Free Tangled Love on Pelican Point (Island County Series Book 3) by Karice Bolton

glanced out of the corner of my eye and saw him write in a tip that equaled the amount of our entire tab.
    “So you have absolutely no desire to stay on Fireweed Island or to live here.” I reached for my bag as he pushed his wallet into his back pocket.
    “Correct.” He nodded, wiping a crumb from the table. “And you have no desire to leave Fireweed Island.”
    “Correct.”
    “So we basically have no chance at having anything work between us.”
    “Sounds like it.”
    He helped me up from the table and slid his arm around my waist. I noticed a few of the customers smile at Anthony as we walked out of Norma’s.
    “It would be really difficult to be attached to someone like you anyway.”
    “Probably true.”
    The cold evening air made me glad to be tucked securely next to Anthony as he led us to his car. Ever since the weekend storm, the temperatures had plummeted, and fall had snuggly tucked itself into our island life.
    “I bet you’ll be glad to get back to the warm temperatures.”
    “Balmy breezes are nothing to scoff at.” He tightened his arm, and I briefly let myself enjoy the moment.
    “I think they’re overrated.”
    “Have you ever been to California?” he asked.
    “No.”
    “Then you might be surprised.”
    “Speaking of going places, have you noticed that everywhere you go, women are staring at you? And there’s always going to be someone out there who is more beautiful than whoever you wind up settling down with to distract you. I don’t envy that person.”
    Anthony opened the passenger door, and I crawled into the front seat. He didn’t say a word until he climbed into the car and turned to look at me.
    “I do notice, but I’m not interested. And beauty doesn’t hold relationships together. It never has and never will. At least not the kind of relationship I want someday. There will always be someone more talented than me, so the same could happen in reverse. It wouldn’t take much to have a beautiful woman be done with me the moment a record flops. And the way things are going, my next record could very well flop. If people base lasting relationships on things that are that superficial, the relationship is superficial. Beyond already living in a somewhat artificial world, a shallow relationship is nothing I want. It would be brittle and begging for obliteration.”
    “So you’re above it all?” My brow arched in disbelief.
    “I can say with certainty that in this instance, I’m above it all.” He winked and turned on the car while I was left pondering what in the world he meant. He was above it all because of me, or he was above it all in general? I didn’t believe either option anyway, but still. It made me wonder.
    “I still think it would be extremely difficult to date a musician.”
    “It probably would be extremely difficult. There’s the traveling, studio time, moodiness, you name it.” He turned onto the main road leading out of town to my apartment, and surprisingly, I didn’t want to be dropped off. I liked spending time with Anthony.
    Actually, I probably liked spending time with Anthony because I knew he would be leaving town soon and there was no commitment in sight.
    “So you’re working on your next album?”
    “To everyone else in the world who asks? Yes. To you? No. I haven’t done much on it at all. I’m just not feeling the inspiration like before.” We pulled up to my apartment, and I really didn’t want to go in. “If you tell Cole or Natalie, I’ll take back those flowers.”
    I laughed. “Lips are sealed. Promise.”
    Anthony turned off the car and leaned his head back.
    “So what do you think the issue is?”
    “No clue.”
    He slid his hands over his face and let out a sigh. “What is it about you?”
    “Me?” I asked, turning in my seat to look at him. A slow smile crawled along his mouth, and my entire body tingled with anticipation as his eyes fell to my lips.
    His hand slid to my knee and I lit up like a firecracker.
    “Yes,