Chapter 1
A dark-haired woman swam slowly across the pool. Nina Wilder’s nearly perfect form caused little splashing and almost no noise. It seemed like practice in precision as much as exercise. She reached the deep end of the pool, briefly touched its ledge, then headed back. The flawless routine continued.
From behind his Ray-Bans, Sam Strait watched Nina glide through the water. He didn’t bother counting how many seconds it took her to cross the pool, but he imagined there wasn’t much deviation from when she started, roughly twenty laps ago. Nina’s effortless style and unhurried rhythm created an almost hypnotic display.
An aquatic metronome, Sam thought. He smiled at the concept.
Overhead, the Hawaiian sun warmed the early afternoon. Its rays shimmered on the water and glinted off the aluminum legs of the furniture surrounding the pool. A white plastic fence enclosed the swimming area.
Sam lifted his arms and interlaced his fingers behind his head. He reclined on a chaise lounge with his bare feet crossed at the ankles.
From somewhere beyond the fenced area, a sputtering motor started. A lawnmower, Sam surmised.
Nina reached the shallow end of the pool and paused. She stood, brushed her long, black hair away from her face, then turned to Sam. “Coming in?”
“Not yet.”
“The water’s perfect.”
“So’s the view.”
She playfully waved him off, then dipped her shoulders under the water. Nina headed back to the deep end, and the precise rhythm continued.
Sam and Nina were alone, the only two at the apartment pool. It wasn’t always like that, though. Weekends were busy with families. Splashing children made getting in the water unenjoyable. The kids were most intolerable when they ran around the pool, laughing and screaming.
Almost no one came to the pool at this time of day, Monday through Friday. Thankfully, the children were in school, and their parents were at work. If both parents weren’t employed, the one staying home was usually too busy to come down for a midday dip. At least, that’s what Sam presumed. He avoided talking with any of the mothers and fathers, choosing to spend his time alone or in the company of single women.
That’s how he met Nina.
She lived in the same complex, although her apartment was larger and recently remodeled. Nina was a nurse and worked the graveyard shift. They met a couple of weeks back on a beautiful winter afternoon, much like this one. It started off as a casual conversation about the weather.
“Nice day,” she had said.
“Nice day,” he agreed.
The patter got better after that and culminated with a dinner she prepared. She was careful about what she ate. Nothing processed. No refined sugars. Her body revealed the results of her culinary discipline. Sam didn’t tell her about the donut he’d eaten that morning.
Nothing deeply romantic happened after the initial dinner since Nina had to work. They saw each other a couple more times at the pool before she got a day off. That’s when they had a date away from the apartment complex. It was the first time Sam spent the night with her.
Nina reached the shallow end of the pool again. She stopped, flipped her hair away from her face, then climbed out. Even though it was late January, her skin was deeply tanned. The red bikini she wore revealed almost every inch of her.
She walked with the grace of someone comfortable with her body and sexuality. Sam wondered if she had the same gait while in nurses’ scrubs.
“What?” Nina grabbed her towel.
“Just wondering what kind of shoes you wear at work.”
Nina spread her arms and looked down at herself. “That’s what you’re wondering?”
“Not anymore.”
She dragged the towel over her arms. “What’re your plans for the day?”
“You’re looking at it.”
Nina clicked her tongue against the back of her teeth. “Lucky.”
Sam didn’t bother correcting her. He corrected no one who considered his lifestyle lucky. It was probably hard not to feel that way about a man in his late thirties who followed the sun as his guiding principle in life.
Yet, several unfortunate events led Sam to live this way. None of which he shared with Nina. Their relationship hadn’t reached that level of intimacy. Past hurts remained safely buried where they belonged.
Nina settled onto the chaise lounge next to him. She swung her legs up. Sunlight shimmered off the wetness lingering on her skin.
“I know that grin,” she said.
He blinked, hoping he hadn’t been leering from behind his sunglasses. “Sorry.”
“Don’t be. I wear this bikini for that exact reason.”
“So I’ll ogle you?”
“You and others.” She slipped on her sunglasses and turned her face toward the sun. “Only you get to touch.” A smile spread across her lips.
A phone rang. By the ringtone, Sam knew it was his. He reached underneath the chaise lounge and fumbled around for it.
“That’s the first call I’ve heard you get,” Nina said.
The phone rang a second time.
She was right—Sam didn’t get many calls. It was a byproduct of his nomadic life. Plus, his parents were long dead. The paternal grandparents who raised him were gone, too. The only family Sam had were his maternal grandparents, and they lived in Southern Florida, a fact he knew only because of their annual Christmas card.
“Probably spam,” Sam said.
The phone rang a third time.
He located the device and lifted it above his head, blocking the sun with his hand. The name and number on the caller ID screen didn’t look right through his dark lenses. He sat upright and looked at the display from another angle. SONJA BOYD.
“Huh,” he said.
Nina rolled onto her side. “Gonna answer?”
It rang a fourth time.
“Wrong number,” Sam said. He silenced the ringer and set the phone down.
“I need a nap before work,” Nina said.
“Okay.”
She pulled her glasses to the end of her nose and stared at Sam.
“Oh,” he said, “a nap.”
