Page 20 of Beautiful Crazy
“No.” Shaking her head, she breathes out a laugh. “People always ask that, though. It was a really great coincidence.”
Taking a bite from the muffin, I groan before I can stop myself. “Holy crap, this is so good.”
“Aren’t they amazing?” she asks before taking a bite too. “They’re from Grace’s bakery. She brought them over this morning.”
“You mean the bakery on Main Street?”
“Yup.” She nods. “Bake Me Happy is Grace’s pride and joy. She opened the storefront when Blakely was about one.”
“That’s awesome. I’ve passed by it a few times but haven’t had a chance to go in yet. I’ll have to check it out.”
“Prepare to become addicted.” Gemma laughs, and I can’t help but watch her. I could definitely see myself getting addicted, but not to pastries.
“You have another sister and a brother, right?” I ask. “Do they have kids too?”
“Yeah, so Georgia is my other sister. She’s the oldest out of all of us, and doesn’t have any kids, nor does she want any.” Gemma breathes out a laugh. “She’s happy being the fun aunt. Then Graham is my brother and Grace’s twin. He’s married, and his wife is pregnant with their first child. Oh, and then Fletcher is my stepbrother, but I kind of always forget about him because he doesn’t live aroundhere. He’s pretty young, like twenty-two, if I’m not mistaken.”
She has such a big family, and the pride she wears on her face when she talks about them has me smiling. “Where does he live?”
“In Charleston,” she explains. “He works at a huge property investment business with his dad. They’re richer than they know what to do with. Pretty sure his dad comes from old money, but I’ve only met his dad, like, twice. Fletcher comes to visit our mom a couple times a year, but that’s it.”
“So, you’re not close with him like you are with your other siblings?”
She shakes her head. “No. We were all pretty much out of the house by the time they got married and we met him, so it was hard to build a relationship, especially since he never lived with our parents.”
“How old were you when your parents separated?”
Am I being too nosy? Asking too many questions?She doesn’t seem to mind, though.
“Oh, gosh.” She’s quiet for a moment, like she really has to think about it. “I think I was twelve? I could be wrong. It’s been a long time. They have a great relationship, though. They both remarried, and all four of them are friends.”
“That’s great! I know that’s not the case for a lot of people.”
Gemma’s lips curl into a small smile as she looks over at me. “What about you? Any brothers or sisters?”
“Nope, only child. I always wanted siblings, though.”
“It definitely has its perks, like somebody to play withyou and confide in, but I’m sure you never had to fight for your parents’ attention the same way we did.” She chuckles softly, and as it filters through my ears, I realize it’s easily and quickly becoming my favorite sound.
Before I can respond, the front door opens, and we both turn our heads as we watch a line of kids pile inside, followed by Gemma’s sister. Her eyes flit from Gemma to me, then back to her sister, a smile splitting her face.
“Well, hi, you two.” Dropping her bag on the bench by the door, she toes out of her shoes before joining us on the patio. “Didn’t know you were having company. It’s nice to see you again, Everett.”
“Oh, it wasn’t planned,” I murmur, as Gemma says, “Everett came over and fixed the dishwasher this morning.”
Grace snorts. “It’s about dang time you got that thing fixed.” Her eyes skate over to me before she adds, “That was awfully nice of you, Everett.”
“It was no big deal.” I wave her off just as Sutton strolls outside. “Everett!” His brows pinch before he asks, “Or should I call you Mr. Windward?”
Chuckling, I say, “Everett is fine when we’re at your house, but you should probably stick with Mr. Windward when we’re at school. Deal?”
“Deal.” He grins wide, his lips blue like maybe they had Popsicles before they came home. “Do you want to play catch with me and Beau? We got our mitts today!”
“Oh, honey, I’m sure he’s got stuff to do,” Gemma says.
“No, it’s okay.” Glancing back at Sutton, I say, “I’d love to.”
“Really?” His eyes go big. “Cool! Beau! Get out here!”