Summer on Lovers' Island Read Online Free

clothing boutique with hand-painted silk scarves and intricately beaded handbags that Lizzie drooled over. They laughed over lobster-shaped salt-and-pepper shakers in a touristy souvenir shop, and when Charlie wistfully touched a hand-pieced quilt she’d been eyeing for the baby’s room Lizzie bought it on the spot.
    â€œAre you crazy?” Charlie turned over the price tag to show Lizzie.
    â€œNo, I am not.” She carefully took the quilt off the display rack, smiling at the yellow and white bunnies peeking over the squares. “It’s gorgeous and you’re in lust with it. It’s the least I can do.”
    â€œBut today is your birthday.”
    Right. She’d pretty much forgotten that little detail. “Then buy me a cupcake.”
    At the bookstore Charlie bought Lizzie an illustrated guide to the Maine Midcoast, another tool, she said, in her ongoing blackmail ploy. But the real clincher was lunch at Breezes Caf é . Grilled panini sandwiches and sweet potato fries would have done it all on their own, but the warm blueberry buckle with vanilla bean ice cream toppled Lizzie over the edge.
    As they left town, Charlie casually directed her past the doctor’s office two streets up, a large saltbox-style house with precisely two parking spots. It looked very proper with its deep-green rhododendrons flanking the door and a sign hanging on the front lawn. Lizzie figured the detour had been a strategic move on Charlie’s part.
    â€œDr. Collins used to be an army doctor,” Charlie said as they pulled up to the curb. “He retired from the military, and after his wife died, he came back to Jewell Cove to set up practice. He took over for Phil Nye, who was the town doc for decades.”
    â€œWhat’s he like?”
    â€œPhil or Joshua?”
    Lizzie chuckled. “Joshua.”
    â€œKind. Smart and efficient. People trust him because he’s local. Jewell Cove might be small, but he keeps up with the latest. He’s been fine to work for. No drama, which from what you’ve said would be a plus. He’s very … uh, professional.”
    Charlie made it sound like that was a negative, but Lizzie figured professionalism and efficiency were fine traits in a doctor. After her disastrous affair with Ian, an ex-army widower sounded positively perfect. No chance of romantic conflicts in the workplace. “I haven’t even come close to saying yes,” Lizzie replied, putting on her signal light to pull away.
    And yet the town had charmed her with its colorful buildings and unique shops. She looked in her rearview mirror at the house. It had a certain appeal. There was a level of friendliness in the town she wasn’t quite comfortable with, but she suspected that would change when the tourists started rolling in and the strangers outnumbered the townies.
    What else was waiting for her that was any better? If she was perfectly honest with herself, it was wishful thinking that she would be able to convince Ian to let her go back to work. Especially while the threat of a lawsuit still hung over her head.
    â€œI don’t know where I’d live,” Lizzie said, as if she and Charlie had already been having that conversation. “And don’t say with you and Dave. No way. I refuse to impose on you two that way. And then there’s my mom.…”
    â€œNot that it would be an imposition, but I already thought of that,” Charlie replied smugly. “And as far as your mom goes, it’s not that long of a drive. With your lighter schedule, it won’t be difficult to visit often. No more difficult than finding time when you’re working over sixty hours a week.”
    â€œYou’re probably right about that last part.” Lizzie sighed. She should have known. Charlie always had a contingency plan, always had her bases covered. Lizzie suspected she’d never stood a chance. Not that she’d truly put up much of a