Romeow and Juliet by Kathi Daley Read Free Book Online Page A

bit and he needs to take things a bit more seriously.
    Danny must have noticed that the exterior lights of the sanctuary were on because he headed our way
    “Hey, sis.” Danny bent over and kissed me on the cheek. Then he turned and kissed Tara on the cheek as well.
    “So what brings you to my neck of the woods this evening?” I asked.
    Danny lived on his boat in the marina and was most often found at the pub nearby at this time of day.
    “I was at O’Malley’s tossing down a pint and you’ll never guess who I ran into.”
    “Santa Claus.”
    “What? Why would you guess that?”
    “You said I’d never guess, so I tried to imagine the least likely answer.”
    “I didn’t run into Santa Claus, but I did run into Cody West.”
    I paled. Cody West was the boy who’d taken my virginity and then disappeared into the sunset, never to be seen or heard from again. Okay, maybe that’s not exactly what happened. Exactly what happened was that I was foolish enough to fall in love with Danny’s best friend, a boy two years my senior. According to both Danny and Tara, the only two people in the world who know the details of the series of events leading up to my still beating heart being ripped from my chest, the incident, at least in part, had been my fault.
    Cody had been eighteen and a high-school senior, while I was sixteen and a sophomore. I’d been lusting after him since the moment I hit puberty, which most likely had led to my ill-advised plan. I managed to sneak into the party the senior class was having on graduation night, where I fully intended to seduce the guy I knew in my heart I was destined to spend the rest of my life with. On the surface it seemed that my seduction worked fantastically. While Cody tried to divert my attention in the beginning, I was persistent and managed to squeeze my way past his defenses. It was a magical night, a night of romance and intimacy that I assumed would lead to happily ever after. The problem was that Cody had plans for his life after graduation. Big plans. Plans that didn’t include a life with Danny Hart’s little sister.
    I know now that it had been foolish to believe that I’d be able to talk Cody into discarding his plans to join the Navy and remain on the island with me. For one thing, he’d already enlisted, so despite my attempt to get him to stay, he already had an obligation to go.
    In his defense, he did write to me when he got the opportunity. He apologized for our night of passion and assured me that it never should have happened. I was devastated. Beyond devastated; I was outraged that the man I loved would choose a life in the Navy over one with me.
    “What’s he doing here?” I asked.
    “He says he’ll be on the island for the summer. He asked about you. Wanted to know if you had a guy in your life.”
    “What did you tell him?” I felt myself begin to panic.
    “I told him you were juggling a few guys but hadn’t decided to make a commitment to any one suitor just yet.”
    I hugged Danny. He was one of the few people on the planet, along with Tara, who really got me.
    “I wanted to swing by and warn you that he plans to look you up. I figured if I gave you a heads-up you’d be prepared for when you inevitably run into him.”
    “Thanks. I owe you.”
    “And that,” Danny grinned, “is quite convenient because I just happen to need a favor.”
    I groaned. “What do you want?” Leave it to Danny to take a beautiful sibling moment and turn it into a negotiation.
    “I have a date with Melanie Hannigan this weekend.”
    “So?” Melanie was a waitress at the pub who was very well endowed.
    “So her cousin is in town and she wanted me to find him a date so we could double.”
    “You want me to go on a date with Melanie’s cousin? What are you, my pimp?”
    “It’s just one date.”
    “Isn’t there someone else you can ask to tag along? You know lots of girls,” I pointed out.
    “True, but you’re the only girl I know who won’t get