Free She Writes Love... by Sandi Lynn Page A

incredible. It was a rush that I’d never felt before.
    “I want to keep going.” I smiled.
    She smiled back and we continued to catch waves for the next hour. I was learning, and Paisley said I was doing great for someone who’d never surfed before. We paddled back to shore and dried off with our towels. Paisley stripped out of her wetsuit and I couldn’t help but stare at her bikini-clad body. Damn, she was hot. She threw on a hoodie over her bikini top and put on a pair of yoga pants because the air was cool.
    “Thank you, Paisley, for asking me to go surfing today. I really enjoyed it.”
    “You’re welcome. Thanks for coming along.” She smiled.
    I pulled my phone from my bag and saw that it was ten thirty. “Are you hungry? We could go grab some breakfast.”
    “Actually, I’m starving. That sounds great.”
    We grabbed our bags and the surfboards and headed to our cars. As we were walking through the sand, I saw Finn and Olivia staring at me from a few feet away. “Great,” I said.
    “What?”
    “That’s my brother and soon-to-be sister-in-law staring at us.”
    “Oh. Busted by your family now.” She smiled.
    “Ben?” Finn said as he looked at me strangely and then over at Paisley. “Did you go surfing?”
    “Hey, Finn. Hi, Olivia,” I said as I leaned in and kissed her cheek. “Yes, I did. This is Paisley and she was kind enough to teach me to surf today. Or at least attempt to teach me.”
    “He did great.” She laughed as she shook Finn’s and Olivia’s hands.
    “Well, we need to go. I’ll call you later,” I said as I began to walk away.
    “You better!” Finn pointed at me.
    I sighed and looked over at Paisley as she smirked at me.
    “I know what you’re thinking right now. It’s like we’re having some secret affair and we just got caught. But I get it,” she said as she nudged my shoulder with hers. “I will be the topic of your family’s conversation until you make up some lie to shut them down.”
    “True. Just like I’ll be the topic of your family’s conversation until you shut them down.”
    “You’re right. Would you like to come to dinner at my parents’ house tonight? If I’m going to shut them down, I can’t think of a better way to do it.”
    I couldn’t believe she asked me to dinner. It excited me; something I hadn’t felt in a very long time. “I would love to help you shut your family down, but only if you promise to help shut mine down next week.”
    “Deal.” She smiled as she held out her hand and we shook on it.
    The feel of her soft skin on mine sent a charge through my body like a bolt of lightning. Suddenly, I felt alive again and, in some way, it scared me. We walked a block to a café where we both ordered coffee and omelets. I told Paisley that I had plans for tonight, but I was going to cancel them because I’d much rather help her shut her family down. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and sent a text message to Brady.
    “Hey, bro. I’m sorry but I can’t make it for dinner tonight. Give Linda my apologies and tell her that I’ll make it up to her.”
    “Dude, you better have one hell of an excuse to back out of one of Linda’s dinners.”
    “I met a girl.”
    “That’s good enough. You can tell me all about her tomorrow at the station.”
    “Thanks, Brady.”
    “You didn’t have to cancel your plans,” Paisley said as she sipped her coffee.
    “It was just dinner at my friend Brady’s house. His wife is a really good cook and she feels sorry for me, so she invites me to dinner every once in a while.”
    “Your brother, Finn, seems really nice. Do you have any other siblings?”
    I looked at her, debating whether or not to tell her about Leah. “I have a half-sister named Leah.”
    “Oh. Does she live around here?”
    “No. She lives in Texas with her mom. Sixteen years ago, my dad went on a fishing trip with a bunch of guys from the station. He and my mom had just separated and he met Lindsey at one of the local