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school rowing teams?” Sofie asked, hoisted on Walsh’s shoulder like a trophy.
    Kerris laughed like everyone else, not begrudging them their fair and square victory, but a knot of briars rolled around in her stomach at the sight of Sofie and Walsh together. They both looked so perfect. And she had no right to this feeling, whatever they were to each other.
    “Disgusting, huh?” Jo settled on the ground beside Kerris.
    “What’s disgusting?” Kerris looked away from their good-natured gloating, meeting Jo’s eyes.
    “Them.” Jo smiled and pointed her chin toward Sofie and Walsh. “I mean, it’s not enough that they both look genetically engineered. They have to have the money, education, and athleticism to back it all up. What line were they standing in to get all that, huh?”
    Kerris looked at the couple again. She’d noticed the way Sofie looked at Walsh, as if at any moment the sun would set on him.
    “Have they known each other long?”
    “Only since birth.” Jo skipped a pebble across the river’s surface. “If arranged marriages still happened, you’d be looking at one. Not formally, of course, but everyone knows that’s where Walsh’ll end up.”
    Kerris watched Sofie and Walsh splash water on each other at the edge of the river.
    “Sofie’s father is Uncle Martin’s right-hand man. They’ve always been in the same schools. Hung in the same circles. And she’s always loved him.”
    “And how does he feel?” Kerris wished she could retract the nosy question.
    “Walsh may date other girls, sleep with other girls even, but everyone knows the deal. He may play the field, but Sofie’s home base. That’s where he’ll settle down.”
    Kerris felt more than saw the speculative glance Jo flitted between her and the couple.
    “A guy like Walsh has the world in the palm of his hand. He needs a woman who knows what to do with it. That’s Sofie. They aren’t people who can marry just anybody.”
    Not just anybody, and certainly not a nobody. Remember that, little girl , Kerris told herself. He’s out of your league. He’s gorgeous. He’s been groomed to charm birds from trees. He flies all over the world, rescuing orphans just like you.
    There were a million reasons she had responded to Walsh Bennett the way she had. And a million reasons she should avoid him. She would spend the whole summer making sure she didn’t forget that.

Chapter Six
    O ver the next month, Kerris and Meredith put their shoulders to the plow readying Déjà Vu for its end-of-summer grand opening. In the mornings, they cleaned houses for Maid 4 U. They needed a comfortable financial cushion as insurance for the thrift store’s potential slow start. Meredith had a nice little nest egg, and Kerris refused to touch the money she had won as Scholar of the Year.
    They cleaned houses all morning, squeezed in a hurried lunch, and then resumed cleaning in the afternoons. From there, they would comb the city and surrounding areas for unique finds to stock the shop with the beautiful, unusual, affordable pieces they wanted to build their reputation on. They spent most evenings sanding floors, painting and wallpapering, staining, decorating—whatever it took to transform the space into what they dreamed it could be.
    It was a bruising pace, but Kerris knew it was worth it, and in another month, they could have it all done. They didn’t deny themselves little breaks here and there. When one of them received an invitation to a party, or a picnic, or even a game of volleyball, they gave themselves permission to take guilt-free advantage of it. These slices of leisure kept Kerris sane. Most of those times were spent with Cam and his friends, who were determined to enjoy the gorgeous weather and one another’s company.
    They were halcyon days filled with horseshoes, baseball games, outdoor concerts, and the river. That summer Kerris fell in love. In love with the water, sometimes placid and tranquil, other times rushing so violently