Summer at Oyster Bay: A gorgeous feel good summer romance Read Online Free Page B

do that when they were little, when they were the only ones of their friends with no parents. They understood each other, and they knew what the other needed.
    “He wants more kids—a lot more. And I want to go back to work.”
    “Why do you want to go back to work so badly?”
    “I don’t know if Jeff understands this but I feel like I’ve lost myself a little. I love being Clara’s mom, but I want to explore the other sides of me as well, and he’s making me feel guilty about that.”
    “Couldn’t you work and have more kids?”
    “I’m not against having more children—I’d actually like to have more than one—but at this point in my life, I want to focus on Clara and going back to work. He’d have more children right now if I’d let him.”
    “Have you tried to explain your feelings to him?”
    “Many times. He tells me that there are so many working mothers who would want nothing more than I have, but they aren’t me.”
    “I know.” Emily understood completely. While Emily played with dolls, Rachel set up lemonade stands, counting the money and deciding how much she would save and how much she would spend. She was always the one they knew would do something fantastic—she was creative, driven, and smart. “I’m sorry.” She dug her toes beneath the warm sand until she reached the cooler sand below.
    Rachel smiled, but Emily could tell she wasn’t happy. They stayed on the swings for a while. They’d done that a lot as kids—sat together in silence as if just their proximity were enough. She missed that.
    “Gram’s giving Clara cookies before dinner,” Emily said with a smirk.
    Rachel shook her head. “What are great-grandmothers for, right?”
    “Remember when she used to give us dinner backwards and we’d eat dessert first?”
    “Yes,” Rachel said, chuckling.
    The thought of it made Emily laugh, and it felt good to laugh. She kept thinking how great it was to be home.

Three
    “ W hat is that ?” Emily asked Libby as she picked up the wooden plaque with a painted blue fish attached to it. She turned it over in her hand.
    Libby shot a quick glance over to it. “Mr. Peterson offered it to me as a thank-you for working through the changeover in ownership. He said that he thought my home may have a nautical theme since I live near the water.” She leaned in closer, tipping her head to look down the corridor, and whispered, “I feel terrible, but it doesn’t match anything in my house. I even tried to consider it for Ava’s room, but hers is purple and it just wouldn’t go in there. I wonder if I could put it up in Pete’s shed? Would that be awful?”
    “I actually like it,” Emily said. Was that what Charlie had been trying to find in Francine’s shop? And to think that he could’ve gotten hand-painted margarita glasses… Those would’ve been right up Libby’s alley.
    “I’ll tell you what,” Libby whispered. “You can have it. It would make me feel better than hanging it in my husband’s shed. It looks expensive. The last thing I need is Mr. Peterson seeing Pete on the water somewhere using it as a bottle opener or something.” She made a playfully worried face at her friend.
    Libby’s awkwardness over the situation gave Emily a little punch of amusement until she looked up and found herself eye to eye with Mr. Peterson. She sobered immediately, swallowing her laughter, realizing Libby had done the same.
    “Good morning,” he said, glancing down at the fish before his eyes settled back on her. He was wearing a light, summer gray suit and blue tie, his hair as expertly combed as it had been yesterday, a tiny bit of style in the front.
    Emily cleared her throat. “Good morning,” she returned. “How did you find everything in your room?”
    “It was fine, thank you. I have a few meetings this morning and then I’d like to work out. While I’m in the gym, please send staff to my suite to set up a few tables.” He slid a handwritten list of food across the