Jane didn't know how Skye had managed it, but Rosalind looked much better by dinner time. Her eyes weren't red and blotchy for the first time since the phone call, and she even suggested they go serenade the seals the next day.

Rosalind also told her sisters over dinner that she now knew what she had to say to Tommy, she just had to figure out how to say it.

It was all unbearably cryptic for Jane, so when Rosalind remained tight-lipped over the details, Jane announced she would pop over to Alec's and tell him that the boat trip was on.

She ran into Jeffrey on the walk over. He was, predictably, going to see if Skye wanted a stroll under the stars. So Skye could observe the astrological signs. For research purposes.

Jane wondered briefly if Skye really was totally clueless about Jeffrey's undying love for her, or if Skye just wanted to be sensitive to Rosalind's feelings and not find her own true love and happiness while Rosie's heart was cleaving in two.

Jane posed the philosophical question to Alec, after he had invited her to sit on his couch and have a glass of wine.

"The heart works in mysterious ways," Alec said with a grin. "But those two are definitely a riddle. Jeffrey has been asking my advice every year since we met about how to woo Skye. To no success. I've never felt like more of a failure as a father. But your sister is a challenge."

It made sense that Jeffrey would seek out Alec's advice in that department. Jane knew that Alec dated loads of lovely women, all of them beautiful, and most of them much younger. Rosalind had commented that it was a bit sad, as if Alec had been so messed up by his disastrous early marriage that he never let himself get serious with anyone else. Jane had always been intrigued though. Her problem was that she always got serious. She only found boys who wanted serious.

"Sometimes I think Jeffrey's mistake was trying the elaborate tricks and excessive overtures," Jane said. "I'm the one who likes that kind of thing, not her. Skye always loves him best when he's himself. When he's just being a friend to her. That's my theory anyway."

"You know her the most," Alec said. "God, I was worried for him when things got serious with Dusek out in California. He got drunk one night and showed up at my apartment at four in the morning. He was crying and crying about how Skye was going to marry that Swede and forget about him and why, oh why, had I let him pursue music, I should have made him into an engineer so he could move to the Bay Area and be with Skye."

"Wow, what a mess," Jane said.

"It honestly was a bit funny," Alec said. "While also being extremely depressing."

"Most comedies start out as tragedies," Jane said.

"Wise words," Alec said. He raised his glass of wine in a small salute.

Jane leaned back into the soft red couch. She was pretty sure it was the same couch that they had all sat on for Batty's first concert. Time had only made it more comfortable.

"I've been writing a lot," Jane said. "Inspiration has struck."

"That's great," Alec said. "Anything you want to share?"

"It's still very new and raw," Jane said. "But maybe later."

"Point Mouette is the ideal place for creativity," Alec said. "I make the best music here."

"I will say, that saxophone always sounds extra special when it's wailing on the ocean breeze. We can hear it from Birches sometimes."

Jane curled her legs up under her and leaned her arm on the back of the couch.

Alec took another sip, and Jane watched his face in the dim light. He was attractive. His face was so kind and while he had scruff and a few laugh lines, it still glowed with youthful vigor. She found herself noting the curl of his still-plentiful hair. Not an old man at all, Jane thought to herself. And something about the way Alec was glancing at Jane made her feel wildly attractive as well. She felt a tingle in her stomach. She wondered if she was still as daring as she had been when she was a child, when she would just speak her mind. She wondered if she still took risks.

"I always thought you were handsome," Jane said. "And I still do."

Alec went very still, and for a moment Jane wanted to suck the words back into her mouth. He placed his wine on the coffee table. Then he slowly reached his hand – the hand Jane had scene rush adeptly over piano keys so many times – towards her face and brushed her curls gently. Jane had never felt so attractive. She had never felt so wanted. She couldn't remember the last time she was this excited to kiss someone.

"And you're beautiful," Alec breathed.

Jane leaned forward and Alec did as well. Their noses were inches apart. There was a part of Jane, buried deep down, that wondered: Should I? With Alec...Jeffrey's? But Jane shoved it to the side. She wanted this. She looked deep into his brown eyes and nearly laughed out loud she wanted it so badly.

They kissed, and it set Jane's entire being on fire. Now this was a man who knew what he was doing. She felt his hands wrap around her waist and pull her closer. She ran her own hands up his chest and over his shoulders. God, he was handsome. And didn't she remember, back when she was eleven, asking Aunt Claire why she didn't fall in love with Alec? He seemed like the obvious choice.

Now Jane realized that Claire, a woman grown, was attuned to men who looked for serious relationships, and men who looked for one-night stands. Claire had been over thirty. She had plenty of fun in her youth, but by then she was looking for someone to go the long-haul with. That's why when Turron showed up, Claire didn't hesitate. She just knew the difference between Alec and Turron.

He pulled away, and Jane was left gasping for air.

"I don't know," Alec whispered. "This is not...it's not really…"

"I don't care," Jane said boldly. "I want you."

"God, I want you too, but we have to be smart, we have to consider consequences," Alec said.

"There doesn't have to be consequences," Jane said. "Can't we just...have some fun?"

Alec tilted his mouth into a smile.

"Just fun? You're sure?" he asked. "Because I have to tell you, I'm not really looking for anything serious or…"

"Of course," Jane said with a smile. "No consequences, just some fun. Please."

She leaned in close for another kiss, and Alec met her lips with a ferocity.

In a blur of kisses and discarded clothes, they made it to Alec's bedroom. As they descended onto the bed, Jane didn't feel a single ounce of fear or regret or nerves. This was what she was supposed to be doing. She was a writer who sought to capture life. She was meant to be living life to the fullest so she could observe it in all its complicated and every-varying patterns.

Afterwards, she lay back in Alec's arms and rested her head on his bare chest.

"That was nice," she whispered.

"Agreed," said Alec.

They listened to the whistling of the wind. It sounded like a storm was headed there way, but Jane savored the warmth of Alec's bed.

"I don't want to issue any demands," Alec said. "But it might be ideal if we don't tell Jeffrey. And your sisters might...not be thrilled."

"It will be our secret," Jane said. She couldn't even imagine her sister's faces – Rosalind would be concerned that he had pressured her in some way, Skye would be nothing short of mortified, and Batty would just be confused.

But even so, Jane thought she might bury this in her fiction. Somewhere no one would ever find it, they would just think it was all Jane and her Wild Imagination.

She flipped onto her stomach and peered down at Alec.

"I swear," she said. "I'll take this secret to my grave."