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definitely take it as a compliment.”
    “ If you say so,” she said softly.
    “Well, I was going to say nice ass , but I wasn’t sure you’d appreciate that, even if it is true.”
    She suppressed a smile, and I was pretty damn sure that she wouldn’t have been offended. “Now you have to tell me one you really wanted to do instead of all the safe, easy ones that you actually used.”
    Her eyes widened . “I didn’t want to make them too hard. I wanted you to….”
    She completely shut down . It was like she’d caught herself off-guard, and all of a sudden, she remembered who she was and what she was doing. I didn’t know her well enough to know why she had lost her nerve, but it was blatantly obvious.
    “You wanted me to what?” I asked, hoping to get her to talk.
    Her eyes studied her hands, folded primly in her lap, but she didn’t answer.
    “You wanted me to…win?” I asked.
    Her eyes flew to mine, and her lips parted in surprise. I got all the answer I needed.
    Thunder boomed in the distance, snapping her out of her stupor. Rain drummed rhythmically against the cabin.
    “It sounds like it’s gonna rain all day,” she said, taking a sudden interest in the weather.
    I’d won the game, and my prize was a kiss . But I wasn’t ready to collect just yet.
    “ Yeah,” I agreed, turning to look out the wall of windows as the angry drops splattered into the lake like tiny bombs. The trees bent and swayed with the direction of the wind. “I love storms,” I said as I watched the scenery.
    Thunder boomed again, and she jumped, a tiny screech slipping from her lips . She laughed. “I do, too.”
     
    ***
     
    Sometime during the night, the rain had stopped. I slept later than I had the previous morning, hoping that most of the rainwater would drain off before I started jogging. As I dressed, I admired the view through my bedroom windows. The sun cleared the tree line, and the water reflected its rays like a liquid mirror.
    As I entered the living room, the glorious smell of coffee hit me . I found Ava sitting at the kitchen table with a mug cupped between her palms.
    “Good morning,” I greeted.
    She looked up, a bright smile on her face. “Morning. You want some coffee?”
    “I’d love some.”
    She started to rise. I held my hand out toward her. “Don’t get up. I got it.”
    I grabbed a cup of coffee and sat across the table from her.
    “I take it you’re going running,” she said.
    I nodded. “I am. You wanna join me?”
    “No, thanks. I’m just gonna hang out and relax.”
    “Relax or devise more ways to knock off old boyfriends?”
    An impish grin lightened her face . “I don’t have it in me to hurt anybody, but there’s nothing wrong with a little fantasizing here and there.”
    I sipped my coffee . “So in your fantasies, are you doing spinning karate kicks to the face? A swift kick to the groin?”
    “ I was thinking more like bamboo shoots under the fingernails. Maybe a little Chinese water torture.” She frowned, and I could see the unhappiness momentarily reflected on her face.
    “If you really want to torture him, you should lock him up in the sam e room with our little sisters.” I stood and rinsed out my coffee cup before putting it in the dishwasher. “Being in the same room with Kelsey for any length of time would certainly drive me insane.”
    “Why’s that?” she asked, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.
    “We’re polar opposites. I like things calm and organized. She’s like a freakin’ hurricane.”
    “And you let her borrow your car?”
    I turned to look at her, icy fear filling my veins as I wondered whether my car was still in one piece. I lamented not have a phone signal. “Yeah, sucks for me.”
    “Maybe your run will let you vent a little stress.”
    “Hopefully. And speaking of, I guess I’d better get going.”
    She stood, too, and put her cup in the dishwasher . “How long will you be gone?”
    “Probably a couple of hours. ” I