JENNIE

"Hi guys!" I give Lisa a hug and tousle Lily's hair. She's already wearing her bathing costume; a cute yellow suit with ruffles and a duck printed on the front. "It's so nice to see you again," I say, going to my knees so I'm at eye-level with her. "Do you remember me?"

Lily grins at me and nods while she leans against Lisa's leg, her arm wrapped around her thigh. "Mommy says you have a pool."

"I do. But it's quite deep so you'll have to wear your floaters."

"I have floaters." She holds them up; a yellow pair matching her suit. The shyness is already fading from her expression and I have a feeling she'll warm to me soon.

"Those are very cool floaters. Do you want a glass of lemonade to take outside?"

"Yes please." Lily follows me and Lisa to the kitchen, her face lighting up when she spots the pool through the open sliding doors. "Mommy, it's a big pool! And she has a sea!"

Lisa laughs and puts an arm around my waist. "Yes, that's the ocean behind the yard, but the beach and the ocean belong to everyone."

"We can go down there later," I say, handing Lily a glittery pink plastic pool cup with lemonade and a matching straw that I bought for today. "Cappuccino?" I ask, meeting Lisa's eyes. It felt strange not to kiss her when she arrived, and the flirty look she's giving me is not helping.

"Yeah, I'd love one," she says. As Lily heads outside, Lisa squeezes by behind and I chuckle as I slap her hand away. "Behave, Lisa."

"Sorry." She laughs too and shoots me a wink before following Lily outside. "She's learning to swim. Aren't you, honey?"

"I can swim without floaters, but I still have to practice."

"Wow. That's amazing for a four-year-old," I say, lowering my voice while Lisa puts her floaters on and blows them up.

"She's not there yet, but you can't start early enough if you're surrounded by water, right? We'll practice a bit more today; I'm trying to do an hour a week with her." Lisa gives Lily a kiss on her cheek and the little girl bravely jumps in at the deep end. When we applaud her, she grins widely and starts showing off her stroke.

"She's so sweet. I miss having younger kids," I say, clapping again when Lily reaches the other end of the pool. "Not that I'd want any more, but you just get so excited through them, don't you think?"

"Yeah. She makes me laugh all the time." Lisa keeps her eyes fixed on Lily while we sit down at the edge of the pool and lower our legs into the water. It's sunny and warm and I feel immensely happy and content today. "I was going to ask you…" she says. "You mentioned it's your birthday soon. When is it?"

"It's the thirtieth of July, but I'm not celebrating. Ella said something about taking me to a spa and going out to dinner together. She wanted to organize a party which is so sweet of her, but... I don't know. I wasn't feeling it back then."

"And you are now?"

"I don't like being the center of attention," I say with a shrug. "And Ella will be staying in New York for most of July because of an internship, so I'm actually delighted to spend my birthday with her."

Lisa nods. "And what about the Fourth of July? Is she not going to be here?"

"No, she's going to a party with her boyfriend. But I've got a couple of party invites, so I'll have fun either way." I look at Lisa and smile. "What are you guys doing for the Fourth?"

"We're celebrating at my dad's house. Me, Lily, Jihyo, her son Cameron, Dad and Jackie. Just a small group but it will be fun. It always is." Lisa hesitates and glances at me for a brief moment, then fixes her gaze back on Lily. "You're welcome to come along but I'm sure you have much more exciting parties to attend."

"Oh…" Her invite startles me and I fall silent, aware of my goofy grin. "I'd love that."

"Really?" Lisa returns my smile, surprise written all over her face. I want to kiss her dimples and her delicious mouth, and from the way she shifts her gaze to mine, I know she desperately wants to kiss me too.

"Yeah. Only if the others don't mind. I don't want to intrude."

"No way, they'd love to meet you." Lisa puts an arm around me and pulls me in. "It's nothing big, just some steaks on the grill and drinks around the bonfire. We usually walk down to the beach later, to watch the fireworks."

"That sounds perfect," I say, happily remembering the times we used to celebrate as a family. Since the kids started going to their friends' parties, it hasn't been that much fun. The Fourth of July parties Mark and I attended together were busy and full of people who were there to network, rather than to have a good time and last year, I didn't celebrate at all. Spending the day with Lisa sure beats going to some hyped-up party by myself and I'm curious about her father and Jackie as she's told me a lot about them.

Lily is now on her third length, practicing her stroke with determination, so I get up and strip off my kaftan.

"Are you trying to kill me?" Lisa whispers, looking up at me standing at the edge of the pool in my new yellow halter bikini.

I chuckle and help her up. "Are you coming in?"

Lisa takes off her T-shirt and shorts and jumps in, causing a huge splash that makes me scream as the cold water hits my skin. Lily finds this hugely amusing as she swims over to Lisa and clings onto her.

"You too!" she says, pointing at me. "Make a cannonball."

"Jennie won't make cannonballs," Lisa says in a teasing tone. "She doesn't want her hair to get wet."

"Oh, really?" I shoot her a daring look, take a couple of steps back, then run toward the pool and jump in, hugging my knees.