Alaskan Adventure (Destination: Desire) by Crystal Jordan

Author:Crystal Jordan [Jordan, Crystal]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: contemporary romance, Alaska, adventure, outdoor, vacation romance, cruise
Publisher: Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
Published: 2014-12-09T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seven

“Good morning.”

Anne’s eyes weren’t even open yet when she felt the warm brush of Gabe’s lips over hers, and she couldn’t help the smile that curved her mouth. “’Morning.”

Then she remembered last night. The phone call. Her mother. Oh good Lord.

“I’m going to grab a shower.” He patted her bare butt and then the mattress creaked as he rose and walked away. “You sleep a little more.”

“Okay.” Now she wasn’t opening her eyes because she didn’t want to see if he was thinking about last night too.

She was used to her mother’s theatrics embarrassing the crap out of her. She’d learned to be pretty bombproof in her almost thirty-four years of life, but even then, Dinah always found ways to go the extra mile to humiliate. Whether there was anything to get excited about or not, she was going to cause a commotion. There was no if, only when.

Last night, though? Anne had wanted to crawl in a hole and die. Or fling herself overboard into the icy water. Meeting Gabe’s eyes after he’d heard her mom spaz the hell out over nothing had sucked. Explaining the details of her dysfunctional family had been even harder. Especially since she knew his family was so tight-knit and nice. She usually joked about the drama llama, laughed it off, but with Gabe sitting there looking so concerned for her, so kind and earnest, she’d confessed her desire to run away from home. Permanently.

She’d considered transferring schools so she had to move, but then she’d be moving away from her friends and support network for no other reason than to escape her mom. It seemed juvenile. And, in all honesty, she’d still have to have the brutal kick-out conversation because Dinah would expect to go with her. Freeloading for life.

It had to stop. That was the bottom line.

The toilet flushed, and then she heard the sink running. Gabe liked to brush his teeth before he showered; she liked to brush hers after. It was just one of those little quirks she’d noticed. Normally, she didn’t pay attention to details like that. With Gabe, she seemed to want to catalog everything. Maybe so she could call it up and remember it all after they’d parted ways.

A pang hit her heart at that thought, and she shook her head at herself. The sink switched off and the shower turned on.

Maybe things being so good with Gabe was what was pushing her to finally rip free of her mother’s clutches. Maybe it was seeing how functional Gabe’s relationship with his parents was. Maybe it was that Vince reminded her a little of her own dad. But Anne remembered what it was like not to hate every second she spent with a parent. She remembered it wasn’t supposed to suck this badly.

After she got home, it was time to have the come-to-Jesus talk with Dinah. Her sisters would be invading the house en masse for Meg’s wedding, so Anne would wait until after so that her siblings weren’t drawn into the fight and end up as collateral damage to the drama.

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