Saltwater Secrets - Amelia Addler Page 0,71

she’d been so selfish that she hardly noticed her own sister being madly in love with the guy that saved her life. Obviously that made a lot of sense – Matthew was a good looking guy, and he seemed kind and attentive.

And he literally carried Jade out of a burning house.

Tiffany really should’ve picked up on that sooner – she should’ve had the sisterly insight to talk to Jade and see how she was feeling. But she didn’t. She was too preoccupied with her own thoughts and problems.

She’d spent so much time on her own that she forgot that other people lived their lives and experienced normal feelings. Admittedly, part of that was because for so long, she had suppressed her own feelings and rejected anything inconvenient.

She didn’t really know how to get back to normal, but getting to live with Jade and Morgan was a start.

Morgan returned to carry a lamp inside and continued her theory on the house. “We’re going to be like the Three Musketeers! No wait – this is even better – like the three bears!”

That made Tiffany laugh. “How are we like the three bears?”

“I’m not sure. Maybe Luke can be Goldilocks? You know, coming around and complaining that nothing is quite right.”

“It’s not my fault that I like things a certain way,” Luke said. “And Matthew – how about you show us all how strong you are and carry three boxes at once, eh?”

“Oh, do you want to race?” Matthew said with a smile.

Luke picked up a box. “Yes, you get those three and I’ll get this one.”

Morgan squinted at it. “Does that say pillows? Luke, you can’t be serious.”

“I have a bad back!” he yelled over his shoulder, slowly making his way into the house.

“He’s the worst,” Morgan said, shaking her head. “But also, the best. Don’t tell him I said that.”

Tiffany smiled. “I won’t.”

“You haven’t found a job yet, have you?” asked Morgan.

“No,” Tiffany shook her head. “I don’t know what to even look for. Why, am I already behind on rent?”

Jade laughed. “No, I told you, Chief won’t take rent from us. Morgan is just trying to con you into – ”

“Ah ah!” Morgan yelled. “Let me tell her. Hey Tiffany, are you busy?”

Tiffany knew that she was about to get volunteered for something unpleasant – in the past, she would’ve had an excuse. But she’d decided to start saying yes to things to see where it took her. “Not at all. And I won’t be for a while, I’m guessing.”

“So…would you want to come with me to Andrea’s trial?”

“Oh!” That was actually a lot more interesting than she expected. “I would love to.”

“Really? It’s a lot of sitting and waiting. They still need to do jury selection. And I’ll probably cry a lot.”

“That’s perfectly okay,” Tiffany said. “I would love to come.”

“Great! I’ll send you the dates!”

Everything was inside the house in record time. Tiffany didn’t know where to put everything, and part of her wondered if she should just keep most of it packed up so she could move when she figured out what to do with herself.

She decided to ignore it all for now so that she could get involved in the first committee meeting. Jade baked blueberry scones and they smelled heavenly. Tiffany just wanted to run out and get one more look at the shipping container to make sure nothing was forgotten.

It was empty, as expected. Her moving crew was efficient, cheerful and best of all, free. When she turned to go back into the house, she saw that there was an envelope taped to the door.

“That’s odd,” she said to herself, taking it inside. She found Jade in the kitchen. “Hey Jade – I don’t know how long this was taped outside, but I guess we missed it because the door was open.”

Jade frowned. “Did you open it?”

“Not yet.” Tiffany ripped the envelope; inside was a sheet of paper with a single phrase typed out: It didn’t end with Jared. Please be careful.

Tiffany held the letter in her hand and reread it a couple of times.

“What is it?” asked Jade as she pulled the scones from the oven.

“Uh – I think we have a problem.”

Jade studied it carefully before saying, “Well that’s not good.”

Tiffany shook her head. “No. It isn’t.”

“Mom is going to freak out.”

Tiffany laughed. “Is that the first thing you think of? Not that someone’s going to try to burn this house down?”

“No,” Jade said with a shrug. “I wouldn’t say that was my first thought. This person seems like they’re trying to warn us, not threaten us.”

Tiffany closed her eyes. “Oh great, here we go again!”

Jade stuffed the envelope into her her back pocket. “We figured it out once, and I’m sure we can figure it out again. Let’s go, everyone’s waiting for us.”

“That’s it?” She wasn’t used to her sister being so…confident. This was a side of Jade that she didn’t know – but one that she liked quite a lot.

Jade smiled. “C’mon big sis! Don’t tell me you’re afraid of a little local politics.”

“I’m glad you feel that way.” Tiffany paused. She had to admit – it was kind of exciting. “Where’s the pepper spray?”

“That’s the spirit!” Jade said as she walked into the living room.

Tiffany laughed. At least she wouldn’t have to worry about life being boring on this little island. She grabbed the teapot and a stack of mugs before following Jade into the other room.

Also by Amelia…

The Westcott Bay Series

Saltwater Cove

Saltwater Studios

Saltwater Secrets

Saltwater Crossing

The Billionaire Date Series

Nurse’s Date with a Billionaire

Doctor’s Date with a Billionaire

Veterinarian’s Date with a Billionaire

Now available as a box set

Introduction to Saltwater Crossing

In the fourth book of the Westcott Bay series, Tiffany moves to San Juan Island, telling herself that it's just so she can help Jade. But when she uses her skills to confront Jade's opposition, she's also forced to confront herself…and a handsome and mysterious man that keeps appearing at the worst moments.

Saltwater Crossing is coming December 2020. Pre-order on Amazon now!

Author’s Note

Thanks for reading! I’d love to know what you thought, and reader reviews are one of the most influential factors in whether someone will give a book a chance. So, if you’ve enjoyed this book, would you please consider reviewing it?

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About the Author

Amelia Addler writes always clean, always swoon-worthy romance stories and believes that everyone deserves their own happily ever after.

Her soulmate is a man who once spent five weeks driving her to work at 4AM after her car broke down (and he didn’t complain, not even once). She is lucky enough to be married to that man and they live in Pittsburgh with their little yellow mutt. Visit her website at AmeliaAddler.com or drop her an email at [email protected].