Page 95 of Loathe at First Sight

“What if someone came into your shop and tried telling you how to run it? Even if they were just trying to be helpful?”

He gives a curt nod. “Point taken.”

“They wanted to come in and market it like a cute little Gilmore Girls town or something, but everyone was pretty quick to run them out of town. Every once in a while, the inn will get a slew of people, but not often enough to keep it afloat I guess.”

He pulls me closer and kisses the top of my head. I know that he has no idea what to say, but his just being here is nice.

“You know, we stayed there for a little while when I was a kid,” I say.

“Why? Didn’t you guys always live here?”

“Yeah, but our house was being treated for termites, and we couldn’t stay there for a couple of weeks while it was being tented. So, we all stayed at the inn. My sisters and I would pretend that we were princesses living in a palace. I fell in love with it back then.”

“I bet as a kid, it all seemed pretty grand.”

“Yeah, I guess,” I say in not much more than a whisper.

Not wanting to get too deep in my emotions, I say, “Speaking of my family, my siblings have asked me to have a sleepover tomorrow.”

“Huh?”

“Well, Ronnie asked me to come. Mom and Dad are out of town, and she thought it would be fun to hang out at their house and have sibling time or whatever.”

“That sounds nice,” he replies. “I always wanted to have siblings that were close like that.”

“What were your siblings like?”

He shakes his head. “I don’t have any.”

“You’re an only child?”

He nods. “Yep.”

I scoff. “Well, that explains a lot.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” he asks, starting to tickle her.

Through her laughs, I squeal, “Stop! You’re going to make me pee!”

When he stops, I catch her breath and say, “You better be careful. I’m a biter.”

As if completely out of the blue, he asks, “Have you ever been to Miami?”

“Nope. Been to other places in Florida but never Miami. Why?”

“Well, next week, I was going to go down and surprise my mom for a short little visit. It’s her 60th birthday. Maybe you’d like to tag along?”

My mouth drops open. “You want me to come to Miami to meet your mom?”

“Well, that wouldn’t be the only reason for the trip,” he explains. “You and I could go sit on a beach for a couple of days.”

“I do like beaches.”

“Plus, I don’t exactly like it when I have to go back. Having you there would help, I think.” He takes one of my loose curls and tucks it behind my ear.

“Well, when you put it like that, I think it would be nice.”

“Really?” He looks surprised.

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