His Kind of Wonderful (Sugar Bay #2) by Kinsley Gibb Read Free Book Online Page B

over him, like every other girl he knew. That fear kept her silent.
    He looked into her eyes and she held his gaze. The moment was hinged with possibilities.
    Something had changed.
    “Derek is my best friend,” he said after a long silence. His words were so soft she barely heard them, almost as if he were reminding himself of the fact but she already knew.
    Deep down, she was aware the odd dance that had become their norm was because their lives were wrapped in a way that it would be awkward if things were to change. She cringed at the thought of him ever knowing how often she thought of him and how many of her heroes were based on him.
    He held her hands loosely and brushed his calloused thumbs against her wild pulse. The look in his eyes was fierce.
    “Dani—“
    “Why are you holding Aunt Dani’s hands?”
    The two adults sprang apart; each retreating to the opposite ends of the platform. “Hey there, little bits,” Joe said to Esme while Dani gathered herself.
    “Hi Joe! Mommy wants to know if you want to eat dinner with us?”
    “Tell her thanks, sweetheart, but I’m going to head out. Next time, though, and I’ll bring more cupcakes again.”
    “Oh yeah. Thanks for the cupcakes you sent with Aunt Dani. They were so yummy !”
    He grinned and smoothed Esme’s cheek. “I knew my girl would love them.”
    Esme waved and clamored down the steps. “See you, Joe!”
    “I’ll be right down, Esme. You guys can start without me,” Dani called down.
    “Okay.”
    They listened to her climb down and Dani wondered how she’d missed Esme’s approach.
    “Do you think Esme is going to tell?”
    “There isn’t anything to tell.”
    “She saw us holding hands.”
    “So?”
    “That never happens. She’s a smart four year old.”
    “Relax, it’ll be fine. People will find out eventually—that’s the whole purpose, remember?”
    “Right. I forgot for a moment.”
    He nodded. “Just stay away from the professor and we’ll play pretend for a little while. No harm. No foul. Think of the greater good, Dani. Lisa can’t ignore a girlfriend so she’ll have no choice but to move on. What could go wrong?”
     

Chapter Five
     
    Dani read another review for latest novel, Her Highland Warrior, and shook her head. She wished she hadn’t given in to the temptation. The author boards warned against reading reviews but it was sort of a compulsive addiction. For the most part her readers loved her Scottish historicals. She’d received loads of positive feedback, but they hated her covers and wanted a higher level of spice.
    With her agreement with Professor Higgins, the cover part was being taken care of. In exchange for providing editing services for his thrillers, he would create custom covers for her. When she’d first published, she been too excited and hadn’t realized how important the cover was, but now, she was embarrassed. After reading indie author blogs, she pulled together a better cover than the initial ones but it was nowhere near the quality she wanted.
    In February she’d attended the faculty art show and fell in love with Isaac’s painting style. He reminded her of the artistic genius, Pino, so she’d contacted him. Over coffee she’d discovered his writing attempts and they had struck a deal. The only drawback was the strange fascination by local gossips in their relationship. She’d grown up in Seattle where no one cared who you went out for coffee with, but life in Sugar Bay was strange in that everyone cared. On the whole, Sugar Bay was charming but the gossiping aspect was something she was still getting used to.
    Derek’s recent grumblings made her more determined to ignore it. Maybe it was because she was the youngest. Maybe she was plain ornery. Maybe she’d spent too many years listening to people tell her what to do. The result was she was rebellious and balked at being told what to do as if she didn’t already know.
    In this case, the rebel in her refused to do anything