The Coast is Clear (Breakaway Shores #1)

Izzy

Reality

“, I liked the chapter you sent. It’s great stuff, really. But I know you said you’re still stuck on the falling out?” Amy said through my laptop speakers.

I groaned and nodded, “I’m stuck, yeah. I don’t know how to break them up.”

Amy leaned closer to the camera, “Would it help if I brainstormed some possibilities? We have about six weeks left until this deadline from your editor, and I don’t want you to miss it. We have already been given one extension.”

“Ideas might help, yeah. I’m working on it. I’m trying, I promise.”

“I believe you,” Amy waved her hand in the air, “I’ll get those to you by EOD tomorrow, okay?” I nodded. “Okay, gotta hop onto another call.”

“Thanks, Amy,” I said, and I meant it. She was a great agent. One that I loved working with. She always treated me with respect and was great at editing what I wasn’t.

“Talk soon.”

The call was quick, which I figured. My book was definitely at a standstill. They were happy and in love, but now they needed to encounter something difficult and struggle. I just couldn’t think of a way to do that for the life of me. So much for being a writer.

Kingston was napping, and Luke took Christian to his showings today. I’m not sure Christian would be a big helper in the real estate department, but I appreciated the break. Luke was stepping up to help me, even in little ways, and I was not about to complain. Growing up, he’d been more of an annoyance. Seeing him grow up, be helpful, and succeed in his career was nice.

My phone buzzed on the table next to me while my laptop made a dinging sound. Zander’s name popped up because I’d finally created a contact for him. I hadn’t seen him since the fourth, and it was now the tenth. I could still feel his lips on my forehead, his fingers sliding up my neck.

I reread the text; strange. It was a check-in text. Were we two people who checked in with each other like that? I typed my response.

The three bubbles popped up, and I waited for his response. The only sound around me was the crunch of the ice maker in the fridge. His response came with a ding.

Another text came.

I tapped my fingers on the keys, excitement filling my chest.

A ding filled the room.

I smiled, glad that I was going to see Zander. And that felt strange to be looking forward to seeing him, seeing someone.

We sat on the floor, the food covering the coffee table. Kingston stood, swaying side to side with a fry in his hand. Christian was kneeling, dunking one of his chicken nuggets into a huge side dish of ranch. Luke and Christian had brought food home—fried tuna fish and chips for the grown-ups and chicken for the kids. Zander had shown up at the same time, and I was glad I didn’t have to navigate how to act around him when it was just the two of us. Well, us and Kingston, too. He’d been excited to see Zander, jumping up and down and asking to hug him.

The tuna was fantastic, which I didn’t expect. I loved fish and chips, and these were divine.

“Grizzly Tuna is the best place in Breakaway Shores, to be honest. I eat there way too often,” Luke said, taking a bite of his food.

Zander sat, leaning up against the couch, with only his fries left, “It’s a gem. I make sure to tell everyone about it.”

“These are good. So unique,” I said, loving the crunch of the breading. “So, did you sell any houses today, Christian?”

His head popped up, and he spoke, his mouth way too full of fries, “Uncle Luke said I was a really good salesman.”

Luke chuckled, “He did great. I let him show one couple all around by himself. It was pretty cute.”

Christian’s face filled with pride, and I reached out to grab a cup of tartar sauce, my hand knocking against Zander’s, also reaching out to grab something. My skin jolted where we touched, and I threw him an apologetic smile. His dark hair was messier today, parts hanging in front of his forehead. “How was your trip, Zander? Find any winners?”

Zander shrugged, “A couple of them were nice. I’m still weighing my options.” And it hit me again: he was moving. Here I was, getting all infatuated with him over forehead kisses and soft fingers on my neck. But it didn’t matter because he was moving, leaving in about a month and a half.

I tried to keep that at the forefront of my mind as Luke grilled him about the houses he looked at. I reminded myself that Zander was nice, and the boys enjoyed being around him. That was it, simple enough. He could be my friend. I needed more of those anyway.

We continued to chat and laughed a lot while the boys eventually retreated to their toys and left us to clean up the mess of the food. Luke stood in the kitchen, grabbing sparkling water from the fridge, when his phone rang on the counter. The name Layla popped up on the screen. “Oh, it’s Layla,” I said, exaggerating her name, “Is that the girl from the parade?”

Zander laughed, letting his head fall in his hands, “No, it’s not the same girl.”

I rolled my eyes. “Luke, come on. You’re such a player.”

“He is,” Zander said, matter of factly, “And that is coming from me, a retired professional football player. Who was, in fact, a bit of a player when I was younger.”

The admission gave me pause, but I pushed it away. That didn’t matter; Zander’s relationship history wasn’t my concern. “Did you know he had a serious girlfriend throughout high school? They were this close to getting engaged after graduation.”

“I actually did know that.”

Luke scoffed, silencing his phone, “To refresh your memory, sister, she cheated on me almost all of our senior year. I was none the wiser, which sucked. And then I had a serious girlfriend in college, who also cheated on me. After that, I decided never to allow myself to get that deep. That way, I couldn’t be hurt by them.” The raw tone of my brother’s voice made me regret bringing up this conversation, but then I realized I might have some wisdom to share.

I shook my head, “That’s stupid. I mean, I’m sorry that they hurt you like that. I am, and I remember that now.” Luke chuckled, tucking his phone in his back pocket, “But by your logic, I need to stay alone forever now, too, so that I don’t risk my next husband dying on me.” Luke’s face paled, and I waved him off. “Stop with the pity. But I’m being serious. You can’t sabotage the possibility of anything good just because of a bad history.”

“Okay, I hear you,” Luke said, holding his hands in the air.

“Your sister is a wise one, Luke. You must have missed that in the gene pool,” Zander joked from the table.

“You two worry about yourselves,” Luke waggled his eyebrows, and he left us in the kitchen alone.

I grabbed a bottle of strawberry water from the fridge and turned around. Zander had moved from the table and was now just a few feet away. “So, where did you house hunt?” I asked, trying to fill the silence.

“I started in Florida and then went up to North Carolina.” Zander leaned against the wall, and he just looked too handsome for my little kitchen.

“Anything or anyone in Florida or North Carolina?”

Zander paused before answering, “My mom. She moved to North Carolina a few years ago.”

“That’ll be nice. Close to family.”

Zander smiled. “Yeah, it could be. We’ll see what happens. I’m not decided on anything yet.”

I tapped the plastic bottle in my hand. “Luke is going to miss you. I think you might be his only friend.”

“Oh, I am definitely his only friend,” he joked.

Zander turned as I walked toward the living room, his arm brushing against mine. I ignored the way it made my entire body feel.

He was moving.

He was moving.