Fumbled (The Girls of Beachmont #1) Read Online Free Page A

would
probably be appalled by our banter, but Nick was the closest thing I had to a
brother. Many even thought we were actually related because of our auburn hair
and blue eyes, but that’s where the similarities stopped. Nick was slightly taller
than I was, and his olive complexion gave him an exotic appearance. But then
again, his family was from Italy.
    The moment he and Millie
started dating, I adopted him. He was like the stray dog you couldn’t get rid
of, even if you wanted to.
    They met our junior year
at Beachmont University and were inseparable. I was a bridesmaid at their
wedding, along with my other two roommates, Viola and Jolie. Our foursome
welcomed Nick with open arms.
    “So Philip is not coming over, right?”
    Nick rubbed his hand across
his forehead and looked at me like I had grown horns. “Do I have ‘idiot’
written across my face?”
    I looked at Millie, who
seemed to be irritated with her husband, and pointed at her angry scowl.
“Aren’t you afraid of that ?”
    “There are two things I
know: one—you don’t get involved in other people’s business.”
    “And two?” Millie asked
with a raised brow.
    “If you piss off your
wife, you leave the kid with the best friend and take her anywhere she wants to
go.”
    Millie smiled lovingly
at her husband and all appeared right in their little world. I didn’t envy
their bubble. I’d always felt they married young, but who was I to stand in the
way of their happiness? And it was clear they were happy.
    I plucked Colton from
Millie’s arms and started making faces and weird noises to entertain him while
his parents chatted. They were speaking in hushed tones, so I knew they were
talking about me.
    “So tell me about this
guy,” Nick pried, but I shook my head.
    “Nothing to tell. He
changed my tire and got my number. That’s it.”
    “This was yesterday?”
    “Yep.”
    “I bet he calls on
Monday,” he said with finality.
    I turned to look at him
and wanted to laugh at the confidence in his statement. While I was
disappointed he hadn’t called the day I met him, what Nick suggested was almost
insulting.  
    “Monday, huh?”
    “Yeah. Three-day rule.
If he calls today, he’s too eager. If he waits longer than three days, he’s a
player. My guess, he’ll call on Monday. That way he looks busy, but not too
busy. And interested, but not too interested.”
    I looked from Millie to
Nick and back. “Is he serious?”
    “Everyone knows the
three-day rule, Dani.”
    “Clearly,” I said,
pointing to myself, “I must have been sick the day they handed out the memo.”
    “If I’m right, you owe
me a kid-free night so I can be with my wife,” Nick said, smirking at Millie.
    “And if you’re wrong?”
    “I won’t be wrong,” he
said.
    I looked down at Colton,
who was mesmerized by the necklace I was wearing, and kissed his chubby little
cheeks. When I looked at my friends, they were exchanging looks that I’d rather
they kept to themselves.
    “Ew. Go. Now.” I waved
toward the door, shielding Colton’s eyes. “Go out and get that out of your
system. This poor kid doesn’t need to see that.”
    “Are you serious?”
Millie asked, standing up hesitantly. “Because I will so take you up on the
offer.”
    “Go. Colton and I have
an exciting night of cartoons and sleeping planned.”
    Nick grabbed Millie’s
hand and pulled her behind him, waving as they left.
    “You’re the best, Dani,”
he said. “We won’t be long.”
    “No worries. I have the
better end of the deal,” I teased.
    I heard the door shut
and I was alone with Colton, who seemed utterly content in my arms. I was
swaying from side to side while he continued to grab whatever was catching his
attention at the moment.
    “Three-day rule, my
ass,” I muttered and Colton made a weird noise. I looked down at him and kissed
his head. “You’re not going to grow up to be a jerk like all the other guys,
are you?”
    His response was to
drool, spit, and