Undone (A Country Roads Novel) by Shannon Richard Page B

side. She hesitated for a second but then scooted closer to the door. He put his hands on her hips and guided her down in front of him.
    “Thank you,” she said, looking up at him.
    “No problem,” he said, reaching up and pushing a strand of hair behind her ear.
    Paige inhaled sharply as his finger grazed her skin. Brendan dropped his hand and stepped back, giving Paige the space to step by him. Grace sidled up to Paige as they all unloaded the stuff from the back. Paige muttered something under her breath that made Grace crack up. Brendan grabbed his bag and a cooler and followed as everyone made their way down to the beach. They stopped where two girls were already spread out on the sand.
    Melanie O’Bryan and Harper Laurence were Grace’s closest friends. After high school, Mel had gone to Florida State University in Tallahassee. She’d gotten her bachelor’s in education and had just moved back to town a couple of months ago. She was now teaching math at the high school. Harper was a massage therapist. She split her time working at a resort on the beach and a spa that was in downtown Mirabelle.
    Grace introduced the girls to Paige and then they set up their towels next to them. Brendan watched Paige out of the corner of his sunglasses, trying desperately not to be obvious. She pulled off her tank top and then did a little shimmy getting out of her shorts that nearly killed him. She was wearing a modest green one-piece that did amazing things to her curves.
    She lifted her arms to tie her hair up and her bathing suit pulled, showing the side of her left breast where she had a quarter-size birthmark in the shape of a strawberry.
    “Did you just groan?” Shep asked, coming up next to him.
    “No,” Brendan said, taking the beer that Shep handed him.
    “Damn, you’ve got it bad,” he said, shaking his head.
    “Shut up.”
    *  *  *
    Three months of being in this stupid town and nothing had gone right. No job, no friends, no social life. And then a week ago Paige had met Brendan, and poof, all of that changed.
    She didn’t want to like him—she really, really didn’t. The ache in her chest was just beginning to grow smaller and she knew that Brendan had the potential to crack that wide open. She didn’t want to be cracked open. She wanted to be safe and whole but every time he looked at her she just wanted to let herself fall.
    Paige put her book down and propped herself up on her elbows, looking out at the water. Brendan was out there with Jax, Shep, and Mel. All of them had beers in their hands and were talking as the waves rolled in, splashing around them.
    Mel and Harper were more than friendly and easy to talk to. They were average height, shorter than Paige, but then again most girls were. Both women were beautiful but in different ways. Mel was slim, with long thin legs and a tiny waist. She had corkscrew honey-blonde curls, amber eyes, and a warm, welcoming face that inspired confidence and trust. Harper was more exotic looking, with long, thick black hair, violet almond eyes, and killer curves.
    “You going out there?” Grace asked, rolling over onto her side.
    “I was thinking about it.”
    “Come on,” Grace said, standing up and grabbing her beer. “You coming, Harper?”
    “Yeah,” Harper said.
    Paige grabbed her beer and followed them out toward the water. She hesitated on the hard-packed wet sand and let a wave wash up around her feet. The water was warm but it felt cool against her sun-baked skin. They waded out where everyone else was and joined the circle.
    “So, Paige,” Mel said, shoving a strand of her curly blonde hair behind her ear. “What did you do in Philadelphia?”
    “I worked in the art department of an advertising agency,” she answered, taking a sip of beer. “But when they were bought out I lost my job.”
    “Oh. I’m sorry.”
    “Don’t be.” Paige shrugged. “It happens.”
    “So you moved here after that?” Harper asked.
    “No. I moved down here