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He stared at her as he plopped down in Tess’s lounge chair, kicking out his feet and getting comfortable. “I said I didn’t think Carmine would let you come down here.”
Her eyes narrowed. “We’ve been through this. He doesn’t tell me what to do.”
“Okay,” he said. “Then I’m surprised you would come here when he can’t. You know, because of trying to kill me and all.”
That hadn’t crossed her mind. “This is where you live?”
Nicholas pointed behind them at a white two-story house about a hundred yards away. It stuck out among the others, the paint fresher. “That would be my place, so technically speaking, you’re sitting in my yard right now.”
“Oh, well, he didn’t try to kill you,” she said. “It was a misunderstanding.”
He laughed dryly. “A misunderstanding? He’s seriously clouded your judgment.”
“No, your judgment’s clouded. Carmine made mistakes, but he’s a good person. You shouldn’t sit there and pretend you’re innocent. It’s stupid! I wasn’t there and I know you’re both being ridiculous about this . . . this . . . rivalry thing. So get over yourself, because you can’t talk about him like that to me. I love him.”
She stood and stomped away.
“Haven, wait,” Nicholas called out as she walked to the edge of the water. She heard him behind her but didn’t acknowledge him. “Look, I just have a hard time believing he cares about anyone. I don’t like the idea of him taking advantage of your situation.”
She glared at him when he stopped beside her. “You know nothing about my situation! Carmine’s supportive of me, so how dare you judge him when he’s braver than you’ll ever be!”
Nicholas stared out at the lake. “So, uh . . .”
“I don’t want to talk about it,” she said. “No more about Carmine.”
“I wasn’t going to say anything about him,” he said. “I was going to ask if you were getting in the water.”
“Oh. No.”
“Why not?”
“I can’t swim.”
“You don’t have to swim to get your feet wet.” Nicholas pulled off his shirt and tossed it onto the sand. He took a few steps into the water, stopping to look at her when it reached his knees. “What are you waiting for?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Trust me.” She let out a sharp, cynical laugh the moment the words came from his lips, and he immediately backtracked. “Okay, don’t trust me. But do you really think I’m stupid enough to let you get hurt? I told you before—you’re nice and all, but I don’t plan to die over you. And I guarantee, if you drown, they’ll kill me.”
Haven stood there for a moment longer before taking a few steps into the lake, her bare feet sinking into the soft earth. She stopped before the water reached her waist.
“So why is six afraid of seven?” Nicholas asked, breaking the tension with a joke.
She held her hands on the surface of the water. “I don’t know. Why?”
“Because seven, eight, nine.” He smirked. “Get it? Seven ate nine.”
She nodded. “I get it.”
“But you didn’t laugh. You never laugh.”
“It wasn’t funny.”
He let out a heavy sigh. “Why did the boy throw his toast out the window?” She shrugged. “He wanted to see the butter fly.”
“See the butter fly?” The joke dawned on her when the words came out. “Oh, like a butterfly.”
“Yes, a butterfly. Why did the guy get fired from the orange juice factory?” Another shrug. “He couldn’t concentrate.”
