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)
“How did she—”
“Or he,” Harlee said with a wink.
I rolled my eyes. “Fine, or he. How did they know I spent the night on Gannon’s boat?”
Sutton sighed and put down her coffee cup. “I’m telling you, whoever the author is has spies everywhere. Whenever she…or he…says a little seagull told them something, that’s a clue. They have people watching and then calling into this tip line Harlee mentioned.”
Harlee and I stared at my sister for a few seconds before I shook my head and looked back down at the article. “But why me and Gannon?”
“You’re hot news,” Harlee stated as she picked up her fork and took a bite of cantaloupe.
Sutton nodded in agreement. “Things have been quiet in Seaside. I swear, the last exciting thing to happen was Tom Miller’s son getting caught with the mayor’s daughter.”
I felt my mouth fall open. “What?”
“Oh yeah, I forgot about that,” Harlee said with a giggle. “And before that it was Sutton and Jack’s divorce. The column had a lot to say about all that.”
Sutton rolled her eyes. “Tell me about it. I will say, though, I do think the author is a woman. They really took my side on things. At least most of the time.”
Harlee cleared her throat and added, “Don’t forget what they said about your store.”
Dropping back in her seat, Sutton’s expression turned from casual to angry.
“What did it say?” I asked, setting my turkey and swiss on rye back down on my plate.
“That’s right. They did put their two cents in, didn’t they?” Sutton growled.
Harlee laughed. “You can act mad, but admit it: that article inspired you to make some positive changes in the store, and in the end, you were happy with the outcome.”
“What did it say?” I demanded.
Sighing, Sutton explained, “They said my store catered to older people, and it would do me good to get in touch with my newly freed goddess when it came to the clothing I carried.”
I tried not to laugh. “Your newly freed goddess?”
“Yep,” Sutton said, popping her P. “And after reading that I was a twenty-eight-year-old woman trapped in the mind of a seventy-year-old and feeling like utter shit for a day, I realized they were right. I was playing it way too safe by only buying for an older generation of women. So, I made a few changes…and I still have some more to make. Like a new line of lingerie that I helped design with an old college friend of mine who’s now a huge fashion designer in New York. I’ve been carrying some of her clothing in the store, and it’s been selling well. Even some of my older clients like it.”
“Sutton! This is amazing news. Why haven’t you mentioned it before?” I asked.
She shrugged. “I’m waiting for all the final designs. Once I approve them and we have the merchandise, I’ll make an announcement. But the point is, they were right. I was playing it safe because I knew Jack wouldn’t have approved of sexier clothing options in the store.”
“He was such an asshat. I don’t know why you even married him, Sutton,” I said as I took a bite of my food. My sister gave me a weak smile and then looked out the window as if a memory had come back to her. She closed her eyes and sighed before seeming to shake herself out of it.
“Let’s just say, I thought I was doing the right thing,” she said. “We were never going to last, but I couldn’t admit it at the time. Jack knew I wasn’t completely in love with him, and I think he knew what he was doing when he talked me into marrying him.”
I reached across the table and placed my hand on hers. “You loved him at one point in time, Sutton. It’s not your fault things didn’t work out.”
She shrugged. “In a way it was though. I married him knowing I was…”
Her voice trailed off.
“You were what?” I asked.
Sutton gave me a soft smile and then withdrew her hand from mine. “It’s all in the past and doesn’t matter now.”
She started to eat again, clearly done with that part of the conversation.
Thankfully, Harlee seemed to know how to completely change the subject.
“Now all you need is some sex toys in the store,” she said as she took a bite of her sandwich.
Sutton nearly choked as I nodded in agreement.
Looking around the restaurant to make sure no one had heard Harlee, Sutton focused back on her. “Oh my God. You did not say that.”
Harlee winked at my sister, then looked at me. “Hey, I’m tired of having to buy my battery-operated boyfriend, also known as BOBs, online. It would be nice to have them available locally. And I think you’d be surprised at the women who’d buy them. I know my mom would.”