Hoping for Love by Marie Force Read Free Book Online Page B

upsetting encounter with their father.
    “Before he knew who I was, he took a good long look at my boobs.”
    “He did not! Ugh, Maddie. That’s so gross.”
    Maddie shrugged. “Par for the course. What happened when you saw him?”
    “It was only for two minutes at Mom’s place. The day he got here. He looked…”
    “What?”
    “Different from what I expected.”
    “Different how?”
    “For one thing, he’s old. I had this image in my head of him—young, blond, handsome. I wasn’t expecting wrinkled, bloated, gray haired. Not so handsome anymore.”
    “Not so much.”
    “But…”
    Maddie raised a questioning eyebrow.
    “I don’t want to be, but I’m curious. About him.”
    “Oh God, Tiff,” Maddie said with a moan. “You can’t be seriously saying what I think you’re saying.”
    “You remember him! I don’t have a single memory of him. All I have is pictures.”
    “But you know what he did to Mom and to us. What else do you need to know?”
    “Nothing, I guess.” The last thing Tiffany wanted was to upset her sister. “You’re right.”
    The happy toddlers picked that moment to start pulling each other’s hair. By the time their mothers broke up the melee, made lunch and got them down for naps, Hailey was awake and hungry. Maddie settled into the sofa to breastfeed the baby, and Tiffany flopped down next to her.
    “Did you hear the news in town about Abby closing her store and moving to Texas to be with Cal?” Tiffany asked.
    “No! Are you kidding? Wow. I wonder what Grant thinks about that.”
    “Why would he care?”
    “He went out with Abby for years, and they lived together in LA until she moved back here to open the store. From what I’ve heard, she said she’d never leave the island again. But then Cal’s mother had the stroke, and I guess he can’t come back.”
    “Must be true love.”
    “Sounds like it. Oh well, I’m sure Grant wants the best for her. He’s certainly happy with Stephanie. Mac heard that he talked to Janey about renting her place for the winter. Rumor has it that Stephanie is going to stick around on the island after the season ends, and they’re going to write a screenplay together.”
    “Good for them,” Tiffany said glumly. Everyone around her was so damned happy. “So I’ve been thinking.”
    “About?”
    “Abby’s store. I need a new challenge. With Ashleigh starting preschool, my day-care days are numbered, and I’ve got some money put away.”
    “What kind of store would you want?”
    “Something totally different from anything we have now. I’m toying with ideas at the moment. What do you think about me as a store owner?”
    Maddie thought about that for a minute. “Would you keep the dance studio, too?”
    “That’s the plan. I’d teach dance during the school year and have the store during the summer.”
    “Then I’m all for it. You’re certainly well versed on how to run a business after having the day care and studio the last few years. I want you to find something that makes you really happy.”
    “That’d be nice.”
    “I was wondering,” Maddie said with a calculating gleam in her eyes. “The night Hailey was born, I noticed you talking to Blaine Taylor. Call me crazy, but it seemed like there might’ve been some sparks flying between you and our sexy new police chief.”
    Tiffany’s heart rate kicked into gear at the reminder of the man who was her brother-in-law Mac’s good friend. “How do you know? You were writhing in labor pain.”
    “My eyes were working just fine. So tell me—sparks or no sparks?”
    “Maybe. Some.” Tiffany brushed a hand over the arm of the sofa. More like an inferno, not that she’d give her sister that piece of info. “He’s kinda hot, isn’t he?”
    “Uh-huh,” Maddie said with a giggle. “Kinda smoking hot.”
    Tiffany exhaled a long, deep breath. “Is it awful to admit that when I look at him all I can think about is how badly I want to
do
him so when Jim accuses me of