The moon’s light reflected from the glassy surface of the lake, illuminating the whole yard. Hedges lined the boundary of his property and she saw little seating areas dotted here and there. Roses climbed the trunk of an oak and she smelled the star jasmine in the air.

“You’re full of surprises, aren’t you, Sheriff?”

“I’m glad you like it here. It’s an oasis for me. A place I can come home and leave all my work bullshit at the door. My family comes out and we barbecue and watch the sunset. It’s a good life.” He looked down into her face. “And now it’s better.”

He turned into her body and she rose to meet his kiss as he bent his head to hers.

Cassie’s body melted into his embrace. Her heart beat in time with his, pounding reassuringly against her palm on his chest.

After he broke the kiss, he murmured against her lips, “Would you like to take a walk in the moonlight with me?”

She nodded, leaning down to kick off her sandals. The grass felt cool under her bare feet and his hand in hers felt anchoring and strong.

“You’ve really built a place for yourself here, Shane. It’s beautiful. The inside and the outside.”

“I’m glad you like it. I really am.” And he was. Ridiculously so. That she approved made him happy. He realized he wanted her approval on the thing he cared about so much. His house was an extension of him and he’d worked hard on every last bit of it, had a hand in everything. He liked having her there with him. A lot.

“Wow, you even have a dock.”

He chuckled. “I do. It’s more to jump off for swimming than for a boat. The lake isn’t that big or deep really.”

“Do you sail?”

“I’ve done it from time to time. A friend of our family has a boat and I go out a few times a year with him. I take it you do? I can hear the affection in your voice.”

They stopped and she bent to pick up a stone from the rocky lakeshore and skipped it. “I used to. When we were first married, we lived in an apartment in Newport Beach. Not very far from the marina. We had a boat for a while but Terry didn’t like to sail and he sold it. I haven’t been in some years now.”

“Did you live near water too, then? I love hearing the sound of the shoreline, the water lapping against the rocks.”

“Our house was in the hills overlooking the ocean. I gave it to him after the divorce. I just wanted to be free of him. I didn’t care about the stuff.”

“Do you miss it? Your house?”

She shook her head. “No. It was never mine anyway. He bought it. He decorated it. It was his. I was just another one of the things he owned.”

Shane’s jaw clenched and unclenched. “I hate hearing you talk that way.”

“It’s the truth, Shane. For years I was a thing. An accessory and at times, not even a very good one according to him. I know he was wrong. But that’s what I was.” She shrugged. “I’m working to be more than that now.”

“You’re not an accessory to me. I just can’t wrap my head around it. How any man wouldn’t cherish you with every fiber of his being.”

“I don’t want to talk about it anymore. I hate that it’s this constant thing in my life.” She turned her body away from him and looked out at the water. “Damn it, I’m more than the poor battered wife. Fuck, I feel like I should wear a nametag or something. It’s why I didn’t want to tell anyone about it. That’s all you see. That’s all anyone sees.”

He moved to stand behind her, encircling her with his arms. “That’s not true, Cassie. It’s not all I see. It’s part of your past, yes. It goes into making you who you are now—a strong woman. A survivor. You’re smart, and competent and the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. Inside and out, I like you, Cassie. You. Not your past, not your zip code, but you. But I can’t deny, and neither can you, that what happened to you shaped who you are now. Just like the things that happened to me shaped me. We don’t have to talk about it any more tonight. There are far better things to do with our time.”

He brushed his lips over her neck where it met her shoulder and she lost the rigidity in her spine, relaxing into him. He felt good behind her. The water from the lake lapped against her toes over and over with the beat of her heart.

Silence stretched as he held her, kissed her neck and shoulders with soft heat. She asked herself if she could have sex with this man and her body agreed right off and soon enough, her mind agreed. It was something she’d been thinking over a lot. But she wasn’t afraid of him. She trusted him to take care with her and if she was going to live beyond those years with Terry, she had to move on with her life. Build a future and that included sex. Or she hoped it would.

“Stay right here. I’ll be back in a minute.” Her back felt cool when he moved away and jogged up to the house, disappearing inside.

She wandered up a path lined with sweet smelling flowers and bushes. His steps sounded against the decking and down onto the grass. He hesitated and she called out softly, “I’m here on the path.”

“Ah.” He showed up around the corner and held up a blanket. “I thought we could lay under the stars. What do you think?”

“Lay?” One corner of her mouth quirked up.

“Well, uh, if you wanted to just lay, that would be fine. I’d be happy to hold you in my arms as we looked up at the stars. On the other hand, I’d be even happier to see your skin bathed in moonlight as I made love to you. I want you, Cassie. But I want you to be okay with that. I don’t want you to feel rushed or pressured.”