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Read, Write, Love at Seaside(71)

By:Addison Cole


He pulled her close again and brought her hand to his lips, kissed it, then held it tightly in his. “Babe, take a breath.”

She did. A deep one.

And then another.

Nope. Her throat still wanted to close, and those stupid tears still wanted to fall.

“The wedding is Friday at ten, and I’ll text as soon as I can break away. Then you can call when you’re free. But today’s only Thursday, so I assume we’ll talk tonight once I’m in and settled, right?”

She nodded, still untrusting of her voice.

Bella, Amy, and Jenna walked out of Amy’s cottage and joined them with solemn faces.

“Aw. It’s so sad to see lovebirds part.” Amy pulled at the hem of her sundress.

Leanna nodded.

“Don’t worry. We’ll take care of her,” Amy continued. “We’re all leaving Sunday, so you’ll only have one night to be sad, Leanna, and Tony’s here, so you can cry on his shoulder.”

Kurt shot a curious look at Leanna.

“Don’t worry. They’re just friends,” Jenna said as she patted Kurt’s arm. “Unfortunately, Tony would never fool around with a woman he’s known as long as he’s known us.”

“Or with a woman who lives so close. Trust me. I’ve tried.” Amy’s cheeks flushed pink.

“You have?” Leanna’s eyes widened.

“Once. Remember that night we each drank a bottle of Skinnygirl margaritas?” Amy crossed her arms. “I wasn’t exactly at my best that night. Or the next morning.”

The memory of the morning after came back to Leanna, and she almost smiled, save for the sadness that gripped her emotions and tugged her smile back into a frown. “I remember.”

Kurt squeezed Leanna’s hand. “I want to grab some ice water. I’ll be right back out. You ladies hug or reminisce about making moves on Tony, or whatever.” He smiled at Amy.

Leanna watched him walk away in his jeans and white linen, button-down shirt hanging perfectly from his broad shoulders—the shoulders she’d clawed at so desperately the night before that she’d left scratches on his tanned skin.

Bella brushed against her shoulder. “Forget to close the windows last night?”

Leanna’s eyes widened. Her hand flew to her mouth. “No. Oh my gosh! Shoot.” She spun around and saw Tony’s curtains blowing in the breeze inside his cottage. “Oh no, you guys!”

Jenna stifled a laugh. “Remind me to put a lock on the outside of your windows, and when we see Kurt’s car in the driveway, the girls and I will be on mission control.” She winked. “We’ll have your back.”

Leanna covered her face. “That’s great, but. Oh. My. Gosh. You know Tony heard us.” She dropped her hands and searched her friends’ amused faces. “Did you guys hear us?”

They shared a knowing glance.

“Everything?” Leanna asked with a thin voice.

Bella laughed. “Well, not everything. He must whisper or something, because we couldn’t make out anything he said.”

Leanna shook her head. “You were actually eavesdropping?”

“No!” The smile on Bella’s lips betrayed her. “I was bringing ice cream to Jenna because she had a freak-out over a rock being out of place or something—”

“It was sand all over my floor.” Jenna tucked her hair behind her ear. “I couldn’t get it clean no matter how hard I tried. It was sticking to my feet.”

Bella rolled her eyes. “Whatever. Anyway, we really just heard something like, Oh Kurt. Oh…My…Go—”

Kurt joined them with a wide smile. “Did I hear my name?”

“No!” they all said in unison.

Leanna’s throat tightened again, and she pushed past the embarrassment. “So you’re sure that guy will take your car back to your cottage and everything? I can do it for you.”

“No. Don’t be silly. I wouldn’t waste your time on that. Besides, Savannah’s brother Treat hooked me up with Smitty, his caretaker, a few months ago. He and his wife are wonderful, and they’ll take care of it. Enjoy your time with the girls, and…” He glanced down at Pepper, panting happily at his feet. He crouched and picked up Pepper, who made quick work of licking his cheeks. “And Pep.”

He pulled Leanna close and kissed her again. “I love you, and I’m so proud of you for what you’ve already accomplished. Enjoy the next few days.”

Leanna nodded, concentrating on keeping the tears burning her eyes at bay.

Kurt set Pepper down and embraced Leanna again. “I wish I wasn’t leaving.” He embraced Bella. “I’m so glad Leanna has you guys here with her.”