Page 25 of The Beachside Rental

The boy nodded his head as he placed the book on the checkout counter.Jenna couldn’t help but smile.It seemed he was a bit of a bookworm just like herself.

After mother and son completed their purchases, they moved along.Jenna stepped up to the checkout counter.She smiled at Melinda.“It looks like you have a new lifelong customer.”

Melinda smiled back.“Tommy loves to read.Every couple of weeks, his mother brings him in, and he’s allowed to pick out one book.However, this time he had the hardest time narrowing down his choices to one.”

“I understand.I have that problem sometimes too,” Jenna said.“Did our book club order come in yet?”

Melinda nodded.“Showed up yesterday.I have them in the back.Let me grab you a copy.”

While Jenna waited, she looked around the bookshop.It seemed like every time she was in there, Melinda had changed something.This time it appeared she’d set up a small section of the reading nook for the younger readers.There was a table and chairs that were painted white and had cartoon characters painted on them.It was really cute.

“Here we are.”Melinda’s voice drew Jenna’s attention.As she rang up the book, she said, “So, where’s your really hot neighbor?”

Jenna was in the middle of swallowing and nearly choked.My hot neighbor?Ugh!

She swallowed hard and then tried to sound casual.“How did you hear about him?”

“When a good-looking, single man moves to the island, it is major gossip.So, spill the tea.What’s he like?”

“Well, he’s nice, and he has the cutest dog.His name is Gus.”

Melinda’s brows scrunched together.“I thought his name was Simon.”

Jenna let out a nervous laugh.“No.The dog’s name is Gus.The man’s name is Simon.”

“Oh.I see.You should have brought him with you.”

Jenna almost blurted out that he was waiting for her outside, but she bit back the words just in time.Telling her that Simon was outside would only make this awkward conversation worse.

Instead, she decided a change of topic was in order.“Did you hear about the storm that’s headed our way?”

Melinda nodded.“You’re the third person to mention it.I hope it misses us.”

“Wouldn’t that be nice?”Jenna paid for the book and then picked up the bag.“I almost forgot to give you the title for next month.”

Melinda held up a finger for her to wait while she grabbed pen and paper.Jenna told her the name of a romance.Melinda jotted it down.“I’ll be sure to get those for you.”

“Thanks, Melinda.”Jenna headed for the door.

When she stepped outside, she squinted until her eyes adjusted to the bright sunshine.It was a beautiful summer day.And since it was her day off, she had absolutely nothing she had to do.The thought brought a smile to her face.

She looked up and down the street for Simon but didn’t spot him.Instead of continuing to stand on the sidewalk, she went and sat down in the cart.She would call Simon, but she didn’t have his phone number.

She wondered what had caught his attention.She told herself it was a good sign.The more comfortable he got on the island, the more likely he was to stay longer.Not that she cared if he stayed or left.Okay.Maybe she cared a little bit...but just as a friend.

A few minutes later, Simon strolled up to the cart.“Sorry.I didn’t mean to make you wait.”

“I don’t mind.It’s my day off.”She started the cart.

“Where did you say you work?”

“The Island Market.It’s a family business handed down through the generations.My dad ran it until...”Her thoughts rewound to the dark day last year when Myra had called her.Her sister had been crying.Before her sister had been able to get the words out of her mouth, Jenna had known it was bad.Real bad.

Myra had sobbed in between telling her that their father had passed.It was so sudden—so unexpected—that it had caught everyone off guard.Jenna couldn’t help but think the shock of it had made the loss worse for them.

They all thought they still had many years to spend with their father—to learn from him—to hear his stories about the good old days.And then poof, he was gone—taking with him those stories of his childhood and his insightful advice.

Jenna would swear each time her father regaled a story, it would become more embellished.Not that it mattered, they all hung on his every word.She missed the deep timbre of his voice.She missed so much about him.