Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 79433 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 397(@200wpm)___ 318(@250wpm)___ 265(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79433 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 397(@200wpm)___ 318(@250wpm)___ 265(@300wpm)
Fairwinds and following seas!
* * *
“What in the fuck?” I looked up at Sutton, who was attempting to hold back laughter.
“What does it say?” Adelaide asked.
Swinging my gaze back to her, I drew in a breath and started to read the article.
“Sneaking in!” Adelaide injected. “You rang the doorbell and walked in through the front door.”
Braxton added, “Let’s not forget your car is parked out front. I hardly call that sneaking.”
Adelaide let out a low growl before saying, “Keep going.” Then, “Tryst!” she interrupted again. “Nothing happened!”
“Stop interrupting him, or we’ll never get through the whole damn thing,” Braxton said.
I finished reading and looked at Adelaide. The corner of her mouth was ticked up some. “I take it you find this amusing,” I said.
She shook her head, then let out a giggle. “Man, they really went after you in this one. Maybe it’s an old flame.”
“Ha!” Sutton said. “I highly doubt that. You didn’t see the women he dated. I don’t think any of them could pull off something like this.”
Braxton lost it laughing while I shot Sutton a dirty look. “Excuse me?”
She shrugged. “Let’s look at the facts, Gannon. We all know you dated women you knew you’d never, ever settle down with.”
“That’s not…” I started to say before I realized Sutton was one hundred percent right.
“That’s not what?” Adelaide asked, amusement dancing in her beautiful gray eyes. They reminded me of the sky before a storm came in. Not too dark, yet not a clear blue sky. A beautiful heather gray.
I rubbed at the back of my neck. “It’s a fair assessment of my past dating history.”
Sutton fist pumped, then slapped her brother’s hand when he held it out for a high-five.
“I’m no longer calling you my best friend.” I pointed at Braxton. “Brody’s my new best friend.”
“He can’t be your best friend,” Braxton said. “He’s your brother, so it doesn’t count.”
“Then…Chip is my new best friend.”
Braxton let out a roar of laughter as Sutton and Adelaide both chuckled.
“At any rate,” Sutton stated, “it looks like whoever writes the gossip column has found a new couple to talk about.”
“Welcome home, sis!” Braxton clapped me on the back, then kissed Adelaide on the forehead before walking out of the kitchen.
Adelaide and I exchanged a look and then both sighed. It was clear that whoever was writing these columns was very interested in us.
Adelaide
I stared at myself in the full-length mirror, turning from side to side.
“No matter how many ways you look at yourself, that outfit isn’t going to get any better.”
I met Palmer’s eyes in the reflection of the mirror, and I could see a hint of a smile in them.
“So, what you’re trying to say is you don’t like my outfit,” I replied.
She gave a half shrug. “I mean, if you’re going to a parent-teacher conference it might be okay. But last I checked, you weren’t a mom.”
I looked back down at the dress and groaned. She was right. The knee-length floral print screamed “mom with three kids.” Even my hair—pulled up into a neat bun on top of my head—gave me the look of someone getting ready for church. Not someone about to go on a date with the man she’d fallen in love with at ten.
I sighed and dropped down on the side of my bed. “I tossed so many of my clothes when I left Boston because I just wanted to pack up my car and come home. I either gave away or sold everything else.”
Palmer sat down next to me. “Where’s Gannon taking you?”
“I don’t know. He told me he’d text me today when he got off his shift.”
“Then why are you trying on outfits if you don’t even know what you’re going to do?”
“I did suggest bowling, but Seaside Bowling is closed while they redo the floors. I’m guessing we’ll most likely go to dinner.”
Palmer laughed. “This is Gannon we’re talking about, Addie. Do you remember what he did for your eighteenth birthday?”
I smiled as the memory came back. Gannon had taken me to Portland, where he’d signed us up for a class to learn how to make pasta from scratch. He’d also arranged for a romantic table on the roof of the building, and we’d taken the pasta dishes we’d made up there. The candlelight, the stars above, and the two of us…it was one of my favorite memories. After our dinner, we’d headed to a hotel for the evening before driving back to Seaside the next day.
“Someone is lost in a memory, and a good one by the smile on your face.”
My cheeks heated, and I placed my palms over them as I giggled. “That was a good birthday.”
Palmer raised a single brow. “Must have been for you to blush like that.”
Dropping back onto the bed, I let out a frustrated groan. “Why does this feel so weird, Palmer?”