Page 14 of Beautiful Crazy
Rolling my eyes, I breathe out a small laugh, because I should’ve known Grace wouldn’t forget to interrogate me about Everett. Though, to be fair, I haven’t stopped thinking about it either. Not that I’d tell her that.
“There’s not really anything to spill,” I murmur. “He’s our neighbor, and now also Sutton’s teacher, apparently.”
Grace snorts. “Bullshit, Gemma. There was clear flirting going on between you two.”
“There was not,” I scoff.
“What about that whole stalking bit? What was that about?”
Turning my head, I meet my sister’s gaze, her eyes ashade lighter than my chocolate browns. “Okay, wemayhave met prior to him moving into the house next door.”
“Oh my gosh, you’ve been keeping secrets from me, you bitch!” Laughter bubbles up my throat as she swats me in the arm. “Start from the beginning, and don’t leave a single thing out!”
I don’t know why I’m so nervous to tell Grace about this. It’s not like it’s anything juicy. “Okay, you remember that day that Sutton was at your place and I went to the beach?”
“The day he barfed all over my kitchen floor? Of course I do.” She chuckles.
“Well, I met him that day,” I go on. “He was sitting at the end of the pier, also watching the sunset, and I went and sat beside him. I don’t even know what came over me, but something about him had me wanting to talk to him. So, I did.”
“And?”
Laughing at her absolute impatience, I say, “And nothing, really. We talked for maybe ten minutes, and then I got your text about Sutton, so I left. Then I saw him a couple other times around town before he moved into the house next door. He was staying at Serendipity. He saw me working on their patio and brought me coffee and a bagel.”
Grace’s eyes squint with how hard she’s smiling. “Oh, I love every single thing about this!” she squeals. Ever the hopeless romantic.
“There’s nothing to love,” I mutter, looking over at the kids. They’re playing tag together with another couple kids they ran into. “He’s friendly, that’s it.”
“Whatever you say, sis,” she drawls. “Nothing about the way he was looking at you in that classroom wasfriendly.”
“Oh my god, Grace.” I chuckle. “You need help.”
My body warms, remembering the way Everett looked at me when we first walked into the classroom.
“I’m just saying, being a little hot for teacher wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world for you. And he’s your neighbor. Talk about convenient.” Grace waggles her brows at me, and I roll my eyes, breathing out a laugh. “Lord knows you could use a little action in your life.”
My sweet, delusional sister isn’t wrong about that. Not that I would ever admit it.
“Hate to break it to you, but that’s never going to happen.”
“You’re no fun,” she huffs.
“Grace, I cannot bang my son’s teacher,” I hiss quietly, like somehow our kids who are yards away might hear me. “That’s fifty shades of inappropriate.”
“I highly doubt you’d be the first parent to do that.” She shrugs. “But whatever you say. I’m calling it now.”
Shaking my head at her, I look out over the water at the setting sun, pretending the sound of that doesn’t unfurl a sense of excitement low in my stomach.
Seven
Everett
“Why don’t you tell me a little bit about your plans for the house?”
Conway, the owner of Levine Construction, sits across from me on my back patio in the new furniture I picked up yesterday. His company is the one the man who works at the hardware store in town referred me to.
Conway seems nice enough. He’s only been here about fifteen minutes, but I can already see why he was recommended. I checked him out online before calling him, and he has raving reviews.
“Well, for starters, it needs a new roof,” I tell him. “I think that’s got to be the first thing we tackle.”