Total pages in book: 166
Estimated words: 157273 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 786(@200wpm)___ 629(@250wpm)___ 524(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 157273 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 786(@200wpm)___ 629(@250wpm)___ 524(@300wpm)
“Yep,” he confirmed. “And you’ve got your eye on who Lina calls the quiet one, so just don’t.”
“Who’s Lina?” It was hard to think of Alessandra as quiet after the way she’d just argued on Eva’s behalf.
He flinched. “The oldest. Nineteen, incredibly talented, and gorgeous, and so fucking frustrating. She’s got walls ten feet thick, and unfortunately for you, I think they run in the family.”
“Clearly they interact with some locals.” I shot him a knowing look.
“Alessandra isn’t Lina. She’s not going to break rules,” Gavin said as we cut across the current. “And this little rescue stays between us, because Caroline fucking hates them. Something about a milkshake incident and them being entitled.”
Shit. The last thing I wanted was to hurt Caroline’s feelings. “Doubt it was Alessandra.” Maybe I’d only spent five minutes with her, but she hardly seemed entitled.
“So much for not looking at her. And seriously, they’re not allowed to date, and I don’t want to watch you get all angsty over there.” Gavin rolled his eyes, then mercifully stopped digging.
I looked over my shoulder and found Alessandra watching me in a way that made me think noticing the two life jackets wasn’t an anomaly for her. I’d bet she was always that aware, that attuned to detail. Observant could easily be mistaken for quiet, especially with that many siblings around.
She tilted her head, and I was struck straight in the ribs with the illogical need for more time with her. Not romantically, of course—she was entirely out of my league. I wanted to know what kind of music she listened to, what books she liked, which movies were her favorite. I wanted to know if she minded the way she was kept sequestered, and what made her smile. And the closer we came to the cliffs, the more my chest tightened.
Whatever I said or did in the next five minutes would determine if I ever got the chance to actually know her, or if this would be a one-time encounter that always left me wondering.
She hugged her knees to her chest with one hand and held on to the handrail with the other, then looked away when her sister said something I couldn’t hear.
When we finally made it to a massive ocean-side pier and boathouse at the base of the cliffs on which most of the summer mansions sat, there were two brunettes waiting, one worried and one furious.
“She’s pissed,” Gavin muttered, staring up at the angry one as we approached on the port side of the pier. “How’s it going, Lina?” he called up, idling the engine when we reached drifting distance. The next couple of waves would put us at the ladder, and if Gav misjudged the distance, Dad was going to murder us.
“You have my sisters in your boat, so that about explains it.” Lina put her hands on her hips. “Though I’ll admit it’s nice to see you, Gavin.”
“Noted.” Holy shit—was my brother blushing?
“How do you know them?” Eva shouted up as I moved to starboard and threw out the buoys so we didn’t crush the hull against the pier, then leaned over the hull, preparing to catch the ladder and hold on.
“None of your business,” Lina retorted. “Now, thank the Ellis boys and get up this ladder—oh shit, Allie, are you hurt?” She dropped to her knees above us, looking over the edge of the pier as we rocked in toward the ladder.
“She’s hurt?” The other sister immediately joined Lina. “How badly? Can you make it up the ladder?”
“It’s nothing to worry about, Anne,” Alessandra answered. “I promise.”
I grabbed hold of the thick ladder, and the wood groaned as I caught the weight of the boat, quickly looping a rope around the entirety and tying us off at the middle cleat so the next wave didn’t carry us away or take out the structure.
“She knows them? Lina sneaks out?” Eva hissed at Alessandra, and Gavin cut the engine.
“Sounds like it,” Allie replied, biting back a smile as she and Eva made their way toward me. “Good for her.”
A spark of hope lit off in my chest like a firecracker. Maybe Gavin was right and she wasn’t a rule breaker, but I bet she just might be a rule bender.
Eva dumped her wet towels on the floor of the boat, then muttered her thanks and scrambled onto the ladder between waves. The next swell splashed water over the swimming deck and onto the seats.
“You should get up there before the next one hits,” Gavin said to Alessandra, and I seriously debated punching my brother in the face.
“Right. Thank you for coming after us.” She offered me a quick smile.
“You’re welcome.” I offered my hand to help her, but she was already climbing over the seat, making it to the ladder effortlessly.
She cleared a few rungs before the next wave came along, then looked down with a grimace as a smaller wave rocked us. “Crap. I’m still wearing your hoodie.”