Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 72059 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 360(@200wpm)___ 288(@250wpm)___ 240(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72059 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 360(@200wpm)___ 288(@250wpm)___ 240(@300wpm)
“What’s eating you?” Dune asked.
“Nothing.”
“Girl trouble,” his brother muttered.
“Dune,” Caroline scolded him.
“Nah, it’s okay, Caroline,” Sail said as he sat back down. “He’s not wrong. I just don’t want to talk about it.”
“How come? Maybe I can help.”
Sail sighed. He figured it couldn’t hurt to get some advice. “I like this girl . . . woman. But she’s friend zoned me and I’m not sure how to move over to the more than friendly zone.”
“Has anyone ever told you Carter boys, no?” she asked.
Dune and Sail eyed each other, both grimacing. “Uh . . . yeah?” Sail said, unsure of himself. “Don’t get me wrong, if I stay in the friend zone, I’ll be happy. It’s just—”
“What?” Caroline asked.
Sail shrugged and shook his head. “I don’t know. Sometimes when we’re together I get the feeling she likes me too but is afraid. I don’t want her to be afraid. Like, I know she has plans and I’m not trying to mess those up, ya know.”
“Did you ever find out what she’s doing here?” Dune asked as he got up to tend to the whistling kettle.
“Our dads went to college together and when she decided to move out here to go to law school, Dad offered her a job.” Sail sighed. “Galvin’s trying to work and save all the money she can so she’s not struggling in school.”
“Where’s she going?” Caroline asked. She smiled at Dune as she accepted a cup of tea from him.
“Boston,” Sail said. “I think she’s considering commuting. Can’t say I blame her since she’s set up nicely in the studio above the diner. Anyway, she’s afraid she’ll get fired for hanging out with us.”
“Oh, that’s just silly,” Caroline said before taking a sip of her tea. “Your parents didn’t care when Dune and I started dating.”
“I tried telling her, but she’s worried.”
Caroline smiled. She looked from Dune to Sail. “Don’t pressure her. She’ll come around.”
“I would never,” Sail told her. “I know what no means. Believe me, as much as I’d love for things to change, I’m happy being her friend. The other day, I gave her a whirlwind tour of Seaport, and then last night we went to Margaux’s.”
Caroline’s eyes lit up. “Are Eloise’s paintings still up?”
Sail nodded.
Dune grumbled.
“What?”
“I want one for our house, something to put over the mantle, but Dune doesn’t want something with Eloise’s boyfriend in it. I’m going to meet with her next week to commission a piece.”
“Which is going to cost me a fortune,” Dune said as he shook his head.
Eventually, Pearl came downstairs and offered to make her boys breakfast, but Dune and Sail said they’d pick up grilled muffins from the diner. They were booked with a whale watching tour and needed to get going. Caroline was spending the day with Pearl, doing woman things.
Whatever that means.
Dune ran into the diner to save Sail from being a fumbling lovestruck boy if Galvin was inside. Still, this didn’t prevent Sail from trying to burn a hole through the wall, to catch a glimpse of the object of his affection. He was so focused on spotting her, he jumped and screamed when someone knocked on his window.
He pushed the button to put his window down and groaned at the sight of Galvin’s bare midriff.
Shit.
“What are you doing out here?” she rested her arms on the door and peered into his car. She breathed heavily and had beads of sweat dripping slowly down her temples.
“Waiting for Dune,” he told her, without taking his eyes off hers. “He’s getting breakfast.”
“Really? You take your eggs to go?” She laughed.
“No,” he said, trying to hold back his own chuckle. “We ordered grilled muffins for the crew. We have a big tour today.”
“What kind?”
“What kind of muffin or tour?”
“Both.” She shrugged.
“Blueberry and whales.”
“Ah, oddly, those feel like they go together.”
“Yeah, the whales seem to enjoy the muffins.”
Galvin looked at Sail oddly and crinkled her nose.
“It’s a joke,” he told her.
“Phew. I didn’t know if I needed to call the wildlife people or not.”
“Definitely not. We’d never do anything to harm any sea life.”
“Well, that’s a relief.”
Galvin stood and Sail feared she would leave him. “Tonight,” he blurted out. “Do you have plans?”
“I work until seven.”
“Can you go to dinner with me?”
Galvin looked away. Sail maneuvered himself so his head hung out the window. He wished he’d gotten out of the car instead of rolling down the window.
“It’s just dinner, Galvin,” Sail said. “Friends have dinner, right?”
She bit her lower lip and nodded.
“We’ll stay around here, and I won’t keep you out late.”
“How about dessert?”
Sail opened his mouth, but words failed him. He closed it, tilted his head, and then tried to speak again, but he’d lost all ability to act human.
“I mean since I need to shower after work, it’ll be closer to eight. That’s sort of too late to eat.”