Page 32 of Summer Love

Her eyes widened. "Just wait until you meet Grams's friends. They're a trip."

"I doubt I'd have a reason to be introduced to them,” I said.

Elena snorted. "Grams probably told her friends all about you, and they'll want to meet you in person. There's no way you can say no to her."

I ran a hand through my wet strands. "I'm in trouble, aren't I?"

She grinned while treading water, the waves lifting us every so often. I wanted to float in the ocean with her, not worrying about the future or what any of this meant.

I'd vowed to keep my distance, but it was getting harder to keep that promise.

The sun had disappeared behind a large gray cloud, and then a loud rumble sounded.

"We'd better get out of here." I grabbed her hand, and we hurried through the water, and then once we were on the sand, we took off at a run.

Everyone on the beach was gathering their things, hurrying to leave before the rain started. We didn't stop until we were on the front porch. Inside, Elena dropped my hand, hurrying down the hall, and returned a few seconds later with towels.

She threw one at me. "Dry off and get dressed before Grams sees you in your underwear."

I bit off a curse as I scrubbed myself dry and pulled on my clothes. Now the rain was coming down hard, pounding on the roof of the porch.

Elena lifted her face. “It's kind of beautiful, isn't it? I know everyone prefers the sun, but I've always secretly loved storms. I'd sit out on the porch and watch it come down.”

She was watching the rain, but I was watching her. Her hair was wet, hanging limply around her shoulders, but she was beautiful, inside and out. I was in so much trouble.

ChapterEight

ELENA

When the rain tapered off, we made sandwiches. In the afternoon, we stepped outside to finish the demolition. Around four, Dalton and Brady showed up with their trucks to help us haul everything.

When we were finished, Dalton threw a thumb over his shoulder. "We'll take this to the dump."

"We appreciate it," Hudson said.

"Let us know if you need any more help on this one," Brady offered.

"I will eventually, but we're okay for now." Hudson winked at me. "I have one assistant."

Grams came out the front door and made her way down the steps. "Well, what do we have here?"

As she approached, I said, "Grams, these are Hudson's brothers, Dalton and Brady."

Grams held a container of cookies that I took from her so she could concentrate on walking. "It's nice to meet more handsome Kingston boys. I made you some cookies for your hard work."

Brady took the container from me. "We love cookies. Thank you, Mrs. Perkins."

Grams waved a hand at them. "Call me Grams. I appreciate you helping my granddaughter on this project."

"It's no trouble. Happy to help," Dalton added.

Grams eyes twinkled as she looked from one Kingston brother to the other. "I hope I'll be seeing more of you boys." She glanced at the gray clouds. "Now, I'd better get inside before it rains again."

When Grams left, Brady raised a brow. "She's a pistol, huh?"

Hudson chuckled. "She doesn't miss anything."

"I think she's enjoying having company. This is more excitement than she's had around the house in a while." Then to Hudson, I said, "Are we done for the day?"

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