Free Meet Me in Myrtle Beach (Hunt Family Book 1) by Brooke St. James

fell asleep, I didn't wake until the next morning just before 8AM. I tried to be really quiet when I got up and use the restroom, but I could see after a quick glance in Cody's bedroom that he wasn't in there, and I was upstairs alone.
    It was hard for me to comprehend that I was waking up in a beautiful beach house with the ocean as my backyard. I decided to take a look outside before I got dressed for the day, so I slid the door open and stepped onto the balcony.
    The salt and the sound were the first things to hit me again. This was what people were referring to when they made up the phrase, "This is the life." I caught myself letting out tiny little, Ahhh, ahhh's at the beauty of it. Getting dressed could wait a few minutes, I decided. What's the good in having a balcony if you're not going to sit on it for a few minutes?
    I smiled and sighed as I sat on one of the comfortable patio chairs. They were made of waterproof fabric stretched over metal frames, and I leaned back into one, basking in the glory of it all.
    I had only been out there for a few minutes when I heard a group of people come onto the second-story balcony below me. I knew it was a group of people, because I could hear them talking the instant they stepped outside.
    It was then that I overheard a conversation that I was never intended to hear. I guess I could have tiptoed back inside and made the effort not to hear it, but I couldn’t talk myself into doing that. Once you hear your name in someone else's conversation, tiptoeing away is almost impossible.

 
    Chapter 9
     
     
    Whoever had come onto the second story balcony, came out chattering. It seemed like there were two different conversations going on at the same time, so I assumed it must have been at least three people. The exact words they were saying were unintelligible, but I heard my name mentioned, which obviously made my ears perk up.
    "Close the door behind you," a woman's voice said, cutting through the chatter.
    I could tell it was Diane.
    "Mom, you can't bring a girl on vacation with hopes that Evan will suddenly fall in love. It doesn't work like that anymore."
    I figured that the man who had said that was Dan, and my stomach turned, knowing he was talking about me. I curled into a ball, wanting to hear the rest of the conversation, and at the same time, wishing I could just vanish into thin air.
    "What do you mean anymore ?" she asked.
    "He's saying there's no arranged marriages anymore," a woman's voice said.
    I assumed it was Christy, and I cringed, imagining a big intervention taking place.
    Diane laughed. "I'm not that old," she said. "And I'm not assuming they'll fall in love or that I can arrange a marriage." She paused. "I'm a good judge of character, that's all. She's a good person and I wanted him to meet her. I thought the Lord was leading me to bring her with me on this trip."
    "I'm sure you did, Mom. And maybe He was. She seems real nice. But you can't get your hopes up that Evan's gonna feel a certain way about her. You know how he is."
    "I know, and that's exactly why I think she'd be perfect for him. I mean, really, you can't tell me you're okay with him chasing whalers in freezing temperatures. It's dangerous, Dan."
    "I know it is, but he's a grown man, and he's gonna decide what he's doing with his life."
    "And the second we tell him we think he should settle down and start a family in Charlotte, he'll turn tail and do just the opposite," Christy added.
    "She's exactly right," Dan agreed. "I hope you didn't already tell him you brought that girl for him."
    "Her name's Paige," Diane said. "And, no, I didn't. I'm smart enough to know he doesn't want to be told who to fall in love with. I was just hoping to use the power of suggestion."
    "He's too smart for that, Mom."
    They were silent for a few seconds, but it felt like an eternity. My heart was pounding as I waited to hear what they'd say next.
    "Well, she's adorable, and she's got a good head on her shoulders. She's a