Page 13 of All Along

I will prove to him the world is not better off without him in it.

My breath seizes in my chest at the thought. I can’t imagine a world without Caleb in it. Even if he is halfway across the globe and out of my reach.

Chapter 6

“You haven’t begun to experience how stubborn I can be.” ~ Maya

Maya

“Ineed coffee,” Sophia moans as we enter thePirates Pastriescafe.

“Lots and lots of coffee,” Chloe adds.

Nova groans. “You’re mean. You know I can’t have coffee.”

I guide her toward a table near the window. “You can have coffee in a month after your baby girl is born.”

She smiles as she rubs a hand over her large belly. “I can’t believe she’s almost here.”

“I can’t believe you bought five bags of clothes for a baby who is going to grow out of them after one wear,” Paisley says as she sits next to us.

“How could I resist? The ‘I believe in mermaids’ t-shirt was too cute to pass up.”

Paisley frowns. “Mermaids don’t exist.”

I wag a finger at her. “They do on Smuggler’s Hideaway.”

“I can’t wait to tell my baby girl all about the mermaid legends.”

“You might want to refrain from discussing suicide with your child,” Paisley says.

“It’s not about the suicide. It’s about the love.” I sigh. “What’s more than romantic than knowing you can’t live without the man you love because he drowned in the ocean trying to be with you?”

Paisley wrinkles her nose. “Are you reading mermaid romances now?”

Sophia plops a tray of hot drinks on our table. “I thought you were obsessed with vampire romances.”

I roll my eyes. “I wouldn’t say obsessed.”

Chloe sits down next to me. “You dressed up as a woman with bite marks on her neck and blood dripping down her t-shirt for Halloween.”

“I did not,” I lie. “Besides, vampires don’t cause their mates to bleed.”

“You would know all about vampires and their lovers,” Parker says as she sets a plate of pastries on our table.

I jump up to hug her. “How are you?”

The owner of the bakery giggles. “You act as if you haven’t seen me for months.”

“It’s been at least a few weeks.” A few weeks feels like a long time when you live in a small town where it’s normal to bump into every inhabitant at least once a week.

She waggles her eyebrows. “Since you haven’t been around because you’ve been too busy with a certain military hero to stop by for a shipwreck cookie?”

I narrow my eyes on her. “What have you heard?”

She shrugs. “Nothing but you’d be silly to ignore Caleb. He’s nearly as hot as Poseidon.”

I’m not ignoring Caleb. It’s impossible. I swear the man has figured out how to create magnetism since I’m drawn to the cabin he’s staying in. It’s a force I can’t ignore.

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