AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I rolled my eyes. “But it also made me look stupid.”
Nyla waved me off. “That’s water under the bridge now.”
Michelle turned her head toward us and was about to take a bite of her cake pop, but then her eyes widened at the sight of us. She waved and put her cake pop away before standing, her light purple sundress billowing in the wind.
Nyla and I walked over to her, and I smiled warmly. “Hey, Michelle,” I greeted her.
She looked delighted to see us. “Hi, Everleigh.”
I introduced her to Nyla and she, in turn, introduced us to her husband, Grady, who only nodded before returning his attention back to fishing. Michelle reached out and placed a hand on my arm.
“I’m sorry for the ruse Jensen played on you. It was my fault.”
I narrowed my gaze as I tilted my head to the side. “Yourfault? How’s that?”
Michelle chewed her lip. “Well, after seeing you downtown, I called Jensen, but he was still at sea. When he returned my call, we got to talking and I kind of got the feeling that you believed me and him were still together.” She glanced sheepishly at me. “I could be wrong, but I did sense a little jealousy when you noticed I was pregnant.”
Nyla’s head jerked my way, and I looked over at her. “Okay, it’s true,” I admitted shamefully. “I was jealous.” Then I turned back to Michelle. “I’m not proud of it.”
Michelle giggled. “It’s okay. Jensen’s an amazing guy. It didn’t work out because I knew he was still in love with you, and he knew it, too.” Her friendly smile was genuine. “I just don’t want any hard feelings between us.”
I shook my head. “Never. I do hope to see you around more. I’ve been tempted to try those famous cake pops you raved about.”
Michelle laughed and winked. “You and Nyla can always meet me at the bakery one day. We can have a girl’s date.”
Nyla nodded happily and I smiled. “We would love that.”
She started to go back to her seat but then turned around. “I hope it works out between you and Jensen, Everleigh. It’s not every day you find your soulmate.” She smiled lovingly over at her husband. “I was lucky enough to find mine.”
We said our goodbyes and Nyla and I headed back to the house. Jensen was still there, sweaty and working hard. Before we could get too close to him, Nyla leaned in close.
“Don’t you think it’s time you two stop the foolishness? Why don’t you go out on a date already?” Of course, I wanted to, but I also didn’t want to leave her when she just got into town.
“You just got here,” I replied.
Nyla scoffed and shook her head. “Please. I have a whole summer of vacation time, Everleigh. I didn’t come here to be up your butt twenty-four seven. I don’t mind having some quiet time to myself.”
Jensen spotted us and leaned against the railing, his grin growing wider the closer we got to him. My whole body trembled as nervousness set in. Goose bumps fanned out over my skin and my stomach fluttered.
“You ladies going back out, or are you done for the day?” he called out, setting his hammer down.
Nyla and I stopped in front of him, and she put her arm around my shoulders. “No, I’m going to relax with a strawberry mojito.” She looked over at me. “Isn’t there something you wanted to say to Jensen?” she added.
My heart thudded in my chest. Then, pursing my lips, I stared at her, knowing full well she was about to embarrass the hell out of me.
Nyla laughed and focused back on Jensen. “Are you busy tonight?”
He smirked at me and then shifted his attention to her. “No.”
Nyla patted my shoulder. “Good. Neither is Everleigh. I think a date night would be perfect for you two.”
Jensen chuckled and I huffed in mock annoyance, even though I was glad the ice had been broken. He moved closer to me and grinned.
“How about I pick you up at six?”
“Great,” I answered casually. “But I’m picking what we do. And it’snotgoing to involve drinking eggnog. There are going to be no repeats of the past.”
Jensen’s gaze flashed with remembrance, and I could feel the heat rise to my cheeks. As much as Iwanteda repeat of that Christmas night, it was not what we needed. At least, not at this moment.
