house and sat down at the table.

“So, do you remember how I promised at the wedding to give you my honest opinion about your potential truelove?” said Molly. “You know who I mean.”

“Josh?” said Lisa with some reluctance. In a strange way, she felt like she needed to protect their emerging relationship from inquisitive eyes, and she certainly didn’t want Graham finding out about it.

“That’s right,” said Molly. She leaned over and seized Lisa’s hands. “It was magical. You were so beautiful in that dress, Lisa! He seemed unhappy at first—probably because he didn’t feel worthy—but after Graham and I stopped by the table to say hello, he rushed out of the reception. He came back later, looking like he’d seen a ghost. It must have been awful for him, trying to be polite while his heart was falling head over heels for you. Anyway, if you’ve been holding back, you can stop worrying. I think the two of you would be a perfect couple. Graham thinks so, too.”

“You talked to Graham about it?” said Lisa.

“I hope you don’t mind,” said Molly. “I trust him completely. I just wanted to get his opinion. He said he thought it was a wonderful idea.”

“That’s nice,” said Lisa. “Where is he?”

“Oh, he’s working,” said Molly. “It’s the same old story: too many things to do and a boss who doesn’t care about anything except results. He loves his job, but it’s been hard for him, losing his friend and all.”

Lisa tried to sound disinterested.

“His friend?” she said.

“Yes, didn’t you hear about what happened?” said Molly. “They were at dinner, and there was an accident. Graham wasn’t hurt, but his friend had to go to the hospital, and it doesn’t look good.”

Lisa needed Josh, but he wasn’t there. Images she had tried to forget popped into her mind. She took a deep breath to steady herself.

“Is there any chance he might recover?” she said.

“Graham said it’s hard to tell with that sort of injury,” said Molly. “The doctors had to take off part of his skull. He’s in a coma now, and they don’t know if he’s going to wake up. Poor Graham. Yesterday when he got home from work, he sat down at the table and cried for the longest time. I’ve never seen a man cry like that before. He feels so guilty about the whole thing.”

“He shouldn’t feel guilty if it wasn’t his fault,” said Lisa.

“That’s what I’ve been telling him,” said Molly. “For some reason, it doesn’t seem to be helping. I think he still can’t believe what happened. I’ve been encouraging him to visit his friend, but until yesterday, he said he didn’t want to see him like that. I don’t know why he changed his mind, but I’m glad he did. He’s going to the hospital tomorrow, after he’s done working. I offered to go with him, but he said he didn’t want me to be upset. Isn’t that sweet of him?”

Lisa suspected Graham had ulterior motives. She was willing to accept that he was the sort of person who was involved in an abnormal number of coincidences, but the timing was too perfect. He must have found out about the interruption in Sabrina’s treatment, and if that were true, it was only a matter of time before he made his next move. She jumped up.

“I have to go,” she said.

“But you just got here,” said Molly. “Please don’t run off again like you did last time. I’m sorry I started talking about Graham. I’m such a fool. You probably just want it to be the two of us, like it was when you were a little girl. I know it’s not the same, but we can always pretend.”

“Not this time,” said Lisa.

She left. There was nothing she could do until she talked to Josh, but she couldn’t be around Molly anymore. Graham had made their friendship impossible. It was too difficult for her to act like nothing was wrong, and to make matters worse, she was afraid she might accidentally give something away. She got home, went into her room, and locked the door. Pushing everything else out of her mind, she thought about the way Josh had kissed her until she finally felt better.

Chapter 15

Lisa spent the next morning in anxious anticipation until Josh finally called her, and within half an hour, they were walking down the beach toward the fort. Josh had brought his backpack with him, which Lisa thought was strange, but she didn’t ask him about it. As soon as the house receded into the background, she felt relieved. For the first time since she had come to accept Josh as more than a friend, it was just the two of them.

The fort was still hidden in the hazy distance when they stopped near a low ridge of sand, surrounded by the thorny green foliage of sea roses. They took off their shoes and waded into the water until it was as high as their knees.

“I bet it’s nice having your house all to yourself again,” said Josh.

“Actually, it’s lonely,” said Lisa.

“Oh, so you missed me?” said Josh with a smile that melted her heart. “You know, Lisa, you really shouldn’t agree to hang out with random guys who show up at your door. Don’t you have anything better to do?”

“I guess not,” said Lisa. She stepped in front of him, and he put his arms around her. Lisa leaned her head against his chest and gazed into his face, delighted that she could finally appreciate him without feeling ridiculous. “Why did you change your mind about me?”

“Superficial reasons,” said Josh. “You looked pretty at the wedding.”

“Josh, I’m being serious,” said Lisa. “Why did you decide to give me a second chance?”

“I didn’t do it on purpose,” he said. “I was ready to be done with you when we got into trouble at school, but you showed me a different side of yourself, and everything changed. I needed

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