Nothing to Hide

With the four of them there, together for the first time, it had been hard to know what to say to whom, how to frame their entrance, or whether to apologize for something they hadn’t really done. It was a complicated mess, with relationships among the quartet poorly defined all the way around. Were Jonas and Sandra really just friends? Had Erik really told his brother he had feelings for Allie? Did he?

Allie had no idea. The best thing to do was get up, have breakfast and start over. But first, she’d scramble out of bed and have a long look out the window—being careful not to leave smudges or fingerprints or shed skin cells on anything.

The morning was glorious. A cool breeze blew in through the screen and the lake sparkled in the sun, shining out of a cloudless sky. Ahhh, much better than the city, at least for this week.

She showered and dressed in black shorts with a peacock feather design—from the Artists & Fleas market in Brooklyn, her favorite source for relatively inexpensive secondhand clothing—and a simple white top. Minimal makeup. She wasn’t out to seduce anyone. Right, Sandra? Right, Erik?

At least she probably wasn’t.

Ready for the day, she wandered out into the hall, noting the still-closed doors. Nobody up but her? Erik had said breakfast was a free-for-all, that their house elf, Clarissa, would have stocked the kitchen and they could rummage around and grab whatever they wanted.

She was fine with that. In fact, it would be good to grab a bite and have a leisurely jolt of caffeine to fortify herself before she had to deal with anyone else.

Except...Jonas was already up, standing with his back to her, barefoot in the cinnamon-smelling, sparkling clean, nearly antiseptic kitchen. He was wearing a royal-blue T-shirt that emphasized the breadth of his shoulders and khaki cargo shorts that emphasized the sexy shape of his ass.

“Good morning.”

“Hey, Allie, good morning.” He swung around, wearing a natural grin that made her relax. There might be lingering tension with Sandra and Erik this morning, but at least she had an ally. “How did you sleep?”

She debated whether to be polite or honest, and chose the middle ground. “Not too bad.”

“But not too good? Same here. Coffee?” He pointed to the pot. “I’ll pour.”

“Love some.” She perched on a stool by the huge kitchen island, thinking how much more welcoming and cute the cottage kitchen was than this stainless steel, white-countered bastion of state-of-the-art perfection. She would have loved to see the kitchen original to the house.

“Clarissa’s got fresh fruit for us and pecan cinnamon rolls. That sound okay?”

“I thought I smelled heaven. That sounds wonderful.” She accepted her mug and sipped gratefully. The brew was dark, rich and strong, just the way she liked it.

“I’m guessing Erik and Sandra will be asleep for a while.” Jonas pulled a pan of the fragrant rolls out of the oven. “They’re both night owls and late sleepers. So we’re on our own for a few more hours.”

“Okay.” She liked the sound of that, but not the concept of him being familiar with Sandra’s sleeping habits.

“I was wondering if you wanted to go kayaking on the lake.”

“Sure, I would love that.” Allie twisted her lips wryly. “At least I think I would.”

“You’ve never been in a kayak?” He asked offhandedly—not as if he’d never heard of anything so outrageous—and set out a plate and napkin for each of them.

“Nope.” Her family’s idea of summer water sports was to fight the crowds at public pools in Brooklyn, a fact she’d stopped admitting after her friend Melanie made a huge deal about how disgusting they were.

“I think you’ll enjoy it.”

She hoped so. And that she wouldn’t be completely inept. The women Jonas knew were probably all kayak experts. Sandra was likely a national kayak champion, though she didn’t look the sporty type. She seemed to be more of a city girl, like Allie, only more beautiful, more voluptuous, more exotic, probably more experienced in bed...

Ugh. She was tying herself up in knots. Julie accused her of overthinking everything, especially where men were concerned. Julie was undoubtedly right. Allie would do her best to think of Jonas’s interest in her as a different version of his brother’s knee-jerk flirtation, nothing to do with his feelings for her, personally. Because the more she fantasized them into a relationship the more it would hurt when he dragged Sandra into his bedroom tonight. The fact that he could turn Allie on by biting into a cinnamon roll would remain her little secret.

The fact that she could get turned on by biting into a cinnamon roll wouldn’t. “Oh my heaven, these are amazing. Does Clarissa make them?”

“She gets them from a bakery in town.” Jonas sat opposite her at the kitchen island. “They’ll have to build a cardiac hospital in Lake George if people keep eating them.”

“Worth it.” She licked buttery frosting off her lips. “A shorter life is a small price to pay.”

“You know I suggested kayaking without thinking.” He helped himself to a second roll. “Would you rather get started on the clothes in the attic?”

“Oh, no, there’s time for that.” Jonas was probably the only thing in the world more tempting to her than the contents of that attic. “Kayaking sounds fun. And I think Erik wanted to show me around...”

“Ah. Right.” He nodded abruptly and concentrated on his roll. “Absolutely.”

Allie put down her coffee. This warranted a discussion. “Do we have to get weird and tiptoe over who has rights to whom all weekend? I really don’t want to.”

“No, you’re right. We’ll keep it simple. You’re here with Erik. I’m here with Sandra.”

“Okay.” Served her right for bringing it up.

“But when they’re still asleep...” A slow smile spread over Jonas’s face. “We can cheat on them.”

Allie giggled, wilting into relief. “That’s exactly what I meant!”

“Don’t worry.” He finished his coffee and took his plate to the sink. “It’s not going to be a big deal. Sandra and I are friends...”

Allie jumped on his hesitation. “With privileges?”

“Not anymore.”

“She knows that?”

“Her idea. Years ago.” He turned back to Allie, not displaying any sign of discomfort that might indicate he was lying. “Last night was weird, but it won’t be that way going forward. Erik will calm down. It’s all good. We can hang out on kayaks with our consciences clear.”

She wasn’t totally convinced. Sandra had looked as if she could cheerfully tear Allie apart with her teeth. “Okay.”

“But only because kayaks don’t have beds in them.”

“Huh.” Allie shook her head at him, shame-on-you, and devoured the last of her roll’s buttery bliss. Kayaking was exercise, right? She’d burn off the calories of one roll paddling for only...twenty-five or twenty-six hours. And if she came back from this outing with Jonas and found Sandra and Erik upset again, that was it. She would make sure she and Jonas weren’t alone again.

The idea made her instantly miserable.

After breakfast, she and Jonas changed into their bathing suits, slathered on their sunscreen and met down at the boathouse where Jonas found water shoes that fit her and selected kayaks and paddles. He gave her a short lesson, which, while she was swinging the paddle around on the beach, made Allie even more certain she was going to be hopeless at this.