Read Summer on Lovers' Island for Free Online Page B

up with excuses for get-togethers. If you can’t make it, there’s always the next time.”
    After Sarah and Susan were gone, Lizzie took a moment to sit on the rolling stool and let out a breath. How did Charlie manage to keep the patient/doctor relationship professional in such a small, intimate town? Lizzie had already noticed how residents waved and greeted each other on the street. The gossip mill was alive and well, too, if the chatter at the caf é was anything to go by.
    This wasn’t her style at all. And yeah, maybe she needed the change of pace to de-stress, but the thought of staying here indefinitely? Not in a million years.
    She left the exam room and went to the reception desk to find Robin and instead found a wicker basket covered with a pretty napkin sitting on the middle of the counter. She lifted a corner and saw plump, golden muffins tumbled about the inside. There was a small card attached to the handle and she removed it, sliding the little cardboard note from the envelope.
    Welcome to Jewell Cove, Dr. Howard.
    It was signed from the Jewell Cove Business Association. Good heavens, a welcome wagon?
    At that moment Josh came from his office and stopped, lifting his nose to the air. “What’s that smell? I’m starving.”
    â€œMuffins,” she answered.
    He sauntered out, curiously examining the basket and lifting the napkin. “Banana chip. Yum. Welcome present?”
    She swallowed. “How’d you know?”
    He chuckled as he selected a muffin from the assortment. “That’s Jewell Cove for you. Always there with a warm welcome and a helping hand.”
    There was something in his voice that made her think he didn’t necessarily consider that a perk. “I think it’s a lovely gesture,” she answered.
    â€œHey,” he said, taking a bite of the muffin and chewing thoughtfully. He swallowed and frowned a little. “I obviously love this place. I grew up here. I moved back, right? But I’ll be the first to admit it can get a little too small and well-intentioned sometimes. “
    Hmm. Curiouser and curiouser. “But you’re the town golden boy, aren’t you? I mean Charlie said—”
    And then she stopped talking, rather abruptly, because she’d been about to say “after your wife died” and had realized how callous it would have sounded.
    â€œCharlie said what?” One eyebrow lifted as he took another bite of muffin, catching a few crumbs in his hand.
    She scrambled to come up with better words. “She just said that when you moved back, everyone was happy about it. That you belong here.”
    His gaze sharpened, as if he was trying to puzzle her out. She wasn’t quite comfortable with the intensity of it. It made her feel rather transparent. A little bit naked.
    â€œIt can be a little claustrophobic at times. Very little privacy.”
    She smiled at that. “Really? So you didn’t plan for your niece to have her checkup on my first day in the office?”
    The answering grin he gave her made her catch her breath. It lit up his whole face, transforming it. He looked younger, despite the crinkles at the corners of his eyes. Lighter, less burdened.
    â€œSuze is great, isn’t she? A real firecracker.”
    â€œShe asked if I had a boyfriend.” She wasn’t sure what prompted her to admit that, but Josh’s answering laugh made her glad she had.
    â€œAnd do you?” he asked, and the smile slipped from her face. He put the nearly finished muffin on the countertop. “Bad question to ask?”
    â€œIt’s no biggie. I was seeing someone a few months back. It didn’t exactly end well.” She hoped Josh would leave it at that. How humiliating to admit that she’d been dating her boss. Particularly when she was talking to her new boss.
    â€œSorry,” he offered kindly. “That sucks.”
    Truly, she felt way worse about the bigger