The Marvelous Monroe Girls by Shirley Jump

Author:Shirley Jump
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Published: 2022-01-11T00:00:00+00:00

The closer the clock got to seven, the faster Gabby paced and stressed. It was a photo shoot. Nothing more. She’d been alone with Jake hundreds of times. This was no different. So what if he seemed a little flirty earlier and the other night at dinner? If they got too close again tonight, she’d just remind him that she had no interest in or time for a relationship. No desire to have her heart broken again. And definitely no desire to fall in love with a man who could move on in a blink, as if she’d been no more memorable than a turkey sandwich.

Lori had picked up a shift at the bar where she worked part-time, which left Gabby as the model for tonight. Gabby knew her inventory inside and out and had been the creative vision behind Celebrate History in the Harbor, so it made sense for her to be the face of both.

Yet a nervous tickle persisted inside her all day. Something had shifted between Jake and her after that kiss, and it had tipped her entire world to one side. Now they were going to be alone, at night, for hours. Pre-kiss, she’d never give something like that a second thought. Now she was having third and fourth and fortieth thoughts about whether this was a good idea.

Just as she flipped the sign on the door to CLOSED, she saw Jake striding up the sidewalk, a backpack slung over one shoulder and a tripod in one hand. The streetlights bounced off his dark hair, his rangy build, his strong stride. She watched him for a moment, wondering when he got so tall and…well, handsome.

The answer was easy. All those changes had happened when she hadn’t been paying attention. When he’d been nothing more than the sometimes-annoying boy next door. When she’d been dating his cousin, and getting her heart broken, and investing all her energy into her family and her shop.

“Hey,” she said as she pulled open the door and let him and a gust of cool spring air into the building. “Thanks for being on time.” Because that meant she’d be done sooner and less tempted to make another mistake.

Was it a mistake if she had enjoyed it so much? If her ears were attuned to his every word, hoping for another endearment? If she looked at those daisies and lilies in the vase she’d set on her countertop and missed him in a way she never had before? Or maybe she was just a hopeless romantic like Momma had been.

“Thanks for doing this.” He glanced around the store. “So is Lori here or…?”

“She couldn’t make it. So…it will just be you and me.” When she said those words aloud, it sounded way more intimate than she had meant it to. He was just so tall, and so there, and she couldn’t stop wondering if he would kiss her again.

Did she want him to kiss her again?

No. Definitely, positively no…ish.

“Uh, why don’t you get set up?” She backed up, stumbling over her own feet and nearly running into a rack of clothes.

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