Saltwater Secrets - Amelia Addler Page 0,13

as much as she said again and again that she needed to stay single so that she could piece her life back together, the truth was…well, the truth was undeniable now. Deep down, in a silly school girl way, she actually wanted it to be true that Matthew was trying to kiss her.

But she also knew that it was probably just wishful thinking. Even admitting it to herself made her feel giddy. She wasn’t ready to say it out loud, so she decided to keep that giddy feeling to herself. But it was nice – she hadn’t felt good or excited about a guy in ages.

It didn’t hurt that Matthew volunteered to join her committee as well. So at the very least, she’d get to spend some time with him. Kiss or no kiss, it made her feel young again, or something.

Excitingly, Matthew was coming to Sunday dinner that week too. Jade decided to get a little extra done up – nothing wild, but she made sure that her hair wasn’t in a frazzled ponytail. She actually had time to straighten it for once. She spent a little extra time putting on her makeup, and she decided to wear a green top that made her eyes pop. Or at least that was what Morgan always said about it.

To her relief, Morgan didn’t make any comments about her appearance on the way to dinner. Instead, she talked a mile a minute about Luke’s progress on the video and her friend’s renderings of what could be built on Colby’s land.

“Are you going to let me see it, or are you going to keep it a secret?” asked Jade.

“I’m waiting to debut it until we’re at dinner,” Morgan replied.

“Such a flair for the dramatic.”

“Listen,” Morgan said with a smile, “I’m trying to funnel my dramatic energy into something positive.”

“Oh, in that case,” Jade said, “the county thanks you.”

Jade was happy to have Morgan’s help – Morgan was really good at stuff like this. With minimal advertising, she already had a huge growth in her photography business. Yet despite being busy, she was more than happy to put a lot of time into Jade’s new project. Her can-do attitude was always useful when there was a daunting task; and the entire project only seemed more and more daunting by the day.

They got to her mom’s house and said their hellos. Jade volunteered to make dessert that week and decided to stick with a classic apple pie. She felt a little nervous, actually, to see Matthew again. Her big idea was to invite him for drinks and to thank him for joining her committee. Surely he could say no if he wasn’t interested?

But hopefully…he wouldn’t say no.

Luke arrived not long after they got there, and Morgan started questioning him right away.

“I thought you were bringing Matthew?” Morgan asked.

Jade worried that Matthew might’ve backed out. Maybe he was mad at her. Maybe he really was trying to kiss her and she’d hurt his feelings?

How could she bring it up to him without embarrassing them both? It was risky, especially if this was all in her head. Between this and the imagining people following her, he was going to think she was totally nuts.

“Oh, he said that he could drive himself. He also said that he was bringing someone?” Luke looked around the room.

Morgan narrowed her eyes. “Bringing who?”

“I was hoping you knew,” he said.

“That was my doing,” Chief Hank chimed in. “I ran into him in Friday Harbor earlier today and he was with a girl. I asked him if he was coming tonight and extended the invitation to her, too.”

Morgan crossed her arms. “Was this his sister or something, Chief?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know, I didn’t ask. She seemed very excited by it.”

A girl. Of course.

Matthew wasn’t interested in her – he had someone else. He was just trying to be nice to her because she was a crazy old spinster imagining that people were out to get her.

Her mom marched into the dining room with her hands on her hips. “What’s this? Matthew’s bringing a girl? Is this his girlfriend?”

Luke put his hands up. “I don’t know anything about a girlfriend. I’m not involved, this is all Chief’s fault.”

Her mom continued. “Hank, why would you go and do a thing like this?”

Chief Hank looked around, clearly surprised by the reaction he was getting. “I don’t know, I was being friendly? I’m not sure why you’re mad at me! You were supposed to meet me