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She released the handle when she saw Alex walk back out to join her, and it clacked shut so abruptly that the sound echoed across the water. Lily covered her face with her hands and looked up at Alex through her fingers. “You literally can’t take me anywhere.”
“You’re adorable.” Alex leaned down and took Lily’s face in her hands, kissing her softly and pulling away with a gentle bite on her lower lip. “But you can leave those here. I’ve got drinks for us upstairs.”
Lily followed her up the ladder to the upper-level deck, gleaming and luxe with the same white leather seating along the sides, but this space also had a blue Lucite coffee table, several brightly colored beanbag chairs scattered about, and even a woven sun-yellow double hammock to the side of the fully stocked bar. A grill in the center was already prepped with charcoal and a lighter, and a stainless-steel cooler sat ready underneath.
Alex ducked behind the bar and emerged with a bottle of chilled Napa Valley rosé and two glasses. As she opened it, Lily watched the last streaks of fiery sunset sink into the navy blue horizon. The last stragglers on the dock had wandered back toward town, and the calming water made it look as if she were surrounded by rippled glass. Somewhere in the distance, the clang of sailing ropes against a mast reverberated across the lake as Alex handed her a chilled glass of wine.
???“I chose a dry rosé based on your taste in whiskey,” Alex said. “But even if I didn’t know that, I’d have guessed you’re not the girl to appreciate a syrupy Riesling.”
r /> “Good guess.” Lily sank down into one of the beanbags and watched as Alex started the charcoal in the grill. “What are we having for dinner? Now that I’m here, the smell of that grill firing up has me suddenly starving.”
Alex clicked the lighter under the perfectly stacked charcoal. “When you were in Havana, did you ever go to La Luna Azul?” It caught, and flames leapt out of the grill, softening into a slow burn as Alex looked over at her. “Like, if you’re at the cathedral on the square, it’s on the right as you turn onto Quinta Avenida?”
“Oh my God, the Blue Moon?” Lily lay back and looked at the darkening sky, her hand over her heart. “They had the most amazing grilled shrimp tacos that just melted in your mouth. Leaving that restaurant when I left Havana was like leaving a lover.” She paused to melt into the memory. “My favorite lover, to be honest.”
Alex reached into the cooler and held up a bag of plump, ash-gray shrimp in a bag of herby marinade. “Well, welcome back to Havana. Although I have to admit, I’m worried about the quality of your lovers if you’re comparing their skills to the humble shrimp taco.”
“Hush it.” Lily swooned as she sat up and smelled the marinade when Alex brought it over. “Oh my God. That’s exactly what they smelled like! How did you do that?”
Alex laughed, pulling out a cutting board where she sliced an onion and a red pepper into thin strips, then put them aside and tested the charcoal that was just starting to turn a velvet ash gray at the edges. “My aunt owns that restaurant. She has since I was a kid, and this is my favorite dish. I can’t do it exactly like they do, but I get pretty damn close.”
“You’re a dance instructor, and you have these secret mad Cuban cuisine skills? Don’t even try to tell me you’re not draped with beautiful women at every turn in real life.” Lily took a sip of her wine and looked up at Alex. “So, spill it. What kind of women do you usually date?”
“To be honest, I don’t date a lot.” Alex pulled a stack of thick tortillas with uneven edges out of the cooler and set them to the right of the grill. “I was in school for a long time, and now I feel like I’m working my life away.”
???“I can relate to that,” Lily said, watching the reflection of the sunset through her wineglass as she held it in to the horizon. “And it sounds like that’s wearing on you.”
“It is, really. But I think being in McCall is giving me some clarity. I’ve realized it’s not the work that’s wearing on me, it might be how I’m having to do it.”
Lily dropped her shoes to the side, digging her toes into the luxurious AstroTurf. It felt more like lush, deep velvet than faux grass. She looked up and watched as Alex set a foil packet on the grill and closed the lid, then poured herself a glass of the wine and pulled the other beanbag chair over to Lily.
“So,” Lily said, spinning the wine in her glass as she spoke. The last of the evening light illuminated the pale blush tint and sparkled against the glass. “Are you going to tell me what you really do for a living, or do I need to get one of the fact-checkers at my publishing company to do a little digging?”
Alex threw her head back and laughed. “You don’t miss much, do you? I should have told you by now, but I wanted you to appreciate my merengue skills first, obviously.” She paused, then drew in a long breath it seemed she didn’t want to let go. “I’m a child psychologist at a major hospital in San Francisco, specializing in neurodivergence. Basically, I work with kids whose brains work differently than the mainstream to help them find solutions for living, and my job is to find unique ways to highlight their brilliance.”
It was a moment before Lily spoke, and she shook her head as she clinked her glass to Alex’s. “Damn. I did not see that coming.”
“Well, I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“You should.” Lily handed her glass to Alex and got up to check the coals. “These aren’t ready for the shrimp yet, but they’re getting fairly close. Do you want me to vent the rice?”
“Yes, please.” The breeze ruffled Alex’s hair, and she ran a hand through it, only managing to stand most of it on end. “But how did you know that’s what’s in the packet?”
“Because those tacos in Havana are served with that gorgeous yellow rice and tostones.” She peeked inside the cooler. “Which I see you have the plantains for right here, which means now I’m seriously in heaven.”
She lowered the lid on the grill, plopped back into her beanbag, and leaned back until she was almost horizonal, staring at the stars that were just starting to scatter themselves across the deep navy sky. “What was it that made you decide to take a few weeks off?”
“I’m not happy at work, and I don’t know why.” Alex paused, rubbing the palm of her hand with her thumb. “Or maybe I do, but I don’t know what to do about it, which is worse.”
Lily nodded and touched her bare toes to Alex’s. “Tell me more.”
The moon, levitating over the water, glossed everything in a liquid silver cast, including Alex’s dark eyes as she looked back at Lily. “I’m in my field to give kids the tools they need to navigate their worlds and to teach them to build their own tools if they have to. But I think I’m frustrated with seeing medication become the default for neurodivergent kids. We’re not teaching them to navigate their surroundings using adaptation and intelligence anymore.” Frustration crept into Alex’s voice, and she shook her head. “When we toss chemicals at every issue, we’re just altering a reality we should be teaching them to navigate. Because it’s not going to go away.”
Lily nodded, finishing the last of her wine. “I completely understand what you’re saying. I know that sometimes meds are appropriate, but especially with kids, if they don’t learn coping skills early, it’s tricky to adapt later.”
“And most kids that think differently than the norm, whether it’s ADHD or more complex issues like autism, have elevated intelligence. Teaching them to use their differences to their advantage is why I chose to be in the field.”
Alex glanced at Lily’s wineglass and started to get up to refill it for her, but Lily motioned for her to sit and grabbed the bottle, refilling both their glasses.
