Sand Jewels (The Wishes Series) by GJ Walker-Smith Read Free Book Online

tonight.”
    And therein lies the rub. Gorgeous, young Alex disappeared in an instant. Responsibility-laden Alex took his place. I pulled my shirt back in place and fussed with the buttons, trying to pull myself together.
    Alex took a step back and ran his hands through his hair, doing nothing to tidy it up. He had bedroom hair. End of story.
    “Don’t be mad,” he said quietly, following up with a too-sexy grin. “We were getting along so well.”
    “I am not mad.”
    I pushed him aside and jumped off the counter. Busying myself by checking the dinner in the oven was the only thing I could think of to hide the fact that I was hurt.
    When I opened the oven and made a grab for the dish inside, Alex took the oven mitts from me and took over. He lifted the dish out and set it down on top of the stove. “Is there something going on here, Gabs?” he asked, turning back to face me.
    “Of course not,” I huffed. “I enjoy nothing more than cooking a grand meal for my boyfriend that no one knows about.” I threw out my arms. “He’s gorgeous and smart and incredibly good in bed. You know how I know he’s good in bed?”
    “No,” he replied, daring to grin at my theatrics. “How?”
    “Because that’s where we end up – usually after dinner, sometimes before,” I replied, dropping the choler and killing his smile. “And then he leaves me and goes back to whatever the hell he was doing before he came here and pretended to be mine for a while.”
    I’d made it sound like such a pathetic story. Anyone who didn’t know better would think I was referring to another woman rather than a problematic teenage sister.
    “I don’t know what you expect me to do.”
    I could tell he was at a complete loss. He also looked worried. The next words out of my mouth did nothing to calm him. “I think you should tell Charli about us.”
    He was shaking his head before I’d even finished my sentence. “I don’t think – ”
    “We’ve been together for months, Alex,” I reminded. “You said you wanted to be sure we were going to work. We’ve held it together through everything. Why must we keep it a secret?”
    His brown eyes bored into me while he nervously chewed his bottom lip. “Once it’s out everyone will know. Gossip in this town is terrible. You’ve seen what she’s been through.”
    “She’ll handle it, Alex,” I assured.
    “It’s not even Charli’s issue, Gabs,” he replied. “I’ve tried very hard to keep things constant for her. This is going to change everything.”
    I nudged him aside while I dealt with dinner. “She’s not the impressionable little kid you seem to think she is,” I insisted.
    I felt qualified to say it because I’d spent almost as much time with her as he had lately, and I reminded him of it.
    “Detention today?” He sounded surprised. “She never told me.”
    I took two plates out of the cupboard and set them down on the counter. “What were you expecting to happen after her little episode with Lily? By rights, you should’ve been sitting at the desk next to her.”
    Alex leaned his back against the counter and folded his arms. I quickly glanced across at him as I threw open the drawer next to him. He looked completely perplexed.
    “ Le pain , Alex – the bread,” I reminded, grabbing a serving spoon. “You gave it to her. That makes you an accomplice.”
    He was quiet for a long moment. I used the time to mutter under my breath about the horrid state of my overcooked fish dish.
    “Gabrielle, what did she do with the bread?”
    I stopped what I was doing to look at him. “You really don’t know? She said you gave it to her.”
    His short explanation was laced with ire. Floss Davis has a pet Cape Barren goose called Kevin. The sister from hell had sweetly offered to stop in and feed it the two loaves of stale café bread Alex was planning to throw out that morning. Obviously, she’d found a better use for it.
    “Floss has a goose called Kevin?” I asked,