Have you ever thought of packing up everything you own and
moving halfway across the country?
I’m talking about leaving your entire life behind—friends,
family, school—with no turning back. No? Me either, but that was before a week
of spring break changed my life forever. Before I did something I never thought
I’d do at twenty-two. Before I fell in love with Grey.
Sometimes happily ever after isn’t always what you think it will
be.
CHAPTER
ONE
GREY
Room
twenty-four. I looked at it one last time. The day I moved in here wasn’t a
happy day. Pops had died, left me the Palm Palace, and I didn’t have anywhere
else on the island to stay. Somehow it became home. A small, one room spot by the
ocean had become home.
There wasn’t much to pack:
work clothes, a few tools, my boots. I had already hauled most of it next door,
but there were still a few boxes in storage. I would try to get those before
Eden arrived. I looked at my phone. She should be here in four or five hours.
I shook my head. I hated the
idea that she was on the road by herself. She was stubborn. I knew that the
first minute I laid eyes on her, but this was crazier than hell. Driving all
the way from Chapel Hill to Padre was damn near reckless, but I couldn’t talk
her out of it. She said it had something to do with proving that she was moving
for the right reasons. If it meant that much to her I knew better than to stand
in her way.
I pulled the door behind me
and turned the heavy brass key in the lock to secure the room. Maybe one day
I’d be able to afford those fancy keyless entries, but that was far off. I was
lucky the Palm was still open. It had been a rough year trying to keep it
afloat, but Eden breezed in here and showed me what was possible. She had all
kinds of creative ideas about marketing, advertising, and services we could
add. It was one of the things I loved about her—she saw past the peeling paint
and the rusty doorknobs. She saw the Palm the same way I did and she loved it.
She loved every last pink and blue tile, the way the boardwalk creaked when you
walked on it, and how we probably had the only pool on the island without a
diving board. That girl was something else.
I didn’t take it lightly that
we were moving in together. Who could? Last time I tried this Laura and I
barely left on speaking terms. But that was different. That was Laura and her
obsession with med school. This was Eden and everything about her made me
realize it was the right decision. Sure I was nervous, but I’d never tell her
that. I didn’t want things with us to end up like they did the last time I gave
this a shot. I was going to make sure it wouldn’t.
That’s why I had to surprise
her with the beach cottage. I couldn’t let her move all the way here and start
off in room twenty-four. We’d probably get on each other’s nerves faster than
the tide changed on the beach, but besides that I wanted her to know I took
this seriously. The blue house next door meant something. It wasn’t a cramped
shoebox where we’d have to split a closet and a dresser combo. It was a place
that could be ours, a place we could work on together, and a place where we
could figure out the future.
I shoved the key in my
pocket. I had to get it back to the office. My phone rang.
“Hey, Marin. What’s up?”
“I just talked to Eden. She’s
in Louisiana.”
“You didn’t ruin the surprise
did you?” I had trusted everyone on the island with the beach house secret, but
deep down knew someone would let it slip. Things had a way of getting out around
here.
Marin laughed. “No, she has
no idea. She thinks you are bunking up in that cute little room of yours at the
Palm.”
“Thanks, girl. Did she sound
ok? I’m trying not to bug her.” What I really wanted to do was call her every
hour and find out where she was, but that would contradict her plan. I managed
to respect it since she got on the road.
“She sounded like a girl who
can’t wait to see you. I’ll let you know when she get’s to the bridge, ok?”
“Alright. Thanks. I
appreciate you checking up on her for me. I don’t want her to think I don’t
think she can handle it.” I opened the door to the stuffy office.
“She can handle it. Don’t
worry about her, Grey. She’ll be here tonight. Call you later.”
“Thanks.”
Marin hung up and I tossed my
phone on the cart. I had a few rooms to check before I made my way to the
cottage to get things set up. Eden would be here tonight. This would be her
office. I was handing over the books, the reservations, and all of the
marketing to her. It was probably a bigger step than sharing a bathroom, but I
knew I didn’t trust anyone else with Pop’s legacy like I trusted Eden.
As I shoved the cart out of
the back door, I heard the wind kick up on the beach. Eden and I were moving in
together. I knew after tonight my life would never be the same, and there was
no turning back. Good thing I didn’t want to.
Previous book in the series.
KISSING EDEN - AVAILABLE NOW!
Have you ever thought of taking a vacation
alone? I mean step on a plane, check into your hotel, and lie on the beach
completely and utterly alone. No? Me either, but then right before senior
spring break I got dumped.
Something about
break ups makes you do things you didn’t want to do, and try things you didn’t
know you were capable of.
That’s how I ended up at the Palm Palace.
That’s how I ended up at the Palm Palace.
That’s how I met
Grey.
That’s how my
spring break turned into the most unforgettable week of my life.
Purchase KISSING EDEN from...
T.A.
Foster once spent a month long spring break on South Padre Island, where she
soaked in the Texas sun, beach, and learned what real Texas country music is.
Sometimes fiction does spring from reality.
She grew
up catching rays and chasing waves along the North Carolina Outer Banks and now
resides in the state with her adventurous pilot husband, two children, and two
canine kiddos.
T.A. has
an undergraduate degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a graduate degree in Educational
Psychology from Texas A&M University. When she’s not chasing her two-legged
and four-legged children or trying to escape for date night, you can find her
reading, writing, or planning her next beach trip.
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