Summer with a Bad Boy: The Love Beach Collection by EmKay Connor

Author:EmKay Connor [Connor, EmKay]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-07-25T00:00:00+00:00

4

Love Beach Brews was doing a steady business serving lunch to visitors and locals, so Willa Leigh was lucky to get a table for her impromptu girls’ lunch. Even better, it was a booth in a corner of the brewery, affording privacy so she could spill everything.

Sipping her Arnold Palmer, one knee jiggling nervously under the table, she scanned the bar. Lots of familiar faces, but the majority of customers were tourists. Some long-time residents complained about the growing number of visitors, but tourism was the town’s primary industry. Without the honeymooners and families who vacationed there, a good number of shopkeepers and service providers would be out of business. For a young mother raising her daughter in Love Beach, a good economy was vital to maintaining a vibrant community.

“Wow, am I the first one here?” Odette took a seat opposite Willa Leigh, scooting over to make room for the other two women joining them.

“Ginger texted that she’s on her way, and all I got from Jezzy was a heart emoji.”

“How is she doing?” Odette craned her neck, searching for the server.

“Okay, I guess.”

Their high school friend had recently returned to Love Beach after living in London for several years. She refused to discuss what had brought her home, simply explaining she needed a change. She was spending the summer in Love Beach to plan her next move.

Willa Leigh was thrilled to have her best friend back. They’d stayed close, but video calls were no substitute for girls’ nights out, day trips to Charleston, and long, lazy days on the beach.

“Ginger is here.” Odette nodded toward the front door where a curvy young woman with Jessica Rabbit hair—luxurious reddish-orange waves—waved in acknowledgement before wending her way through the crowded dining room to their corner.

“Hiya, girls.” She sat next to Odette.

Willa Leigh burst out laughing when she read Ginger’s t-shirt. “How many people have asked you how many days until Christmas?”

Ginger turned so Odette could read the red and green text on the front of her tank top.

“Some hot guy at the bar offered to show me his jingle balls.” Ginger grimaced, but her dark green eyes sparkled with mischief. “I politely declined.”

“You know, there are other holidays besides Christmas,” Odette said dryly.

“Yeah. Christmas Eve. New Year’s Eve. Boxing Day. St. Nicholas Day. Hanukkah. Yule. Kwanzaa.”

“Don’t argue with her,” Willa Leigh advised. “Girl lives and breathes for December 25th.”

“I’m broadening my outlook.” Their conversation paused while the server took drink orders, then Ginger picked up where she left off. “What do you think about a Christmas in July festival? I think it would bring a lot of business to town, but that would seriously detract from binge-watching the Hallmark Channel summer holiday movie marathon.”

“I like Christmas, but you’re giving me a serious case of Bah Humbug,” Odette said.

A few minutes later, Jezzy arrived just as the drinks were delivered. Elegant in that effortless way some women were born with, she wore jeans rolled up at the ankle and an oversized men’s pinstriped button-up, a red bralette flashing between the open placket.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.