Saltwater Secrets - Amelia Addler Page 0,29

friends. I feel isolated.”

He glanced over at her. She’d stopped thrashing around in her purse, which was good, but she was sort of slumped over.

“It’s okay,” he said. “I’m sorry you feel that way. I wish you would get to know them – they’re all really nice.”

She nodded. “I will.”

He looked over at the empty seat next to him now. Laura would’ve been quite bored with how he’d spent his Friday evening. And she’d be even more upset if she saw where he was now.

Matthew stopped his car on the street, two houses down from Jade’s place. Laura would never say why she didn’t like it, but it’d spark the same kind of argument that went nowhere.

There was no reason for her to be jealous, though. She asked for a second chance, and they were trying their best. He was definitely trying, and it wasn’t easy.

The plate shopping, despite lasting five hours, was fine – that was something that he was used to. They didn’t have their first real fight until she made him go to that country club. They went on the morning before the fundraiser, and the ensuing fight continued for the rest of the day.

The people were okay – not the friendliest, but whatever. Matthew’s biggest issue with the whole idea was that a membership cost almost ten thousand dollars a year.

“Laura, how much money do you think I make?”

“It’s not about the money, Matthew, it’s about you valuing what’s important to me. I want to be a part of this community, I want to fit in somewhere.”

He sighed. “Can’t we find a community to fit into that costs less?”

Through hours of arguing, he found out that the answer to that question was no. At least from her perspective.

The fight was so bad that they ended up being an hour late to Jade’s fundraiser. At one point, Matthew came close to just leaving and going without her, but she didn’t like the idea of that, and ultimately got in the car.

He shook his head, trying to put that entire night out of his mind. Instead he studied Jade’s house; it looked like the lights were off. Maybe she wasn’t even home? Her car was outside, though. What if she was out on a date or something and then came home to find him sitting out there like a creep?

He didn’t want to make it awkward. She probably already thought that he was a creep, though she’d never said anything – thankfully. But she may have told Morgan about his unwanted kiss attempt.

Of course she told Morgan – why wouldn’t she? But at the same time, that seemed like something that Morgan wouldn’t be able to keep to herself. And if Morgan said something, even jokingly, in front of Laura…yikes. Laura wouldn’t wait until they got to the car to start asking questions.

It hadn’t happened yet, though. And Jade didn’t seem like a girl who would kiss and tell.

The radio crackled alive. “217, dispatch.”

Matthew cleared his throat. “217, go ahead.”

“11-82. Spring and Mullis Street.”

He let out a sigh. Not the most exciting call – just a traffic accident. No injuries, thankfully. And he couldn’t sit outside of Jade’s house all night. “217 en route.”

He started the car and slowly rolled past Jade’s house. He shot one more look – just a peek, just to make sure that nothing was out of place. And to make sure that she wasn’t sitting there watching him. It didn’t look like she was. Except…what was that?

There seemed to be smoke rising from the back of the house.

He didn’t remember seeing a fire pit in the back yard…there was a grill, though. She could just be making some dinner. Or sitting out there with friends and a makeshift fire.

Matthew slowed down, straining to see what was going on. He couldn’t go barging in on her like a stalker. But then again…it gave him a bad feeling.

He put the car into park. The accident could wait. The smoke was at least worth investigating. If she was back there and he caught her off guard, he could say that someone called in worried about the smoke.

No – he couldn’t lie to her. He’d have to tell her the truth – that he was driving by and saw smoke. And when the guys at the station heard about it, they’d never stop making fun of him, especially if Jade was just having a bonfire. He could already envision it – they’d start calling him Smokey the