Toe the Line

Across more than ten years, this romance follows two people who begin as near strangers and slowly become something more. The narrator dreads the prospect of a summer sharing a holiday house on an island off Maine with Archie Remington, the arrogant son of her parents' friends. She knows he is handsome and studying for law school, and she remembers that he once acted as though she did not exist. Their families have bought the house together, which means the two of them must share a bathroom. The boy she remembers has grown into a man, but his attitude has not changed.

The tension eases when the two of them unexpectedly start to get along. They trade secrets, become friends, and bond during their early morning runs. She learns that Archie has a restless, adventurous side and that he chafes under his father's expectations. Her own mistake comes one night when she drinks too much and blurts out a fantasy that involves him. She tries to take it back, but he has already heard it. The summer ends suddenly and shockingly, and she returns to college with no idea whether things between them can ever be the same.

The two keep in touch over the years as friends, but distance and bad timing always keep them from becoming anything more. Then Archie reappears in her life in a way she never could have predicted, and her feelings are pushed to their limit.