Read Seaside Kisses: A Sweet Romance (The Seaside Hunters Book 4) for Free Online

Rafael, so she had no idea how he responded to her. Did he regret the kiss so much he never wanted to see her again?
    "Wait a minute," Janelle said, stopping. She grabbed Amara's arm, forcing her to stop, also. "You used to have that huge crush on Rafael. Is he the mystery man?"
    Amara turned away, her face burning. "His new shop is near mine. That's all."
    "And that's why you're blushing?" Janelle's eyes lit up.
    "It's like I told all last night, there's nothing to talk about." Amara tried to think of something else to talk about.
    "Your old love is back in town." Janelle sighed dramatically. "No wonder you're so skittish. You'd better hurry."
    Amara raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
    "Those Hunter brothers have been arriving in town and getting snatched up. One's married, and two are engaged. That only leaves two—and Rafael's one of them."
    "How do you keep up on all that?" Amara asked.
    Janelle rolled her eyes. "Everyone's talking about them, sweetie. How do you not hear it?"
    She shrugged. Though she'd changed, she was still invisible, and no one wanted to share gossip with her—except Janelle. Funny how some things managed to stay the same after so many years. At their ten-year reunion, everyone had stayed in their old cliques. It didn't matter if people had left town for the entire decade or not. It was like the only things that had changed were the hairstyles and clothes.
    "You know how it goes," Amara said. "Nobody sees me any differently than when we were kids." And that was why Rafael regretted kissing her.
    "Rafael doesn't see you as you were," Janelle said.
    "Shut up," Amara said harsher than she meant.
    Janelle didn't seem to notice. "I'm serious. Did you see the way he looked at you?"
    "He didn't look at me any special way." Or had he? Amara had been trying too hard not to look at him.
    Janelle nodded. "He was surprised to see you. Brayden clearly didn't recognize you, but Rafael was flustered." She gave Amara a hopeful expression.
    "He's probably just sick of seeing me," Amara said. "We keep running into each other. But it doesn't matter. Let's just get to the movie before we miss it."
    "I want to talk more about Rafael."
    Amara narrowed her eyes. "I don't."
    "Okay, okay," Janelle said. "Maybe after the movie and popcorn, you'll feel chattier."
    "Don't count on it." Amara thought about apologizing—she wasn't usually so defensive—but she really didn't want to talk about Rafael. It was like Janelle had said—he would probably get taken, anyway. And not by her. By someone who was sophisticated and had never lived life as a nerd.
    Amara could hardly pay attention to the movie when they got to the theater. She kept thinking about Rafael—and it didn't help that they'd chosen a romantic comedy. Part of her still couldn't believe that he'd kissed her. All her life, she'd dreamed of the moment, and it had actually happened.
    After the movie was over, and they stepped out into the bright outside light, Janelle smiled at Amara. "I adore a good love story, don't you?"
    Amara tried to scowl at her friend, but couldn't quite get her face to cooperate. "I know what you're doing. I'm not in the mood to talk."
    "Want to go back to my place and have a pillow fight?" Janelle asked. "Play MASH? Make prank calls?"
    Amara couldn't help laughing. "I'd love to have another sleepover, but I really need to get online and take care of my other business."
    "You have all day tomorrow," Janelle said. "Come on. When was the last time we had a girls' weekend?"
    "Now it's a weekend?" Amara asked.
    "If we make it one. What do you say?" Janelle begged Amara with her eyes.
    "How can I say no to that?"
    "Perfect." Janelle pulled her phone out and slid her finger around the screen. "I'm ordering pizza. It should be delivered just as we get there. How's that for timing?"
    They made their way back to Janelle's car, which was a twenty minute walk from where they stood, and sure enough, the pizza delivery guy pulled up to the house just