Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 79190 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 396(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79190 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 396(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
Throughout the drive, Dune gave her in-depth details about the town, sites, restaurants, and long-standing feuds among generational families. He told her how tourists kept him in business, and he genuinely loved them as long as they weren’t driving. He then pointed to someone hanging out their car window, taking photos.
“That’s New England tourism for you,” she said, after checking the car’s license plates. “They do the same at Yale. Once spring hits, there would be photoshoots all over campus and we’d have to zigzag our way to classes.”
“That must’ve been annoying.”
Caroline shrugged. “More a nuisance than anything. This one time, someone shot a commercial or something there. They brought a wind machine, all these lights and an entourage. Campus security threw a fit and kicked them off the grounds.”
“I can’t imagine that went over well.”
“Nope, it was all over social media within minutes.”
Caroline tilted her head back and let the breeze drift over her. Before coming to Seaport, she probably would’ve flipped out that her hair was going to be a tangled mess by the end of the night from the wind. Now, she didn’t care because it wasn’t important. She didn’t mind that she had sand in her clothes, or her skin was salty. Nothing about the island seemed to bother her the way things did back in Connecticut. She loved the way the air always smelled, like the ocean was right behind her, and how they could be at the water within five minutes, or how the stars seemed to be right there, within her reach.
She looked over at Dune, who bore a smile while he drove the truck he loved so much. Now that she had seen him in it, the Bronco was perfect for him. Dune wore his ball cap backward, increasing his sex appeal tenfold. There was something about a man . . . not any man, but Dune and the way he wore his hat. She wanted to take it off and watch the wind blow through his hair. She also wanted him to adjust it while he made eye contact with her so he could see how much of a turn on it was when he did something so mundane.
Dune kept one hand on the steering wheel and the other resting on the console between them. She could be brave and hold his hand or graze his fingers. Making the first move wasn’t something she was accustomed to, but she wanted to try. She wanted him to touch her, in ways she could only imagine a man like him doing so.
Oncoming traffic waved at Dune. He waved back, each time. He knew every person in town and had the energy to get to know her too. The man beside her was sweet, sexy, dangerous, and . . . well sexy.
Caroline was losing her mind, being attracted to the way he wore his cap or the way he drove. But that was Dune, and she was starting to see why he had the nickname he did. He made her want to get up before the sun each morning and being on a boat for hours on end worth it. Without him, she probably would’ve gone home by now. He made Seaport . . . Seaport.
Dune pulled into a gravel parking lot and parked where it said, “Employees Only.”
“Do you work here too?” she asked as she unbuckled her seatbelt.
“Sometimes.” He got out and came around to her side of the Bronco. “Full disclosure. My mom suggested I bring you here. It’s nothing fancy, but the fish is fresh, it’s good, and we get a ton of food.”
“Is your mom named Pearl?” she pointed to the sign: Pearl’s Clam Shack.
“Yep, and she’s probably inside, bossing people around.” Dune sighed.
“Does she know we’re coming?”
He shook his head and motioned for her to climb the stairs ahead of him. “Nope. I’m not going to tell her either. If she sees us, great. If not, oh well.” He laughed.
They got in line behind twenty or more people. Dune went ahead and came back with a menu for Caroline to look over.
“I have a silly question.”
“What?” he asked.
“Why is the building raised?”
Dune pointed out the window. Caroline looked and was embarrassed that she hadn’t put the pieces together before. “Ah, I see. It’s because the water is so close?”
“Yeah, long ago, there was a massive flood. Now most places leave their bottom floor open or empty, just to be safe.”
“Makes sense.”
She looked at the expansive menu while Dune pointed out things he liked. By the time they got to the counter, she knew what she’d order.
“You just missed Mom,” the young man at the counter said.
Dune smiled. “Caroline, this is my little brother, Crew. Crew, this is my friend, Caroline.” She didn’t let the mention of the word friend bother her because that was what they were: friends. Right now, she’d rather have him as a friend than someone on the street that glared at her or him refer to her as an employee.