Page 38 of The Beachside Rental

“And I wanted a brother.Guess it’s true that people always want whatever they don’t have.”

“There were times when it wasn’t so bad having a bunch of siblings.”She lowered her voice.“But don’t tell them that.”She got out of the cart.“Come on.”

He got out and walked over next to her.“Where do we start?”

She glanced around.“I don’t know.Let me talk to my brother.”

He followed her toward the garage, which he found amusing that there was a garage on an island that didn’t allow cars.He glanced to the backyard.It didn’t look like there was anything left that might blow around.

“Hey, sorry I’m late,” Jenna said to a guy that looked a lot like Neil.“Things were so busy at the store.What can I do?”

The guy shook his head.“Nothing.It’s done.”

Jenna frowned.“You did it all yourself?”

The guy shook his head again.“Neil phoned and let me know how busy you all were at the market.I called Darby and she gave me a hand.Honestly, there wasn’t that much to do.”

“Oh.Okay.Thanks.”She glanced over at Simon.Her eyes momentarily widened as though she’d forgotten he was standing there.“Simon, this is my brother Caleb.”She looked at her brother.“Caleb, this is my neighbor Simon.”

Her brother’s brows rose.“Neighbor, huh?That’s not how I heard it.”

Simon noticed the color that bloomed in Jenna’s cheeks.Part of him wanted to read something into her reaction, but the other part warned him that it was best just to leave it alone.

Jenna narrowed her gaze in on her brother.“What did you hear?”Then she shook her head.“Never mind.I don’t want to know.”She turned and walked away.“Let’s go inside.”

He glanced over at Caleb, who shrugged.“We better get in there before all of the pizza is eaten.”

“Sounds good to me.”Simon turned and followed Jenna into the house.

It was a spacious kitchen with gray, light green, and some white.The large windows made the space feel light and airy.His gaze immediately went to the large oak kitchen table with eight chairs.Wow!He couldn’t even imagine being a part of such a large family.

With the five siblings, Jenna’s mother and himself, the kitchen felt small.People bumped into each other as they tried to move through the room.They didn’t think a thing about rubbing elbows with each other, seeing as they’d been doing it all of their lives.

Jenna’s face filled with color as she introduced him to her mother, Neil and Caleb—whom he’d previously met—as well as Myra and Darby.Mia explain that her other sister Lily was still in New York City pursuing her artistic endeavors.

For Simon, the whole experience was something new.His home life had been quiet.Whereas there was noise and a bit of pandemonium in the Adams’s household, there had been silence and distance in the Bennet home.

The pizza boxes were stacked on the kitchen island alongside a giant bowl of tossed salad.Next to that were a multitude of salad dressing bottles.

Once people got their food, they moved to the kitchen.Simon was the last to get his food.It wasn’t a big deal as whoever had ordered the pizza had gotten a lot more than was needed.

He grabbed a couple slices of the supreme pizza and placed them on his paper plate.He scooped some salad into his disposable bowl before adding ranch dressing.

When he went to sit down, he noticed Jenna was flanked by her sisters Darby and Myra.That left one seat at the end of the table and one seat across from her.

When he went to sit down across from Jenna, Myra said, “Here.”She stood.“Sit next to your girlfriend.”

His mouth sagged.He didn’t expect her to say that loud enough for the whole family to hear.And they’d all heard her because a silence fell over the table.He knew he should say something, but he was at a loss of what to say.

His gaze moved to Jenna.After all, this was her family.

“He’s not my boyfriend,” Jenna said firmly.

Those were the words that he was expecting to hear, but what he hadn’t expected was for those words to stab at his chest.What did that mean?Did he want her to be his girlfriend?

The thought stuck in his mind.He’d thought he was done with having relationships—of putting himself out there and being disappointed.But there was something different about Jenna.

As he walked around the table to sit next to her, she sent him a brief smile.It caused a fuzzy, warm sensation to grow in his chest.