Fumbled (The Girls of Beachmont #1) by T. K. Rapp Read Free Book Online Page A

me. I had been fighting like hell to get back to my old
self.
    The old me would have
flirted easily. She would have made sure that Tabor knew she was interested in
him. More importantly, she wouldn’t have needed to go to her sister to mentally
prepare.
    I grabbed my papers and
laptop, stuffed them into my bag, and hurried out the door to head to Grace’s.
I needed her pep talk. I needed her to calm me.
    ***
    “So you’re going out
with him tonight?” Grace asked from behind her couch when we finished the tour
of Cleo’s newly redecorated bedroom.
    My sister was always
worried about what I was doing with my free time. She’d met my brother-in-law,
Trevor, in high school and they’d been together ever since. None of us were
surprised when they married at twenty, before they finished college. They were
in love and nothing would stop them. They’d waited until they graduated before
starting their family. When little Cleo made her entrance two years ago, I
don’t think I’d seen either of them as happy as they were in that moment.
    “Yep.” I smiled at her
before giving my full attention back to Cleo, who was running around the
kitchen chasing the dog Skip.
    “And he’s taking you to
Metropolis?” she asked, handing me a towel to dry the platter she washed.
    “Yep.” I grinned,
setting it down before chasing after Cleo, who was laughing hysterically. I
caught her and lifted her in the air, blowing on her tummy.
    “Okay, what gives?
You’re holding out on me, I know it. Why didn’t you tell me about this the
other night? What does he look like?”
    “He’s pretty
good-looking,” I offered.
    “Are we talking
boy-next-door cute? Exotic hot? Model sexy? C’mon, Dani, fill me in,” she
whined.
    “I don’t know how to
describe him. I tried telling Millie about him, but I couldn’t find the words.
He’s just…beautiful,” I sighed. “But not at all the type I’d typically go for.”
    “And that would be?”
    “Suit-and-tie guy, I
guess.”
    “Different is good.”
Grace sat on a barstool and angled her body to face me. “So what’s he like?”
    “In the brief time I
talked with him, he’s really nice. And funny. The guy doesn’t know me at all,
but he was so easy to joke around with and tease.”
    “Okay, okay, so he’s got
a great personality,” she droned. “What does he look like?”
    “Dude is built like a
damn football player. He’s huge! I mean, seriously has to be like six three or
something. And then there’s like muscles…everywhere,” I told her, using my
hands to describe his build.
    “How would you know what
a football player looks like?” she teased.
    “Just because I don’t
follow the sport doesn’t mean I don’t know what one would look like.”
    “Okay, so the guy sounds
pretty great,” she sighed.
    “Tabor,” I said,
returning my attention to Cleo.
    “Tabor?” Grace repeated.
    “Yeah. That’s his name.”
I glanced up for a moment and saw this weird look on her face. “What?”
    “Nothing.” She shook her
head and tried to play it off.
    “Don’t ‘nothing’ me,
Gracie…I know that look!”
    She stared at me blankly
and panic surged through my body.
    “Oh hell, did you date a
Tabor or something? I don’t remember a Tabor.”
    “No. It’s just…well, you
said he’s built like a football player?”
    “Yeah. Why?”
    “And his name is Tabor?”
    “Gracie! What the hell?”
I all but shouted. Had Cleo not been right there, the language would have been
more colorful. “You know, I came here for the old Gracie pep talk…but I have to
say, you’re failing miserably. I think I’m more nervous than when I got here.
Thanks a lot.”
    “Give me one second.
Okay?” She jumped up and disappeared from the kitchen, leaving me with Cleo.
    “Your mommy’s losing
it,” I whispered to my niece.
    Cleo bobbed her head up
and down as if she understood what I was saying, and I laughed. “Momma cwazey.”
    “Yeah, you know it too,
don’t you?” I