Page 56 of Whisper of Love (Whisper Lake 1)

Yep. She did know what she meant. Ali had thrown him out of her bed.

“I thought the two of you might have something going on but then I heard that he’s been looking for his own place.”

This was not new information to Ali. Kade told her that Kennedy had shown him some properties the day before. But she didn’t want to discuss it with him and she sure as heck didn’t want to discuss it with Laura.

The woman clearly wasn’t picking up on Ali’s whole vibe so she opted for silence as she stared at her computer.

Laura scooted closer and rested her hand on Ali’s forearm. “You know I’m not one to gossip.”

In Ali’s experience, anyone who started a sentence with “I’m not” usually “was.” And there was usually a “but” that followed.

“But…a…

There it is.

“little birdy told me that she saw Kennedy and Kade cozying up at Bite Me.”

Bite Me was Whisper Lake’s answer to Subway. The community had done its level best to keep chain restaurants and stores from infiltrating the city limits. Part of the sleepy town’s charm was its Mom and Pop establishments.

“You know they used to date in high school?”

Yeah. Ali was aware. Unfortunately, she’d had a front row seat to the Kade and Kennedy show. They broke up and got back together so many times it gave Ali relationship whiplash. Every time the two of them would split, hope would bloom in her heart. Then they’d get back together and rototill her hope flowers.

“My friend said they were very cozy.”

Ali did her best not to roll her eyes. It must be a slow week if Kade and Kennedy eating lunch was making the front page of the Gossip Gazette.

“Has Kade mentioned anything about it?”

Yes, he had. One of the steps in his program was making amends, and he’d told her he’d done that with Kennedy. He said that it had gone well. And the entire time he’d been telling her that, the only thing Ali could think about was wanting him to shut up, grab her, and kiss her. And that irritated her more than this conversation.

“Nope.” Ali shut her computer and carefully swung her foot over the bench. “I’ve got inventory to do. I’ll see you later.”

“Is Kade around?”

“Last I saw he was down at the dock.” She’d tried to tell him she didn’t need his help, but he’d insisted. So, she gave him a to-do list a mile long. She may not need him, but she could at least take advantage of the opportunity. Besides, if he was busy with errands, it was easier to avoid him. So far, it had been working.

“Tell him to stop by and see me anytime. He can have my special strawberry shake on the house.”

Ali was sure that wasn’t all Kade could have.

She had to give Laura credit, the woman was an eternal optimist. She was a two-time divorcée and was definitely looking to walk down the aisle again. She kept saying, “Third time’s the charm.”

Ali had no plans to get married, but if she did and it didn’t work out twice, she would probably throw in the towel. People like Laura intrigued her. Life knocked her down and yet she sprung right back up like a weighted, inflatable punching bag. No matter how hard you punched it, it popped right back up like nothing had happened.

When life knocked Ali down, she got up again, but it was more like an elderly person getting up from a chair after sitting a long time. It was slow, awkward, and she never really stood up straight.

Laura pointed a sky-blue acrylic-tipped finger at Ali. “Don’t forget to tell Kade. Strawberry shake.”

“Got it.”

That was another thing that was getting on Ali’s nerves. People kept wanting her to tell Kade things. She hadn’t passed on this many messages since she was in seventh grade. Just like her sexual frustration and irritation at how lucky people thought she was, people using her as their personal telegram service wasn’t Kade’s fault. Logically she knew that. Emotionally, it was another story.

Ali was doing everything she could not to let Kade know that she had a boatload of resentment with his name on it. He didn’t deserve her emotional cargo. She’d tried to be extra nice to him whenever he was around. He’d kept asking her what was wrong, kept trying to make sure she was okay, and she kept telling him nothing was wrong and she was fine. The issues she was dealing with were her own and she didn’t want him to feel like she was unhappy he was there.

She wasn’t. She had mixed feelings about it. Feelings that she was sure a therapist would have a field day with. But since she didn’t have a therapist, she’d been solely relying on humming therapy. It might not solve anything but it did brighten her mood.

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