Her House Divided (Beach Haven Book 1) Read Online Free Page B
Author: A.J. Goode
shouts, so don't worry about it. Sean, this is . . . ah, Tara. She, um, lives here, too.
"You dog !" Sean bellowed, elbowing his way past Ethan. "How long have you been keeping her a secret? Tara, a beautiful woman like you deserves way better than this joker. Dump him and run away with me."
"We're not—"Tara started to say something, but stopped with a confused look on her face. "Have we met before?"
"I'd never forget meeting you," he said.
Ethan didn't like the way they were looking at each other. He told himself firmly that he was not jealous because he had no interest in Tara himself. Well, there had been that kiss in the kitchen, but that had been a mistake, hadn't it?
"I thought we were going to Jake's," he said. "Let's go, Sean."
Sean looked at him as though he had grown three heads. "Are you kidding? You can't leave your girlfriend here alone just to be my wingman."
"I'm not his girlfriend," Tara stated firmly.
"She's not my girlfriend," Ethan insisted at the same time.
Sean looked puzzled.
"I'll explain on the way," Ethan told him. "Let's go. Now ."
Sean drove the short distance to Captain Jake's, and Ethan explained the situation on the way. He deliberately avoided telling his friend anything about that one kiss or about how attracted he was to Tara. Instead of sympathizing with him, however, Sean was amused.
"Your grandma always was a matchmaker," he chuckled. "So you're both living there as roommates until one or the other of you gives up and buys out the other. And since neither one of you has any money, that's probably not going to happen. Which means you're "stuck" living in a small house with a gorgeous woman? Gee, I'm trying to feel sorry for you, Pal. I'm really trying."
"I don't want to talk about it. Let's just go in and have a beer, okay?"
Ethan was determined to have a good time, if for no other reason than to prove to himself and Sean that he wouldn't really rather be home with Tara. He tried not to imagine what she was doing there alone. Maybe she was taking a bubble bath. He could picture her leaning back in the bubbles, eyes closed, naked body relaxing in the hot, steamy water…
He wasn't usually much of a drinker, but he kept ordering fresh beer each time his mind strayed to those disturbing mental pictures. He really shouldn't drink, he knew; the last thing he needed was to run into a parent of one of his students.
He watched Sean move from woman to woman, collecting phone numbers and flirting outrageously, and wondered vaguely why he wasn't interested in doing the same. There were plenty of beautiful women here; some had already shown interest in him, but he just couldn't shake the image of Tara or the memory of the way her body had melted against his during that kiss.
Eventually, it dawned on Ethan that he was drunk. Stupid drunk. Embarrassingly drunk.
"Sean, Buddy, I think I've had a few too many," he mumbled.
"I noticed."
"I think…"he stopped for a moment to try to focus. Nope, he could either speak or open his eyes, but he wasn't going to be able to do both. Not unless the room decided to stop spinning, and he really wasn't up to arguing with the room. "I think I might need to go home," he said carefully, keeping his eyes closed.
"I think so, too. Can you walk at all?"
"Not by myself."
Sean hauled him to his feet and helped him stagger through the crowd toward the door. Even this late at night, the hot humid air hit him in the face as soon as he stepped outside. "Sean, are you okay to drive?" he managed to ask.
"I'm not drinking tonight. I figured you were doing enough of that for both of us."
* * *
Tara took advantage of her Ethan's absence to explore her new home. She searched out every cupboard and closet and familiarized herself with every inch of the house except Bea's room -now Ethan's- and the attic. She was tempted to see what sort of things Bea had stored up there, but she wasn't sure if she was quite ready to
"You dog !" Sean bellowed, elbowing his way past Ethan. "How long have you been keeping her a secret? Tara, a beautiful woman like you deserves way better than this joker. Dump him and run away with me."
"We're not—"Tara started to say something, but stopped with a confused look on her face. "Have we met before?"
"I'd never forget meeting you," he said.
Ethan didn't like the way they were looking at each other. He told himself firmly that he was not jealous because he had no interest in Tara himself. Well, there had been that kiss in the kitchen, but that had been a mistake, hadn't it?
"I thought we were going to Jake's," he said. "Let's go, Sean."
Sean looked at him as though he had grown three heads. "Are you kidding? You can't leave your girlfriend here alone just to be my wingman."
"I'm not his girlfriend," Tara stated firmly.
"She's not my girlfriend," Ethan insisted at the same time.
Sean looked puzzled.
"I'll explain on the way," Ethan told him. "Let's go. Now ."
Sean drove the short distance to Captain Jake's, and Ethan explained the situation on the way. He deliberately avoided telling his friend anything about that one kiss or about how attracted he was to Tara. Instead of sympathizing with him, however, Sean was amused.
"Your grandma always was a matchmaker," he chuckled. "So you're both living there as roommates until one or the other of you gives up and buys out the other. And since neither one of you has any money, that's probably not going to happen. Which means you're "stuck" living in a small house with a gorgeous woman? Gee, I'm trying to feel sorry for you, Pal. I'm really trying."
"I don't want to talk about it. Let's just go in and have a beer, okay?"
Ethan was determined to have a good time, if for no other reason than to prove to himself and Sean that he wouldn't really rather be home with Tara. He tried not to imagine what she was doing there alone. Maybe she was taking a bubble bath. He could picture her leaning back in the bubbles, eyes closed, naked body relaxing in the hot, steamy water…
He wasn't usually much of a drinker, but he kept ordering fresh beer each time his mind strayed to those disturbing mental pictures. He really shouldn't drink, he knew; the last thing he needed was to run into a parent of one of his students.
He watched Sean move from woman to woman, collecting phone numbers and flirting outrageously, and wondered vaguely why he wasn't interested in doing the same. There were plenty of beautiful women here; some had already shown interest in him, but he just couldn't shake the image of Tara or the memory of the way her body had melted against his during that kiss.
Eventually, it dawned on Ethan that he was drunk. Stupid drunk. Embarrassingly drunk.
"Sean, Buddy, I think I've had a few too many," he mumbled.
"I noticed."
"I think…"he stopped for a moment to try to focus. Nope, he could either speak or open his eyes, but he wasn't going to be able to do both. Not unless the room decided to stop spinning, and he really wasn't up to arguing with the room. "I think I might need to go home," he said carefully, keeping his eyes closed.
"I think so, too. Can you walk at all?"
"Not by myself."
Sean hauled him to his feet and helped him stagger through the crowd toward the door. Even this late at night, the hot humid air hit him in the face as soon as he stepped outside. "Sean, are you okay to drive?" he managed to ask.
"I'm not drinking tonight. I figured you were doing enough of that for both of us."
* * *
Tara took advantage of her Ethan's absence to explore her new home. She searched out every cupboard and closet and familiarized herself with every inch of the house except Bea's room -now Ethan's- and the attic. She was tempted to see what sort of things Bea had stored up there, but she wasn't sure if she was quite ready to
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