AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Hell no. It’s time, Val.
Josie
Amos says to shit or get off the pot.
I cackledas I slid my phone back in my pocket. Amos was Josie’s older brother, and not too fond of any kind of ongoing deliberation.Ineloquent? Absolutely. But he wasn’t wrong. The unspoken dance between two of our closest friends needed to come to an end. Or rather, a beginning.
* * *
Stray bitsof gravel ground beneath my boots as I hauled my bag out of the passenger seat and over a shoulder. Grizzly Grind was a cute little coffee shop, the mascot paying tribute to the inevitable island bear. Only, this one was cute and animated and wearing a yellow rain hat.
When I got to the front step, there was a jar of polished sea glass sitting on the mat. Every color imaginable was stacked inside, from teal, to pink, to clear. Like warped marbles, they pressed against the rim of the container, begging for my fingers to turn them over in my palm. I happily obliged before eyeing the torn piece of paper and messy scrawl that sat below it.
Lizzy. Sorry about your boobs.
Never taking the trash out again.
These are some of my favorites, collected over the years. Thought you might like them more than I do.
“Sorry about your boobs?”Brinleigh asked over my shoulder. Hell, I was more perplexed by his use ofLizzy. When I turned to face her, pushing open the front door, her brows were furrowed with concern. “What’s happening to your boobs? Are you okay?”
How in the hell did he beat me down here? And if he was going to leave obscure apology gifts, why wouldn’t he just set them on the front step of the house instead of coming clear down to the harbor? The answer was obvious, I supposed. He didn’t want me to tell Brex and Rhyett what he’d done. I laughed, more to myself than her questions, shaking my head. “Nothing, and I’m fine.”
“Mmkay. That’s pretty weird, as far as admirers’ notes go.”
Snickering, I folded up the paper and stuffed it in my pocket. “Definitely just a please-don’t-hate-me note.”
“Do I wanna know?”
“Probably not.”
“Then what are you smiling about?” Brinleigh asked. The moment she was in the door, she knelt to pick up a box of mugs I’d abandoned in my haste to get out of there yesterday. I certainly hadn’t meant to offload it to her plate.
“Oh, let me get that!”
Her brow furrowed as she stood, nonchalantly sliding the damn box of tableware onto the counter. “I’m incubating a tiny person, I’m not an invalid.”
“Obviously,” I said, grinning. “Rhyett doesn’t hire no two-trip bitches.”
She laughed then, raising a pale hand to rest on her round belly. When I locked on those vivid jade irises, I finally took her in. I’d known she was pretty, but somehow evaluating her now, after my interaction with the Rhodes boys, set her in a whole different light. Skin so fair she looked like she’d powdered it, just the right touch of pink to her cheeks, a few dozen freckles sprinkled across her nose. But it was those vivid eyes under light mascara-less lashes and blonde hair that struck me. I bet that’s what hooked Jameson. He was so…intense, so evaluative.
“Speaking of, I hear there’steathat needs spilled?”
“Tea?”
“What’s the deal with you and Jameson Rhodes?”
Brinleigh laughed, affection playing in her eyes as she rubbed her belly, setting a hand on her lower back. “Not much to tell, honestly. He’s an old friend—you met him when he came for his end-of-week pastries?”
“That really is a thing? Axel claimed you’re friends with benefits, but—” I nodded at the hand on her belly, where a beautiful cushion cut diamond ring sat, proudly announcing her status. “He certainly doesn’t have one of those.”
“Axel has a fat mouth. Don’t listen to him. Actually, rule of thumb: Mistyvale locals have fat mouths, don’t listen to any of them. This town eats gossip three meals a day.”
“So you don’t have some, you know—” I raised my brows, “arrangementwith a Rhodes?”
“Nah, James and I haven’t been like that in ages.”
So they had, in fact, been some kind of something at some point. My interest was notably piqued as she continued. “It’s our little inside joke—barista benefits. He always comes in before they head out on the water, gives me a hug goodbye, bids farewell to our team, and snags a few donuts and danishes to tide him over. Then, he’s back as soon as the boat touches the docks. If it’s early enough in the day, or he has to deal with the whole family, he’ll grab coffee with his calories.” She turned and pressed the button on the espresso bean hopper, grinning as she explained, “In exchange, he vanquishes all unwelcome critters when my hubby is out of town and does the maintenance Paul has never had a hand for.” She smiled in that knowing way that only long-standing partners could. “My man is amazing, but he’s a white-collar guy when it comes down to it. James wanted to look after me for free, of course.”
