On the Rocks (A Turtle Island Novel) by Kim Law Read Free Book Online Page A

liked him. And she didn’t want to sleep with him and not have him call her again. That had happened before.
    “Patrick,” she began as she turned to face him. They were at the base of the small set of steps leading to the porch, the light she’d left on shining down on them, and she was terrified to let him take one step closer to the house.
    “I enjoyed tonight very much.” He lifted her hand and pressed a kiss to her fingers. “But I’m going to leave you here.” He inclined his head toward the front door. “I assume you can get yourself in?”
    Oh. The air went out of her as the rejection set in. He was just being polite.
    Here she’d been worried he’d make a pass and she’d have to choose between morals and physical need, and he’d just been making sure she got home safely. Probably to impress Clint. She nodded. “I can. Thanks for seeing me home.”
    She turned to go before she did something stupid like cry, but Patrick had other ideas.
    He captured one hand and brought her back around to face him. “Hey,” he said softly. “You do realize I’m leaving only because I don’t want to take advantage of you, right?” He squeezed her fingers in his. “You look incredible, and I’ve had a good time tonight. I like you. But you’ve had a little too much to drink. If I come in, I might cross a line you wouldn’t appreciate.”
    Dang. She hadn’t seen that coming. She would definitely have to thank Clint for setting this up. What a gentleman.
    “Maybe we could do this again?” Patrick suggested. “Only, without ten other people watching on the next time?”
    Ginger smiled . . . just as a light in the house next door came on. Instead of answering, she glanced over and saw Carter’s silhouette pass behind his bedroom window, and she instantly thought of years past. She’d sit near her window for hours in the evenings, just waiting for him to show up.
    Of course, she’d always played it cool. Pretended she’d been there reading, maybe studying the stars in preparation for a college astronomy class she’d imagined. What a lame excuse.
    But what she’d actually been doing, every time, was waiting to get a glimpse of Carter.
    She wouldn’t mind a glimpse now.
    “Ginger?”
    “Hmmm?”
    Carter passed by the window again, and this time the curtains swished. She held her breath, but he didn’t pull them back. He didn’t look for her.
    “Ginger?” Patrick spoke louder, jerking her attention from the Ridley house.
    “Sorry,” she mumbled. Mortification flooded her when Patrick turned to see what had captured her attention, and Carter chose that moment to open the curtains. He looked down on them, and Ginger felt every inch of her skin flame.
    “Friend of yours?” Patrick asked. His tone was less than receptive.
    “No.” The word came out quick, and she took one more peek up at Carter’s room. He was gone. She blew out a breath. “My neighbor’s brother. He hasn’t been home in years, and showed up today.”
    Her brain remained fuzzy, but she landed on an explanation for standing there gawking at one man through a window while another was trying to ask her out.
    “Julie,” she said, working overtime to think straight. “She’s pregnant, and apparently Carter”—Ginger swatted a hand toward the now-dark window—“thinks something might be wrong. He came home to check on her.”
    Given that the excuse was accurate, and that Ginger had gotten a good look at their kitchen, she couldn’t help but worry about the girl herself.
    “So . . .” Patrick began. He looked at her again, still holding on to her hand, and she did everything she could to look cute. Her smile felt a little too sweet, and she knew her eyes were open too wide. “Do you want to . . .”
    “Do it again?” she prodded. “Go out?” She would not let go of a second date easily. “I’d love to. How about Friday?”
    Patrick didn’t answer immediately, instead shooting another glance next door. “I have