Love Finds You in Treasure Island, Florida by Debby Mayne Read Free Book Online Page B

who are you going with?”
    “You’ll see,” Lacy said with a giggle.
    “Fine, don’t tell me.” She started to pull the door closed but paused when Lacy reached out and flung it open again.
    “Are you coming home to change before you leave?”
    “No,” Amanda said slowly. “Why should I?”
    Lacy grimaced and shook her head as she pointed to Amanda’s clothes. “You’re going like that?”
    Amanda glanced down at her bike shorts, sports top, and Windbreaker. “What’s wrong with this? I wear it almost every day, and you haven’t said anything about it before.”
    “But you don’t normally have a date after work.”
    “This isn’t exactly a date,” Amanda tried to explain. “He’s just looking for something to do, and I said we could go to the festival.”
    “Trust me, Amanda, this is a date.” Lacy reached out and gently pulled Amanda back into the house. “It’s fine if you want to wear that for work, but you need to change into something a little more flattering afterward. C’mon, I’ll find you something that’ll knock his socks off.”
    Rather than waste time arguing with her sister, fashion icon and basic shallow thinker, Amanda allowed Lacy to rummage through both of their closets until she came up with trousers from Amanda’s wardrobe and a cute little tunic from her own.
    “I’m glad I bought this in a size smaller,” Lacy said as she shoved the tunic into a tote. “I thought I was going to lose a little weight, but since it didn’t happen, at least you can get some use out of it.” She grabbed a necklace from the wicker table and dropped it into the side pocket. “Put this on, too.”
    “Thanks.” Amanda took the tote and headed out the door before her sister thought of something else she might need. As it was, she had a little difficulty maneuvering everything while steering her bicycle toward the shop.
    Between customers, Amanda thought about the clothes in the bag and wondered if she really needed to worry so much about what to wear. If Jerry really liked her, would it matter if she put on that cute little top of Lacy’s?
    The day seemed to drag, but a half hour after the high school let out, Tiffany arrived to take over. Amanda handed her the reservation book then headed for the back room where she’d stashed the tote from her sister.
    When she heard the bell on the door, she stilled and listened for Jerry’s familiar voice. Her heart pounded when she was sure it was him.
    “Just a minute,” Tiffany said. “I’ll see if she’s ready to go.”
    Amanda hadn’t changed yet, so when Tiffany stopped at the door of the back room and eyeballed her before speaking, she made a decision. She wasn’t changing clothes. This wasn’t a date, and she’d decided it would be easier and more fun to ride bikes to the beach.
    “Tell Jerry I’ll be right out,” she said. “Oh, and does he have biking clothes?”
    Tiffany slowly shook her head no. “He’s a little overdressed for riding a bike.”
    “That’s fine.” Amber glanced around the room until her eyes settled on some returns she’d kept on hand for emergencies. “He can wear that. Why don’t you send him back here?”
    “Okey-dokey.” Tiffany disappeared as Amanda searched until she found everything Jerry would need.
    “You wanted me for something?” Jerry asked.
    Amanda crooked her finger and motioned for him to join her. “You’re a little too dressed up for riding bikes, so I found something for you to change into. I hope you don’t mind.”
    His lips formed a straight line as his forehead crinkled. “We’re riding bikes?”
    She nodded. “I thought that would be fun.”
    After a brief pause, he looked at the clothes. “I’m game.” A goofy expression spread over his face as he raked a gesture over his outfit. “You don’t approve of what my mother picked out?”
    She laughed. “You look nice, Jerry, but next time, you might want to remember where you are. This is Treasure Island. The beach. We