All of Me Read Online Free Page B

the ones in movies. For her, it seemed the perfect escape. She had no expectations, but was satisfied with the amount of room offered. Yet it wasn’t her home any more than her parents’ house had been. She got the strange sensation she didn’t belong anywhere.
    In a few months, she’d go apartment hunting. Once she knew the job was secure and Wilmington was where she’d stay, anyway. No sense in rushing things. She’d built up a lot in savings from not paying rent. Even though the Covingtons compensated her well, she couldn’t afford a beachfront location, but perhaps something within walking distance so she could stare at the ocean. There was something almost . . . healing about it.
    Pulling her mind out of the pity party, she slipped into her pajamas and brushed her teeth. Before turning in, she walked to the bedroom window and looked outside. She wondered if she’d ever get used to the sight. Her imagination didn’t do the ocean justice. A full moon illuminated the black ripples, the vastness of water stretching on forever.
    Alec wasn’t standing in the sand any longer, but she could all but feel him still in front of her. There was a quiet, humming presence about him that his novels’ back-cover photos didn’t portray. His thick, longish black hair curled just above his ears, and though she couldn’t see them on the beach earlier, she knew his eyes were bluish gray. The square jaw and a shadow of a beard barely growing in gave him a hint of danger. His wide shoulders and taut muscles were a thing of beauty, if not a little intimidating. He was taller than she expected, too—at five foot five, she’d had to crane her neck to look at him. And handsome, especially when he smiled at his own self-deprecating humor.
    Turning from the window, she climbed into bed and stared at the ceiling. Her first trip to the beach, something she’d always dreamed about but never accomplished before now, and Alec Winston left an imprint tied within her memory.
    Faith hadn’t yet decided if that was a bad thing.

chapter
three
    “We’re not leaving for a couple weeks.”
    Faith watched Ginny closely, looking for any signs the sixteen-year-old was upset with what Mia had just told her. She didn’t find any. Ginny continued to color her picture of flowers, concentrating on what was in front of her.
    Mia exchanged a look with Faith from across the kitchen table, her eyes concerned.
    Faith gently stilled Ginny’s hand with her own. “How do you feel about Cole and Mia going on a little trip?”
    Instead of answering, Ginny asked a question of her own. “What’s a honeymoon?”
    Mia smiled and ran her fingers through her short black hair before answering. “When two people get married, they take a vacation together afterward, so they can get closer. That’s called a honeymoon.”
    Ginny mulled that over and tapped her chin with a finger. “But you’re already married.”
    “Yes,” Mia hedged. “There was a lot going on after the wedding six months ago, though. We had just moved here, remember? Things are settled down now, so we’d like to take that trip.”
    “I can’t come?” The question was asked matter-of-factly and without sadness, apparently a distracted thought, because she’d already gone back to coloring.
    “Not this time, pretty girl. But I won’t go if you’re scared or worried. Talk to me.”
    Faith rested her chin in her palm. Mia used that phrase a lot with Ginny.
Talk to me.
It allowed for open communication between them and worked very well in getting Ginny to relay her feelings.
    “How long will you move away?”
    Mia reached for Ginny’s hands. “I’m not moving away. Never. I’ll be back in just under two weeks. We can talk by phone every day.”
    “No.” Ginny slapped the table. “How long will you move away?” Her voice rose in frustration and Faith realized what Ginny was trying to say.
    “Do you mean how far are they traveling?”
    Ginny nodded, anger