles around. Still, as he stood there, hands on his hips and ripples of light from the water dappling his jaw, I couldn’t think of anything I’d rather do. Besides, Gran had a well-stocked medicine cabinet. What were a few welts between lovers?

Oh, how I hoped we’d be lovers. Even just once. I’d take any opportunity to quell the yearning to have him inside me.

As I settled on Brody’s jacket, I pulled in the smell of pine and freshwater. “So. What now?”

“Now, we talk.” He stared out over the water for a long beat before settling in next to me, the old wood creaking a little under his weight. “Let’s take our shoes off. Dip our toes.”

Brody reached down to pull off his sneakers. He sucked in a long breath before letting it out slowly.

“Are you okay?” I pulled off my own sneakers and lay them next to me on the pier as the cool water licked at my toes. “I’m so sorry about your team…”

Brody lay a hand on my arm. “Please, just listen. I need to get out what I have to say in one go. I’ve waited a long time to let you know how I feel about you. About us.”

I tipped my head to one side. What did he mean for a long time? He’d only been back in town a few weeks.

He pulled at a frayed strand of cotton on his jeans. “Ever since I can remember, my life revolved around hockey. Around what I wanted. The pursuit of my dreams. It’s all I’ve known. And now, everything’s over.” His bottom lip trembled as he spoke. “When a presence, a focus you’ve always had in your life, vanishes, it leaves you reeling.”

“I understand.” It wasn’t the same, but when Mom passed, the anchor in my world disappeared.

A choir of frogs took up singing in the rushes beneath us, and a muscle ticked in Brody’s jaw. He kept his eyes firmly on the horizon. “When I came back here, I wasn’t sure what would happen. If I would keep or lose my contract. How I’d feel. And I tried to be the same old Brody Flockhart everyone expected. The joker. Unshakeable. But inside,” he shook his head, “I was terrified.” He turned toward me. “And thenyouhappened. Again. Only this time, it was different. I’m different. These last few weeks with you, I’ve realized what’s important. What truly makes me happy isn’t winning or being the best. It’s home, family and friends. And being near somebody who makes my heart so happy, I think it might burst.”

My breath skittered, and I swallowed away a peach-sized lump in my throat as his hand moved closer to mine.