“Really? Cool. This is definitely nesting season. Were there any eggs in it?” He disappeared into another room and came back with a dry towel.

“Thanks.” She started toweling off her arms and her hair. “I was afraid to disturb it. I mean, I know sea turtles are endangered, and I didn’t know if it was against the law to tamper with a nest, so I just found a piece of wood and stuck it down in the sand to mark it. If it really is a nest, maybe I can find it in the morning and check it out.”

“You did the right thing,” Ty said approvingly. “Did you notice what mile marker the nest was near?”

“It was at number seventeen,” she said proudly.

“I’m sure it’ll be fine,” Ty said. “I’ll call the Sea Turtle Patrol hotline and let them know you found it, and they’ll cordon it off and monitor it. Sometimes, if they find a nest in a high-traffic area, they’ll even move it to a safer place, where it won’t get disturbed.“

Ellis’s face glowed with excitement. “We could go back now, couldn’t we? And just shift the sand a little, to see if there are any eggs?”

He gestured towards the deck. “In this rain?”

She looked out the window and saw that the rain was coming down in sheets now.

“Oh,” she said, sounding deflated. “I guess maybe not.”

She looked down at the floor, where a small puddle of rainwater had formed beneath her feet, and shivered.

“You’re cold,” he said, and he ducked into the next room. When he came back, he was holding a faded, navy blue terry cloth bathrobe.

“Here,” he said, handing it to her. “You’re soaked. Get out of those clothes, and I’ll put the kettle on. And,” he said, sternly, “don’t give me that look. I’m not gonna jump you, for God’s sake. I’m not that kinda guy.”

Ellis laughed despite herself. “How do you know I’m not that kind of girl?”

“Some things you just know,” Ty said.

She went into the adjoining room, his bedroom, and closed the door. She looked around with interest. The walls here were the same bleached-out cedar as the exterior of the apartment. The wooden floors were painted battleship gray, covered with a faded red-and-white-striped rag rug. The bed was a double with a lumpy mattress, but it was tidily made up with a quilt of blue-and-red patchwork stars. A standing fan in the corner stirred the air in a desultory way.

Ellis stripped off her wet clothes. She went into the adjoining bathroom, found another towel, and finished drying herself off before folding herself into the oversized bathrobe, inhaling its perfume of aftershave. The bathroom was tiny, with a scarred linoleum floor, a miniscule wall-hung sink, and a commode. She gazed into the cloudy mirror and fluffed her damp hair, finger combing it away from her face. She squeezed a dollop of Ty’s toothpaste onto her index finger, and scrubbed her teeth as best she could.

Tonight, she thought, shivering in anticipation. She placed her wet clothes on the towel rack, belted the robe snugly, and padded barefoot out into the living room.

“Here,” Ty said, handing her a heavy china mug. “I don’t have any milk or anything. How about some honey?”

“Honey would be good,” Ellis said. She watched as he pulled a plastic bear-shaped bottle from the shelf of the Hoosier cupboard and drizzled honey into the cup. And before she could stop him, he added a healthy slug of Jack Daniel’s from a bottle he had standing on the counter.

“Hot toddy,” he said, handing the cup back. He picked up his own mug, and steered her towards the sofa.

She sat down and took a sip of the steaming tea, enjoying the sweet burn of the whiskey. Ty sat beside her. She propped her bare feet up on a coffee table made from a battered ship’s hatch, and snuggled into his arms. The robe slipped open at the hem, but Ellis decided she didn’t care. Tonight.

“Long night,” Ty said, as he yawned.

“Long day. All that drama with Julia burglarizing Madison’s room. I really thought she was gonna tear Julia limb from limb,” Ellis said. “I think maybe we’re okay now, though.”

“Good,” Ty said, yawning elaborately again. “I saw you guys dancing together. It looked like you were having fun with the Electric Slide.”

Ellis blushed. “It was all those Pucker-Uppers you kept sending over.”

“Just trying to keep the ladies happy,” Ty said nonchalantly.

She turned and looked at him. “You did.” After a moment she said, “Ty?”

“Hmm?” He kissed the top of her head, and they yawned in unison.

“This is kinda nice,” Ellis said, after a long, companionable silence. His hand found its way inside the neckline of the robe, and he was stroking her bare collarbone. She closed her eyes, savoring the warmth of his skin on hers. This, this was what she’d been missing all these years. She felt warm and safe and … cared for.

“Mmm-hmmm,” Ty said. “Ellis?”

“Mm-hmm?”

“Do you think this could be our do-over date?”

“Kind of a weird date, don’t you think?”

“Yeah, but it’s nicer than our first one.”

“That’s true.” She put her head on his shoulder and yawned sleepily.

“So, that would make this, like, our third date, if you count the first do-over.”

“Whatever.”

Her eyelids drooped, and he gently removed the mug from her hand.

A lifetime later, she stirred, and turned her head because the sun was shining in her eyes. She stretched luxuriously, and then, startled, sat up. She was stretched out on the sofa, with the blue-and-red patchwork quilt tucked around her, and sunlight was streaming in through the slats of the wooden blinds.

She walked to the bathroom, washed her face, and squeezed another line of toothpaste onto her finger and applied it to her teeth. The clothes she’d peeled out of the night before were laid out on a wooden bench at the foot of the empty bed, still damp. She shrugged. So much for her big plans for last night. What a dud she was. Tightening the belt of the bathrobe, she went back to the living room. The computer was on, and there was a stack of papers and books beside it.

Ellis opened the screen door to the deck. Ty was looking out at the ocean, his back to her, with the wind blowing his sun-streaked blond hair. His baggy white boxers rode low on his lean, tanned hips, and his bare shoulders gleamed in the sunlight, muscles rippling just beneath the skin as he lazily raised his arms and did a full stretch. Oh God, he was so gorgeous. She could see the outline of his butt through the thin white cotton of his boxers, and she was so aroused, and so surprised by how aroused she was, it took her breath away. And then he turned, caught her watching him, and his lips did that slow, secret-smile thing. Just for her.

“Mr. Culpepper?” Ellis said.

“That’s me,” Ty said, opening his arms. “What can I do for you?”

“I’m sorry about last night,” she said, snuggling up to his bare chest. “Please don’t take it personally. It was all that booze. I can’t believe I just passed out on you like that.”

“Entirely my fault,” Ty told her. “But I think I know how you can make it up to me.”

He took her hand and led her into the bedroom. “I’m gonna need that robe back,” he said, stretching out on the bed.

“Right now?”

He nodded solemnly. “Afraid so.”

Her fingers fumbled as she tried to unknot the belt. Damn it! She could do this. She’d been ready to do it last night. Why was she so nervous now—in the daylight? She had done it before, hadn’t she? Ty tugged at the belt and pulled her down till she was sitting on the edge of the bed beside him. “Allow me,” he said. “I have some experience with this type of thing.”

“I bet you do.”

He had the grace to blush. “I meant, it’s my robe. That’s all. It was a high school graduation present.”

“From Kendra?” She regretted it the minute the words were out of her mouth.

But Ty seemed unfazed. “No, from my nana. Mrs. Culpepper.”

“Ohhh,” Ellis said.