The Kiss on Castle Road (A Lavender Island Novel) by Lauren Christopher Read Free Book Online

shed the layers of sweatshirts, the hats, the attitude, the armor, the bravado. Each layer came off and made her feel lighter still. She closed her eyes and lay back on the shag rug, her arms out, her braid only half done, the rest of her hair splayed along the floor.
    “Look—it’s Gram’s USO cap!” Paige pulled it out of the box.
    “Definitely put that in the ‘save’ pile,” Olivia said.
    “So what’s this I hear about a mancation?” Paige shot over to Natalie as she dug farther into the box.
    Natalie gave Olivia a hard stare.
    “What are you looking at me like that for? She asked ,” Olivia said. “By the way, do you want me to replace your lost cell phone? I know they’re expensive. I can help with a new one.”
    Natalie shook her head. It was tempting. She’d finally had to leave the phone store earlier that day empty-handed and overwhelmed, wondering if she could max out her credit card. But if she didn’t figure out how to stand on her own, she’d stay in the role of the irresponsible, helpless little sister.
    “No, thanks,” she said. “I’ll figure something out.”
    “I could list it as a job expense for you—I truly need you to have one if you’re going to help with Lily.”
    “It’s okay, Olivia. I’m a big girl now.”
    Olivia gave her a dubious look, then glanced at Paige. It bothered Natalie to no end that they had no faith in her.
    “So spill,” Paige said, coming to the bottom of the box. “What’s a mancation?”
    “Olivia has bigger problems,” Natalie said. “Let’s start with her. Ask her about her bed rest.”
    Olivia leaned back on the couch cushion and closed her eyes. “Yes. I’ll admit it. It’s bad. I’m never going to make it through three months.”
    “We can fix that,” Paige offered. “We’ll find you some projects. How about creating some books for Lily? You know, like ‘You’re a Big Sister Now’ kind of books. You could write them, and we’ll print them out for her.”
    Olivia nodded absently. “That’s not a bad idea.”
    “Or photo albums. You have all those photos on your laptop. Why don’t you get professional albums made online for all of Lily’s firsts, or all her birthdays, or something like that? Then you’ll have the template set up for the new baby.”
    Olivia nodded again. “I like that.”
    “And if you show me some ideas for what you like, I can set up the baby’s room,” Natalie offered. “I’ll run around and get whatever you need.”
    Olivia nodded but didn’t say anything to that—Natalie was sure her sisters didn’t think she could decorate either. But she was interested in it. She had a good sense of space and arrangement and a decent sense of style. Her mom had been pushing her to get into event planning with her—their mom now ran a famous event-planning company for celebrities—but Natalie wondered if her mom was just placating her. She wanted to do something on her own.
    “Let’s take a break from boxes,” Paige said. “We’ve been going at this all night. Come here, Natalie—let me brush your hair.”
    Natalie crawled into their typical position from girlhood: Paige leaning against an easy chair, her knees up, and Natalie leaning against Paige’s knees. The scent of baby shampoo wafted with each stroke of the brush and helped spin the cocoon of their past.
    “Why don’t you guys move here with me?” Olivia asked.
    Paige rolled her eyes. “Because there’s still a shortage of dateables.”
    “It’s getting better,” Olivia said.
    “I doubt it.”
    “There’s John O’Donnell, and that new guy named Tag Tagalieri, and I think another guy they might have just hired for the new bar.”
    Paige shook her head. “John-O is arrogant, Tag is too much of a womanizer, and this new guy is probably a figment of your imagination and hopes because I haven’t seen anyone new here in the last six months.”
    “What about Garrett?”
    “Olivia! Garrett is eighteen!”
    “Is he really? Okay, well,