Sisters & Sweethearts RomCom Box Set: 3 Closed Door Small Town Romantic Comedies by Kate O'Keeffe

Author:Kate O'Keeffe [O'Keeffe, Kate]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Wild Lime Books
Published: 2024-01-03T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 17

Ryn

Of course, I shouldn’t be surprised. It’s nothing new. The Hunter’s Creek Ladies’ Committee, aka The Meddling Women of This Town with Nothing Better to Do, has been trying to matchmake Gabe and me for years.

It’s just…oh, I don’t know. There’s something about them trying to do it today that makes it so very awkward now that I know he kept our movie ticket stubs and photo strip from the night we kissed. Add to that the fact that Ivy wants to get back together with him, and that both he and I are here on dates with other people, it could not come at a more awkward—or confusing—time.

Despite the fact that I’ve been thoroughly wrapped up in Joe tonight, those mementos keep playing in my mind. He knows he has them because they’re inside the book I gave him only a couple of years ago. Why? Why keep them? Why tell me he didn’t?

Unless that night meant more to him than he’s let on, and he did want to kiss me for reasons other than being on the rebound from Ivy, which must mean he had real feelings for me, which might mean he still does, and if so, what does that mean and how do I feel about it and⁠—

Stop!

I’m letting my imagination run away like a kid after an ice cream truck on a hot day. I can’t even think that.

And anyway, this is Gabe we’re talking about. Gabe. He’s my best friend, my confidant, the straightforward guy who treats me like his kid sister.

The fact that I’m only three days younger than him is immaterial.

I blow out a breath.

Gabe doesn’t feel anything for me other than the love of a good friend. And that’s what I am to him: a good friend. A best friend. And that’s a lot.

I turn to see Ivy, her face lit up like a Christmas tree.

“Come quick. Gabe’s about to get dunked,” she tells me. “Hey, Marlowe.”

“Hi, Ivy.”

“Gabe’s about to what?” I ask as she pulls me away from Marlowe and back into the crowd.

“It’s a charity thing. You sit above a pool of water and people throw things at a target and if it hits… splash, Gabe gets wet.”

“Why is he doing that? It’s a fundraiser for the elementary school, isn’t it? The last time I checked, he wasn’t a teacher.”

We make our way from the bar and back into the throngs of festival goers.

“You know what he’s like. Always happy to help. Look. We’re just in time.”

We’ve reached one of those dunking contraptions. One of the teachers has been dunked, much to the delighted amusement of the kids in the crowd, and Gabe is waiting in the wings. He’s in a pair of swim shorts so he must have gone back home to change for this.

I look at him and catch his eye, and he throws me a sheepish grin.

I wave awkwardly, my mind stuck on those mementos.

He looks like Gabe. He talks like Gabe, but right now, he feels like a completely different person.

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