Page 49 of Everything I Crave

I look at Gunnar who has his eyes closed, taking in a deep breath.

“You know, she’s a lot like me,” I say.

“I know. That’s why I’m worried about this adventure I feel like you two are about to go on.” He tries to be serious but a slight smile ghosts his lips.

In all the stories he’s told about his family, his face lights up the most when he talks about her. He has the most love for his sister out of all of his siblings.

I can’t imagine growing up with five overbearing brothers.

He places a quick kiss on my forehead. “Straight home,” a kiss to my cheek, “no pit stops,” a kiss to the other cheek, “no adventures,” and finally a kiss to my lips. It ends much too quickly, and I’m already leaning into his muscular chest.

Gunnar sets me up straight and laughs as he walks away. “I mean it, darling, no adventures.”

When I get to the truck Emma is in the driver’s seat. She grins when she meets my gaze. I shake my head and she opens the door to hop out. “I just wanted to see how far you were up my brother’s ass.”

“What? I’m not!” I defend myself to her. I’m not up his ass. I pout at the thought.

“Right.” She laughs and gets in on the passenger side, tossing me the keys over the center console.

“Just give me directions, feisty one.” I furrow my brow together.

She does the same in response to the nickname I’ve just given her.

“Fine.” She sits with her phone in her hands, and plugs the address in.

After a few moments driving, she says, “I follow you on social media. I’d heard of you before Gunnar let you move in.”

“Well, don’t believe everything you see,” I quip.

“I don’t. Some of those people are nasty,” she says with an apologetic smile.

“They aren’t always that bad.” News of what happened has started to leak to some smaller local tabloids. Now, I’m sure the speculation and rumors are growing at an alarming rate. But I'm out of money to fight Jake about the NDA.

“I hope you don’t let it get to you, you’re amazingly talented. I’d love to have the talent like you do.”

I put the truck in park in the driveway and place my hand on hers.

“Thank you, but I’m sure you have a talent all your own. I could teach you a few things while we wait?” I offer.

“Let’s get you settled first before I have to listen to Liam.” She rolls her eyes and hops out of the truck.

Yup, I definitely like her. I think we’re going to be the best of friends. I smile to myself as I pull our bags out of the backseat.

I follow Emma up the front porch of the old inn. Its peeling white paint, and black shutters give it a run down vibe that I’m sure is attributing to the lack of cars in the parking lot. The wrap-around porch looks like it used to be beautiful once upon a time, but now the wood is a little wobbly and sticking up in places. Rocking chairs line the porch, overlooking the fields on one side, and the cliffs toward the beach on the other.

A song about summer memories is running through my mind as we walk around.

“Wow, this place is amazing,” I whisper.

“It used to be the best summer spot. But, the older Pops gets, the more rundown it gets. Liam stayed here to help him run it. Everyone else kind of did their own thing away for awhile and Pops couldn’t keep up with the repairs. They had us all late in life, so he’s older than most fathers. And when the people stopped coming, so did the money. I try to give him marketing and aesthetic ideas,but now he and Liam just hole up in the office and ignore me.” She shrugs and walks in the front door.

The interior is every bit a quintessential New England beach cottage with hints of it being an old Victorian farmhouse. The grand staircase with intricate details on the rails calls to me. I can see filming a sad ballad on those stairs. The ideas are flowing through me and I have to pull out my phone to write down some of them before I forget.

This house is a muse. I might tell Gunnar that to get under his skin.

“This house could use some love too,” Emma says.

I’m not sure if she’s talking to me, or herself though so I stay quiet.

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