“Thank fuck.” I huff out a breath I didn’t know I was holding and finally climb down from the truck, jog around to open her door, and walk her up to her apartment.
When we get to the top of the stairs, I can’t help but kiss her again. “I’ll see you tomorrow, shorty.”
Then, before I give in to temptation, I jog down the stairs and climb into my truck. I drive home on autopilot, my mind firmly focused on Summer. Kissing her felt like coming home. Like she was the answer to a prayer I didn’t know I had.
And a little bit like jumping off a cliff, not knowing how deep the water runs.
9
Summer
How do you sleep after what was arguably one of the best days of your life? Quite well, if you’re me. When my alarm goes off early the next morning, I wake up with a smile and absolutely no inclination to hit the snooze button. Everything seems brighter, more hopeful today. I half expect birds to start singing and forest animals to talk to me, I’m so happy.Mmm,Ethan dressed as Prince Charming. Yes,please.With a giggle I roll over and stuff my face into my pillow. I’ve never been this excited over a man.
After a moment of indulging my girly freak out, I get up and pull on some shorts and a hoodie. The weather promises to be warm for June, and I’m excited to get some work done out at the cabins. I still haven’t figured out how I’ll pay for everything that’s needed, but for now I’m just doing what I can.
I skip down the stairs and push open the door to the bakery.
“Mila? I smell muffins!” I call out, taking an appreciative sniff of the warm aroma of cinnamon and spice.
“In the kitchen,” she hollers back. I pour a coffee and go to the back to find her cutting out scones from a round pile of dough.
“Hey girl, how was the market?”
Her question makes me freeze, my mug halfway to my mouth. I didn’t realize she knew we were going to the market, which makes me wonder, what else does she know?
“It was fun. We ran into one of Ethan’s old friends from college,” I say casually, taking a sip of my coffee.
“Cool,” she says distractedly, staying focused on her task. “Oh, Ethan said he was dropping by this morning. I thought the three of us could talk about the work party.” Mila hands me a plate of warm muffins. “Take these out front for us to eat and I’ll be there as soon as I take the next batch out.”
I nod and take the plate, ducking my head to try and hide my blush. Either she doesn’t know anything, or she’s really good at hiding her reaction. No matter what, I’m not saying a word until I’ve talked to Ethan about how best to handle this.
“Okay, yeah, sounds good.” I turn and hurry out of the kitchen, mentally preparing myself to see Ethan andnotclimb him like a tree in front of Mila.
As soon as I put the plate down on one of the bistro tables, the front door opens and in he walks. My breath catches at the sight of him. I have a newfound appreciation for ball caps and plaid, thanks to this man. When he sees me, a joyful grin stretches across his handsome face and I’m pretty sure my heart melts into a puddle of goo inside my chest. He walks over and before I can warn him that Mila could come out at any second, he’s grabbing my face in his large hands, cradling it gently. The second his lips touch mine; we ignite. I slant my mouth over his mouth, my tongue seeking his tongue, my lips crushing his lips.
The sound of Mila working in the kitchen makes me pull back, and I see my guilt mirrored in Ethan’s face.
“Sorry,” I whisper.
He smiles quickly, his fingers ghosting across my cheek. “It’s not your fault that I can’t seem to resist kissing you.”
I can feel the blush creeping across my face again; damn, he’s swoony. But I make myself take a step back just in time as Mila comes out with a notebook and pen. I raise my eyebrows at that, but Ethan only chuckles and goes to sit down, taking a giant bite of a muffin before speaking.
“Alright, sister of mine, wow us with your organizational prowess. Let’s plan a work party.”
When Mila has to open the bakery for the day, we go our separate ways. Ethan said he was on his way to his office, promising to come and help me at Oceanside in the afternoon. After a quick stop at the hardware store for a new set of heavy-duty work gloves, I climb into my old truck and drive to the resort. Coming down the drive and seeing the mess I still have in front of me doesn’t freak me out that much today. Sure, I still need to come up with thousands of dollars to pay for all the supplies and labor I’m sure to need for renovations, not to mention there’s bound to be lots of costs associated with outfitting the cabins and getting everything functional again. But somehow, today I’m filled with optimism. I am well aware that kissing Ethan this morning is at least partially responsible for my good mood. The man’s got magic lips, I swear. But fast on the heels of that thought comes worry. I can’t lie to Mila or the other girls for long. That’s just not who I am.
But I shake off those misgivings for now. The sun is shining and I’m ready to work. So, I crank some music through the speaker of my phone and get to it, hauling more junk to the growing pile that has to go to the dump.
The upbeat sounds of my eighties music playlist is interrupted mid-chorus of one of my favourite songs with the alert of a new text message. Glancing at my phone, I grin. The chat between us four girls is going on strong with conversation about book club and the lack of eligible men in town. Serena is particularly vocal about this problem.
SERENA: Let me just say, if Ethan doesn’t make it his mission to recruit single young men to the town, he’s dead to me.
MILA: Pretty sure he has other things to worry about. You know, like parking permits.
PAIGE: That is very derogative toward your brother’s job, Mila.
MILA: Come on. He’s mayor of a town of less than ten thousand people. How hard could it be.
