Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 78085 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78085 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
Stupid, silly heart.
Before I could hear them making plans to catch up, I blurted out, “I’ll let the two of you talk about your little reunion. I’ll meet you at the lighthouse, Brax. That is, if you still want to head up. You might want to go and catch up with Brandi now.”
The jealous fifteen-year-old inside me almost added, in the backseat of your truck. Luckily, the adult woman in me—what little of her was coming out—kept that bit inside my head.
I started to walk off, but Brax quickly grabbed my hand and kept me from leaving. He looked back at Brandi and said, “Maybe we can get the gang together and meet up at the Salty Dog or something.”
The smile on Brandi’s face fell for one brief moment before she forced it back onto her face. Meanwhile, I was positive I wore a look of utter shock. That wasn’t what I had expected Brax to say.
After bouncing her gaze down to his gloved hand around mine, Brandi looked up at me, then back to Brax. “Sure, sounds good. Well…my mom wanted to come over to see the lighthouse for some odd reason, and she’s probably back on the ferry by now. I’ll let you guys go. See you around, both of you.”
I lifted my hand without even thinking and said, “Bye, Brandi.”
I cleared my throat and attempted to pull my hand from Brax’s, but he held on tighter. I probably could have slid my hand out of my glove if I really wanted to be free of him, but a small, very small—okay, not that small—part of me liked having him clutch my hand like he was.
“See you around, Brandi,” he said right before he started up the hill, giving me a small tug when I stayed rooted in my spot.
He didn’t say a word as he marched us up to that damn lighthouse as if he was on a mission. It was going to close soon. I wasn’t even sure it would still be open now.
But a minute later, I was inside the lighthouse where the original kitchen had once been. It was still a kitchen, actually, though more modernized for when the current keeper wasn’t in the house next door and had to man the lighthouse.
I glanced at the box where I used to place my articles and smirked. If Brax only knew.
He started up the steps, and I pulled on his hand. “Where are you going? The upper levels are off limits. They’re private.”
Ignoring the rope to keep people out of the upper levels, he stepped over it, and the only thing I could do was follow. I felt like I was in high school again, sneaking into the school to TP our history teacher’s classroom. Fun times, those were.
“Brax, this is still a very active lighthouse, and Mitch—you know, the keeper of the lighthouse who’s over six-feet tall—will be here any moment. If he catches us—”
“It’s automated now, Harlee. Mitch only comes up to this office when a storm is coming.”
“It doesn’t matter; he’ll be back to lock up. He still lives in the attached house, Brax!”
He glanced over his shoulder and gave me a wickedly handsome smile. “I already told him I’d lock up myself.”
I tripped over one of the winding staircase steps. “You did what?”
“Thought we could take a look around. When I called him earlier and told him I suspected Ms. Seaside was dropping off her articles here at the lighthouse, he was intrigued. Told me to take my time.”
Panic filled my chest, even though I knew I wouldn’t be using the lighthouse any longer. What if Brax hadn’t asked me to join in on his quest to find out who Ms. Seaside was? What if he hadn’t asked me to come with him and instead what if he would have come alone today and seen me entering the lighthouse? If he’d followed and caught me leaving an article? Or worse yet, found one of them afterward?
He glanced at me. “What’s the matter? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
All I could do was offer him a small smile and a shake of my head.
We were soon in a small room that housed antique furniture—which I suspected all the rooms contained. There was a bed, a small table, a sitting chair, and a bookcase. The level above us housed an office. The only reason I knew that was because I’d toured the lighthouse years ago in elementary school.
Not paying attention to the fact that Brax had stopped, I ran right into his back.
He suddenly turned and grabbed my upper arms…and stared down into my eyes with a look so full of desire and lust, I nearly felt my legs buckle.
“Did you really think I would want to hook up with Brandi again?”
I blinked in confusion as I tried to get my thoughts in order. With him touching me like he was, my brain was all discombobulated. “Wh-what?”