Page 31 of Somewhere You Belong

Her eyebrows shoot up. “That’s so awesome! But it sounds stressful.”

“It can be, but I’m good at it.” I slide my card back in my wallet and then drop it in my purse. “What about you? Working two jobs sounds stressful too.”

Her shoulders drop and the change has me on high alert, worried I might have offended her. “It is, but that’s life as a single mom.”

“Two jobsandyou’re a mom?”

Her smile returns with my question as she fishes her phone out of her pocket. “Yeah. This is my son, Bentley. He’s eleven. And my daughter, Lilly. She’s seven.” The look of pride on her face is laced with a subtle twinge of pain as she points at the picture on the screen. “They’re with my mom right now since school is out for the summer. But on my day off, we’re planning a family beach day.” Her eyes light up at that.

“That sounds like a good day.”

God, I can’t remember the last time I laid out in the sun on the beach.

Then her entire body perks up. “You should come with us!”

“Oh, I don’t know. I have to—”

“Nonsense!” she says, cutting me off. “It would be fun. It might even help you fall in love with Carrington Cove a little more.”

Uneasiness rests in my gut, but part of it is because deep down, I do want to go. “I’ll think about it.” She nods. But then another question pops into my mind. “If it’s not too personal, may I ask about their father?” I ask timidly.

Her eyes instantly drop to the counter in front of her and my pulse picks up. “He, uh…he passed away.”

This is why I don’t usually ask questions. You never know what kind of nerve you might hit. “Oh, Astrid. I’m so sorry.”

She waves me off, sniffling before standing up tall again and plastering a smile on her face once more. “Thank you. He was a Marine. We always knew the risks, but that doesn’t make it any easier.” I swallow hard, not sure if I should offer up my own loss, but she doesn’t give me a chance. “Thank God for Penn, though. He’s been a huge help since Brandon died.”

“Penn?”

“Yeah. He and Brandon were best friends. We all kind of grew up together. And when Brandon died, Penn made sure I never felt alone, that me and the kids were taken care of. Anytime anything goes wrong with the house or with life in general, he’s there or my older brother, Grady, steps in.”

I can feel my heart slow down, thinking about how lucky she is to have people like Penn and her brother around to support her. “Well, Penn seems like a good guy. And I know he’s handy since he’ll be helping out with my renovations.”

Astrid’s smile could light up the room. “Penn is the best.”

“A far cry from Dallas, it seems,” I add, shifting the conversation to the person I’m itching to know more about.

Astrid chuckles. “Actually, like I said Friday night, those two are more alike than different.”

I scoff. “I find that hard to believe, no offense.”

“Oh, you’re just lucky enough to have seen Dallas’s asshole side before you get to see the good guy he is underneath.”

I arch a brow at her, skeptical. “I’m not so sure with everything he’s shown me. Did you know that he wants to buy my house?”

“The Bayshore house?” I nod. “Oh yeah, Dallas has wanted that place since we were in high school.” I instantly recall him saying that the other day, but he never explained it further.

“Why?”

“Hello? Have you seen the view from that house?” she asks.

And that has me chuckling. “Um, yes. It’s stunning. And I plan on enjoying it while I renovate it. Even though Dallas offered to take it as is and do the renovations himself.”

She turns to face me head on. “Really?”

“And I told him no.”

Astrid chuckles. “Well, that explains some of the animosity between the two of you then.”

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