Sizzle: A Surprise Pregnancy Small Town Romance (Ashton Family Book 3) by Carrie Aarons

Author:Carrie Aarons [Aarons, Carrie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-01-26T00:00:00+00:00

17

GABRIELLE

The bridge is nearly empty at this time of the morning, and I’m almost thankful that Liam made me get out of bed at the crack of dawn.

“There is nothing like bridging the line between two states when the sun comes up.” He holds my hand as the murky blueish sky becomes lighter and lighter.

“This is gorgeous. We should come out here on a boat sometime.” The morning breeze is cool off the water, even in the summer, but I revel in the way it’s making me feel alive.

“My Nonno used to do that with me when I was a kid.”

“Really … he fishes, too?” I smirk, squeezing his hand.

Overhead, some birds squawk, and a car drives over the bridge next to us. Liam suggested walking the bridge between Pennsylvania and New Jersey when we both woke early this morning, and since it was close to five a.m., I didn’t think we’d be seen by anyone. A date in Hope Crest, if one considers this a date, is a small step to becoming more public like Liam wants. Even if no one sees it.

“Not since he passed. It really wasn’t my favorite thing, but I loved doing it because he did. He’d get so excited to set up our tackle boxes and pick out snacks to bring on the boat. The act of sitting in quiet solitude with him was what I liked best about it.”

A shimmer of compassion passes through my gut. I’m not sure why, but it feels special that Liam is letting me in about someone as close to him as his grandfather.

“Was he a lot like you in that way? Cherished his silence?” Because I can see it without ever meeting his grandfather.

“Yes, I’d say he was the family member most like me. We understood each other, and he made me feel less alone whenever I’d feel or react in a certain way. When you grow up around people who don’t operate like you do, no matter how much I love my family, it can be like you’re some alien who is wrong in your emotions.”

“Damn, does that resonate.” I snort.

“How so?” The question sounds like one of genuine curiosity.

Shrugging, I try to put it into words. “My family and I just … we never see eye to eye. They’re so foreign to me in a way I’ve never been able to comprehend. While I love them, because I know I’d do anything they asked in a crisis, I just … we aren’t the same. They’re cold and unaffected in situations where I openly weep. They brag and boast while I’d rather just sit quietly and enjoy experiences with them. Sometimes it feels like I was born into the wrong place with the wrong people, as bad as that sounds.”

“It doesn’t sound bad, it sounds honest. It also sounds like you finally decided not to attempt turning yourself into one of them?”

Beneath us, the river runs over rocks that look shallow enough to step on. Idly I wonder if Liam would ever want to go tubing with me.

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