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He shrugged, that condescending smirk never leaving his face. “What nickname?”

Rhonda helped up three fingers. “Three.” She dropped one into her palm. “Two.”

Tea sucked in a breath, held her arms tight to her life jacket, then jumped in.

The water felt like ice. Cold licked her skin as she surfaced for air, tiny droplets of water running down her lashes. “So cold!” she squealed.

Archer crossed his arms as he looked down at her from the boat. “When did you become such a wimp?”

Tea snatched the water ski. “When did you become such a tyrant?” she grumbled.

“I always have been.” He tossed the bright blue handle into the water. “You ready for this?”

“Not even in the slightest.”

She slipped her right foot into the ski as Rhonda aligned the boat, the handle dragging behind it. Tea snatched it and grasped tightly, feeling the tug of the boat as Rhonda inched forward.

“Ready!?” Archer yelled.

The pull of the boat had her leaning sideways, water catching in her mouth. She spit it out and flicked wet hair out of her face, her stomach tight with nerves. Once she righted herself, feeling like she had a firm grasp, she yelled “Ready!”

The boat roared to life and the pull was agonizing, but she kept leaning back, pressing the water with the ski to try to right herself. The handle slipped from her grip, and she fell backward into the lake, the ski flying off her foot and slapping down on the lake a couple of yards in the distance.

The boat puttered toward her as she scrambled to grab the ski.

Archer was kneeling down, leaning over the edge. “It’s okay, the first try is always the hardest.”

She brushed wet hair from her face. “I’m also twenty-five pounds heavier than I was as a teenager. Makes it more difficult.”

“You mean twenty-five pounds curvier.”

She blinked at him, droplets of water running down her cheek.

Archer smirked. “Curvy is good.”

“I didn’t say it wasn’t,” she replied.

“Good. Just making sure.”

Tea slipped the ski back on her foot, consciously averting her eyes. Was he…flirting? Or simply being insufferable? “Let’s go again.”

“You sure? Do you want to try with a second ski?”

She glared at him. “Never. I’m not giving up.”

He grinned. “There’s the stubborn Tea I missed so much.”

She rolled her eyes as she grabbed for the handle and Rhonda righted the boat.

“Ready!?” Rhonda yelled.

Tea nodded. “Go!”

The handle slipped from her hands again. Then again. And again. The fifth time around, she gripped the handle so tightly, she ended up falling forward and face planting into the water. Her foot slipped out of the ski, the tip of it slamming into her upper thigh.

She rolled over in the water, face to the sky, and groaned as the boat approached.

“You all right?” Archer asked, his face tight with concern.