Keeley, wrapped in one of Aaron's luxurious towels—why were expensive towels so much softer?—headed downstairs in her swimsuit after taking the cookies from the oven and placing them on plates to cool. He didn't even have a cooling rack, which wasn't surprising.

She had to remember to take the elevator key; otherwise, she'd be locked out of the upper floors.

Interestingly, each apartment was assigned a locker for storing belongings while using the facilities. They all used passcodes instead of combination locks, but Keeley didn't know the code and had left her phone upstairs.

She hid the elevator key in the folds of her towel and left it on a deck chair. She decided to swim before using the hot tub, sliding into the warm water with a contented sigh. This was nice.

Summer was halfway over, and Keeley had only swum once—at a public pool with Ryan and Valentina on one of her rare half-days off. She enjoyed swimming but rarely had the chance.

Public pools weren't exactly plentiful in New York City. The one time she went with friends, it was so crowded she was kicked or hit by at least ten children. It usually wasn't worth it.

This pool, however, was mostly empty and had six lap lanes. She even had a whole lane to herself.

Feeling calm, she floated on her back, kicking occasionally to avoid sinking. It was slow—fifteen minutes to swim back and forth a few times—but she was perfectly at peace.

As she transitioned from the pool to the hot tub and eased into the bubbling water, she thought about how nice this was. No wonder Aaron moved here after college. Their previous house, after they married, didn't have a pool or hot tub.

Then, something startled her, causing her to jolt out of the water and splash herself in the face. She remembered Aaron saying he chose this place specifically so she could have a safe haven. She'd been so overwhelmed that day, she'd forgotten.

He didn't care about hot tubs! He moved here for the building's security—to keep his parents and other schemers out. He even kept a small staff with limited access to his life.

He did it for her. He didn't want to repeat past mistakes. Alistair and Roslyn didn't even know about her, let alone that she was staying here.

Keeley felt unexpectedly aggrieved. Aaron had changed so much for their happiness. She hadn't given him enough credit.

It was ironic. She'd given up everything for him, unappreciated, and now he was doing the same for her.

She tried to tell herself this was different. Aaron was supposed to love her back then. Now, she only asked for peace.

Except…that wasn't entirely true. She kept accepting his help, talking to him, sometimes even enjoying it. Jennica's accusation last year—that she was encouraging him—wasn't entirely off base. How had things become so muddled?

Did she still want to be left alone? Then why did she keep talking to him, humoring him?

Her first life with Aaron held so many bad memories that the good ones were almost lost. For someone who wanted to forget, she spent a lot of time thinking about him, talking about him, spending time with him.

She didn't love him anymore, but she cared about him. She still had feelings for him, and she hated it.

This wasn't supposed to happen. As a seventeen-year-old again, she'd vowed to live her dreams, free of Aaron. She'd failed to avoid him.

How could she have known he remembered everything and was trying, in his own way, to make things right?

She'd thought this reincarnation was a chance to live free of him. But what if it wasn't? What if this was another chance for them, to do it right?

[The promotional sentence has been removed.]

She couldn't deny his support of her dreams, or that he was unlikely to treat her as before. Maybe she should ask him how he felt.

No! Even if he were different, they weren't well-matched. They would never work.

Why was she even thinking about this? She hadn't loved him for a decade. She wouldn't be swayed. She would decide her own fate.

Keeley climbed out of the hot tub with a resigned sigh. She shouldn't have agreed to stay here. Surrounded by his things and his cat, it felt like a losing battle.

She kept saying she wanted to avoid entanglement with Aaron, yet she'd agreed to stay in the apartment he bought for her. Her friends were right—she was sending mixed signals.

What did she want? A life without him, or to move past the past and accept a better future with him? The uncertainty was maddening.