“Yeah,” he said, waving her inside. “Let’s get out of the city and have some fun.”

She opened the door, then hopped inside the car. “All right, let’s go.”

Before long they were racing north through the sparse Sunday traffic. Inside the cool interior of the sedan, soft music played beneath their conversation. He was back and it was as if he’d never left. Everything was exactly the same between them.

Yet everything that she’d gone through in the past few days wasn’t that easily forgotten. Angela couldn’t imagine surviving another separation without a better understanding of how he felt about her. She drew a deep breath and turned to him. “What’s going on with us?” she said.

He glanced over at her. “What? We’re going to my cabin.”

“No, I meant, with us. You and me.”

“Oh, no,” he said, shaking his head.

“I just asked a question,” she said. “I mean, we’re dating, I know that. But are we exclusively dating? Would you be angry if I told you I went out with another guy while you were gone?”

“You went out with another guy while I was gone?” he asked, his brow arching in surprise. His jaw twitched and his gaze remained fixed on the road.

“No. Did you go out with another girl?”

He shook his head. “No.”

“So…we’re dating.”

“Exclusively,” he said.

“You could say we’re having a…relationship?”

“Yes, you could say that,” Max replied.

“Would you say that?”

He nodded. “Yes, I would say we’re having a relationship. It’s a little weird at times, but it’s interesting.”

Angela sank back into the leather seat and smiled. “All right.”

He reached across and slipped his hand around her nape, furrowing his fingers in her hair. “Feeling better?”

“Absolutely,” she said. “I’m glad we got that cleared up.”

“THIS IS AMAZING,” she murmured. “It’s so beautiful. And quiet. It’s hard to believe Chicago is only four hours away.”

Max handed Angela a glass of wine, then drew her over to one of the Adirondack chairs on the porch. “Sit,” he said.

She shook her head. “No. Let’s walk down to the lake. We can sit on the pier.”

“All right,” he said. He laced his fingers through hers and they strolled down the steps to the dirt path that led to the water. “I haven’t spent much time up here since I bought the place six years ago. My brothers come up and fish a few times each summer. And my sister brings her kids up, but the place is closed most of the time.”

She drew a deep breath. “I love the smell. The trees and the lake.”

“You act like you’ve never been on vacation,” he said.

“I haven’t,” Angela said. “I’ve traveled for business. And I spent the usual semester abroad. But, until recently, I didn’t have the money for a real vacation.”

“You’ve never gone on vacation with your family?”

She shook her head. “Not a relaxing vacation. When my family vacationed, it was always a teaching opportunity. We visited museums and historical sites. I can’t tell you how many times we’ve been to Washington, D.C. We never just sat on a beach and relaxed. My parents believed that sitting around was a waste of time.”

“We had the best vacations when I was a kid,” Max said. “We’d all pile into the family van and we’d just go. Four kids, my parents, and the dog. We’d camp and hike and cook over a open fire and spend as much time as we could outside.”

“Sounds nice. There were times when I seriously wondered if I’d been adopted. I never fit in with my family. My two sisters and I are so different.”

“How?” he asked.

They sat down at the end of the pier and stared out at the setting sun. “They were so focused in everything. From the moment they exited the womb, they had a plan. My parents were so proud.”

“They weren’t proud of you?”

Angela laughed. “Sure. But my parents never really knew who I was. I pretended to be one thing for them, but inside I was different. I was a dreamer. I lived in my own little world. When I was a kid, I didn’t have just one imaginary friend, I had a whole roomful of them. An alternate family, with brothers who took me horseback riding and sisters who loved to play dress-up.”

“What’s wrong with that?”

“My parents and sisters don’t have any imagination. I used to think my name was magical and that’s why I was so different. I was like an angel. My sisters are Susan and Mary. Very practical names. But my name was…romantic.”

“I like your name. You look like an angel.”

Angela laughed, remembering his attempts the night they met. “And you are so full of it, I can barely tolerate you,” she teased.

“You don’t take compliments well at all.”

“I’m not used to them. My parents never complimented us. We were expected to be confident and self-possessed. We weren’t supposed to need coddling.” She paused. “I love my parents, don’t get me wrong, but sometimes I think I could do a better job raising a child.”

“I think you’re perfect just the way you are,” he said. “And if you ever need me to tell you that, you just speak up.” Max kissed the end of her nose. “Do you want to go for a swim?”

Angela shook her head. “I’m hungry. Maybe we can make some dinner first?”

Max stood up and grabbed her hand, pulling her to her feet. As they walked up the rise to the cabin, he lagged behind her, taking in the view. “You have a very lovely ass, too,” he said.

She turned and looked at him, a bemused smile curling her lips. “Don’t think that’s going to get you anywhere, buddy,” she said.

He caught up with her, grabbed her around the waist and tossed her over his shoulder. “We’ll see about that,” he said.

When they reached the house, it only took them a few seconds to strip off the clothes they wore. Max lifted her up on the kitchen island, his lips wandering over her body. She was perfect, every inch of her a delicious revelation.

This was exactly how he imagined weekends at the lake. A little wine, a little conversation and a lot of sex. He’d just never found the right companion, until now.

“I’ll bring the cooler in. It’s too heavy for you!”

The sound of his brother’s voice shocked Max out of his haze of passion. Angela jumped, then quickly slid down beside Max. A moment later, the screen door opened and Dave and his family bustled inside.

A tiny scream burst from Angela’s throat and Max cursed beneath his breath. They both dropped down to the floor, their heads poking above the countertop. “Ah, Dave?”

His brother glanced over into the kitchen, then stopped. The kids and Lauren ran into him from behind. “Max? There you are. We saw the car. What are you doing up here?”

“I could ask you the same.”

“We thought we’d come up for a few days. Lauren doesn’t have to work on Monday and Tuesday, so we wanted to take a long weekend. I thought I told you.”

“Why is Uncle Max hiding?” six-year-old Brittany asked. “Can I play, too?”

“If you don’t want your kids to get an eyeful, I think you’d better take them outside,” Max warned.

“Everybody out.” Dave and Lauren quickly hustled back out the door and a moment later, the cabin was silent.

“Oh, no,” Angela moaned. “This is not the way I imagined meeting your family.”

He turned to her. “You’ve imagined meeting my family?”

“No! I was speaking generically. Do you think they saw anything?”

“No. But I’m pretty sure Dave and Lauren have a good idea what was going on. And it wasn’t hide and seek.”

“Go get my clothes,” she whispered. “I’m staying right here.”

Max hurried out to the living room and gathered everything up in his arms, then returned to the kitchen. The clothes went on more quickly than they’d come off and when they were both fully dressed, he grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the door.

“Come on, I’ll introduce you.”

Angela dug in her heels. “No. I don’t want to meet them. Not right now.”

“They’ll be fine.”

When Max got to the door, he pushed it open.

Angela shook her head, but followed him, stepping outside. The kids were already down at the lake with Lauren and Dave was sitting on the porch steps. He stood when he saw Angela.

“Hey, I’m sorry,” he said, holding out his hand.

“I’m Dave, Max’s very rude older brother.”

“This is Angela,” Max said.

“Weatherly?” Dave asked.

“Weatherby,” she said. She glanced at Max, a questioning look in her eyes.

“Dave helped me track you down after you gave me that bogus phone number. You really made an impression on him.”

“I’m going down to the lake and introduce my self to your wife and children,” Angela said. She walked down the steps and followed the path across the lawn.

“I didn’t see anything,” Dave called to her. “I swear.”

Max jabbed him in the ribs with his elbow. “Don’t make it worse than it already is.”

“I lied,” Dave muttered. “I got an eyeful. But don’t tell her that. And for God’s sake, don’t tell Lauren. By the way, that girl has got a nice body. She’s the first naked woman I’ve seen since I’ve been married. I mean, except for pictures in magazines. And porn.”

“If you don’t shut up right now, I’m going to kick the shit out of you,” Max warned.

“Okay,” Dave said. “I just never thought you’d be up here. When we saw the car, I figured we’d have a nice family weekend.”

“I do own the place,” Max said. “Is it so difficult to believe that I might want a little privacy?”

“Of course not. But I just assumed you’d be in the city.” He picked up a football from the pile of toys he’d brought along and tossed it up in the air. “Hey, go out for a pass.”

“I’m not in the mood,” Max said. He had been in the mood for sex until a few minutes ago. The interruption had made things a bit uncomfortable for the moment.

“Come on,” Dave said. “Don’t be a pussy. I’ll take it easy on you. You won’t hurt yourself.”

Max trotted across the lawn for twenty yards, then caught a perfect spiral from his older brother. Though Max had played football throughout high school and his first year of college, he’d never liked it as much as baseball. He did remember how to catch a ball, though. “Nice,” he called.

“Throw it back,” Dave said.

Without thinking, Max heaved a pass, then realized he probably shouldn’t be stressing his shoulder outside of his rehab exercises. He rubbed the spot just beyond his collarbone, surprised there’d been no pain.

“You all right?” Dave called.

“I’m fine.” Frowning, he walked over to his brother. “It didn’t hurt. In fact, it felt good. Strong. It hurts when I wake up in the morning, but after I warm up, it feels pretty good.”

“What did the team doctors say?”

“They did an MRI and a few other tests. They said it’s healed and I can start to throw again. I just have to start real easy.”

“Hey, that’s great,” Dave said, clapping him on his back.

“Yeah,” Max murmured.

“You don’t sound thrilled. How come?”

He shrugged. “I guess I just assumed it wouldn’t come back, that I wouldn’t have to make a decision about going back. That the decision would be made for me. But now they’re saying I could start training with the team again mid-July if everything goes well.”

His stolen summer would be over before it really began. He’d have another month with Angela and then they’d go their separate ways, at least until the end of the baseball season.

Max grabbed the football and started toward the water. When he’d come to Chicago for rehab, he’d mentally moved on with his life. Once he’d met Angela, a future without baseball seem even more attractive.

He sat down at the edge of the water. A moment later, Dave joined him. “You want to tell me what this is all about? I thought you were determined to get back in the game.”

“I was. Not so much anymore.”

“Is it the girl?”

“Her name is Angela. And she’s not just one of my girls. She’s different.”

“I can see that. But you say that about every girl you date.”

Max cursed beneath his breath. “This time, I mean it. I can see myself with her…for a long time. Maybe even married to her.”

“What do you know about her? You’ve been together, what? A week? Maybe you ought to check her out before you fall in love,” Dave suggested.

“What do you mean? Like, hire a private investigator?”

“It couldn’t hurt, Max. You’ve got a lot of money.

You need to make sure she’s interested in you for the right reasons.”

“You never suggested this with any of the other girls I dated.”

“Because those relationships were doomed from the start. But you really seem to like this girl.”

“Woman,” Max insisted. “She’s not a girl, she’s a woman.”

“I can arrange for it,” Dave said. “I work with a firm that does background checks on our bartenders. It’s a simple process.”