The One That Got Away by Jamie Sobrato Read Free Book Online Page B

world of strangers.
    Nina sighed. “I guess we’ll all avoid the rush-hour traffic if we head out earlier rather than later. Are you sure?”
    Izzy shrugged. “Whatever.”
    She and Nina hugged briefly.
    “Call my cell phone anytime you want, okay? Anytime. I mean it.”
    “Okay,” Izzy said, sounding listless.
    “I want to hear all about Promise Lake. And if for any reason you need to see me, I’ll fly you to New York, or I’ll come up to Promise once I’m back, okay?”
    “Okay.”
    They said their goodbyes and piled into Ginger’s car, Izzy in the backseat with the dog.
    This wasn’t going the way Marcus had envisioned. He’d expected a bit more enthusiasm on Isabel’s part, maybe a bit more warmth. He hadn’t expected sullenness or hostility, which proved how far in over his head he was right now. He didn’t know a damn thing about teenage girls, so why did he think he could be a father to one?
    He didn’t. He hadn’t chosen this situation. Not exactly, anyway.
    Ginger started the car as the dog whimpered in the backseat.
    “Is it okay if Lulu rides in my lap?”
    “So long as she doesn’t pee all over my seat,” Ginger said, smiling into the rearview mirror.
    Her light tone was met with steely silence, then the sound of the pet travel bag being unzipped.
    “Have you had lunch yet?” Marcus thought to ask.
    “No. I’m not hungry.”
    “I’m famished,” Ginger said. “Maybe we should stop on our way out of town?”
    “Know anyplace good?” he asked.
    “There’s a great Puerto Rican place in San Rafael once we cross the bridge. Sound good?”
    “Do they allow dogs?” Marcus asked.
    “Hmm, I guess not. Oh, but I know a pizza place with outdoor seating. How’s that?”
    “Perfect.” He turned around in his seat. “Sound good to you, Izzy?”
    “I said I’m not—”
    “I know, I know, but maybe by the time we get there you can force down a piece of pepperoni pizza.”
    “I’m a vegetarian.”
    “Cheese pizza?”
    She sighed.
    Marcus turned forward again and stared out the window. Why had she wanted to get to know him if she wasn’t willing to make an effort? He tried to recall what it was like to be thirteen years old. He had some hazy memories of teenage angst and raging hormones, but nothing to anchor him to Izzy’s reality.
    Especially not after what she’d been through. His own childhood might have been a little chaotic compared to most, but he’d had both of his parents, and he’d always been secure in their love for him. Izzy, on the other hand, had lost her mother and only just met her father today.
    Maybe she was worried about losing him, too. Maybe it was easier to reject him first rather than risk being rejected.
    He didn’t know how she felt, but Ginger might. That had been his primary reason for asking her if they could spend the summer with her. She’d lost her parents as a child. She’d walked the same sad path Izzy was walking now, and maybe she could guide the girl through it.
    Maybe she could guide him, too.
    Of all the people he’d ever known, Ginger was the only friend he had who might be qualified to help.
    And the fact that she was willing…
    He owed her the sun and the moon for that.



CHAPTER FIVE
    O NE AWKWARD LUNCH AND two even more awkward hours of driving went by before Ginger pulled into the driveway of her Promise Lake house and killed the engine.
    “Here we are,” she chirped too brightly.
    She had the distinct feeling everyone in the car was regretting having agreed to make this trip, and now here they were, about to shack up in her house as if they wanted to be together.
    She’d made a horrible, terrible mistake. She didn’t know Marcus anymore. She’d been a fool to think she could just invite him back into her life and everything would work out.
    “This place is beautiful,” Marcus said as they got out of the car. “How’d you find it?”
    “Do you remember Soleil Freeman from college?”
    He frowned. “I don’t think