Season for Love Read Online Free Page B

know you’re getting immune to it when you hop up on the table and spread your legs like it’s no big deal.”
    Laughing, Maddie said, “Exactly. By the time it’s over, you won’t have a shred of modesty—or dignity—left.”
    “Fabulous.”
    “So how are things with you? Mac and I have been worried about you since everything happened with Justin. I still can’t believe it.”
    “Neither can I, but I’m hardly dwelling on it.” She let her eyes drift to the Sand & Surf, two blocks away. “I’ve got much better things to be focused on these days.”
    “And much better people , too, if I’m not mistaken.”
    “Maybe,” Laura said with a smile.
    “If it makes any difference, your cousins adore Owen. Mac speaks so highly of him.”
    Laura stared out at the endless sea of blue that was glistening like diamonds in the autumn sunshine. “It does make a difference, it’s just… I worry about getting too involved with him and then…” She met Maddie’s steady gaze. “I’m afraid he’ll get tired of being tied to one place—and one person—and want to leave.”
    “I can see why you’d be concerned about that with the way he’s lived for so many years, but if you ask me, it’s no small thing that he chose to spend the winter here.”
    “No, it isn’t. Do you ever worry about Mac feeling antsy on the island? He used to hate it so much when he was a kid. He talked all the time about escaping to the ‘real’ world.”
    “He seems perfectly content with our life here, but he knows if the day ever comes when he isn’t happy, we’ll talk about our options.”
    “What’s the secret to keeping him content?”
    Maddie raised a brow and let out a hearty laugh. “Do I really have to spell that out for you?”
    Laura smiled and shook her head. “It’s really that simple?”
    “He’s a man. You do the math. Speaking of that… He’s counting the minutes until we get the green light from David, so I’d better get going.” She squeezed Laura’s arm. “There’re never any guarantees in life, but if you ask me, Owen Lawry is a pretty good bet.”
    “I tend to agree.”
    Maddie gave her a quick hug.
    “Good luck at the doctor.”
    “I’ll probably need the luck more when I get home to my husband. He’s a little…pent up…at the moment.”
    Laura put her hands over her ears. “Lalala, too much information about my cousin.”
    Maddie left with a laugh and a wave.  
    Laura took her time wandering back to the hotel. She sat for a long time on a bench overlooking South Harbor and the breakwater, thinking about the conversation with Maddie as well as Jenny’s story. The nine-thirty boat from the mainland pulled into port with a few passengers and four cars disembarking, much different from the frenzied arrivals in the summer months when the people, cars, bikes and pets flowed on and off the boats in a steady stream from sunup to sundown.  
    Tipping her face into the warm sunshine, she thought about what Maddie had said about Owen. Knowing he was at the hotel waiting for her filled her with an overwhelming sense of gratitude to have such a good man in her life. It was still too soon to gauge what might become of the bond they’d formed over the past few months. Nevertheless, he’d slowly but surely become one of the most important people in her life.
    “Hmm,” she said out loud. “How’d he manage that so quickly? Sneaky devil.”
    A flutter of movement inside made her gasp. Resting a hand on the baby bump, she waited breathlessly. “Do it again, baby,” she whispered. “Do it again for your mama.” She waited a full minute and was rewarded with a ripple that went from one side of the bump to the other. As she released a joyful laugh, her eyes filled with tears.  
    All at once, she wanted to see Owen, to tell him and show him what he’d come to mean to her. She wanted him to feel the baby move, too. Fueled by Jenny’s reminder that life was short and time wasn’t to be wasted, Laura