Better Not Love Me Read Online Free PDF

night and it was time to head out onto the water. Amelia regretted being so distracted. Her failure to learn how to operate the boat may not have been a big deal under different circumstances, but the kids were excited about getting on the water for the fireworks display and she couldn’t even figure out how to start the darn thing.
    Marcus, Susanna, Priscilla and Amy watched her struggle from their seats in the boat.
    “Maybe you’ve got to move this thingy,” Amy said, pointing to a lever to the right of the steering wheel.
    “I tried that,” she said sheepishly as the boat continued to rock gently against the dock. “Nothing.”
    Nate’s boat sat on the opposite side of the dock, empty. She took childish satisfaction that his boat had seen better days. It was old, chipped and cracked. The Plexiglas windshield was scratched and foggy.
    The sun was starting to set and she didn’t really want her first time on the water to be in the pitch black, even though she knew the return trip would be in the dark. She continued to work the controls, but it wasn’t starting. She was embarrassed and growing ever more frustrated with each minute.
    “Marcus, can you Google how to start this thing?” she asked.
    But he wasn’t listening. She followed his gaze and discovered why. He was watching Nate, but more so his bikini-clad daughter Chloe descend the steps toward the dock. In just seconds, Nate would be on the dock too. Amelia tried again to start the boat, but this time it gave a faint sputter before going silent. She was getting closer to how to do it, she thought. Maybe the sputter was a good thing and she could zoom away before Nate walked onto the dock.
    But it was too late for that.
    “You guys watching the fireworks too?” Nate asked in Amy’s direction. "They're going to be great this year."
    “Yes, as soon as we can get this boat started up,” Amy said as Amelia continued to fiddle at the controls behind her.
    “I’ve almost got it,” Amelia said through clinched teeth. She didn't look up.
    Amy, oblivious to her sister’s discomfort, then did the one thing Amelia didn’t want.
    “Say, you’re a boat guy. Think you could give us a hand?” Amy asked Nate.
    If looks could kill, Amy would be dead in the water. Amelia's eyes narrowed at the gall of her sister.
    “I’d be happy to,” Nate said, hopping into the boat from the dock just as Amelia turned to protest.
    His sudden added weight to the boat caused it to rock, shifting Amelia off balance. She stumbled toward him. Nate caught her in his arms. Her momentum propelled her toward him until they were sandwiched together against the passenger seat of the boat in an uncomfortable embrace. She immediately felt how hard his chest and abs were, but pushed herself off of him immediately.
    “I said I had it,” she snapped.
    Nate stole a glance at Amy who was giving him the what’s her deal ? look.
    “OK, but if you want to get this thing started, you might want to try moving the throttle into neutral. Otherwise you’re going to send it right into the beach,” he said. "And, that's why it’s not starting too."
    “And that was exactly what I was about to do,” Amelia said, unconvincingly.
    “Well OK, then. You guys enjoy your night,” he said, stepping onto the dock, content to leave the fuming Amelia behind. 
    Amelia started the engine, which bubbled out a hum into the water.
    “Thank you,” Amy said to Nate over the short expanse of the dock.
    “That’s what neighbors are for,” he said, then went about his business starting his own boat.
     
    * * *
     
    The water in the middle of Lake Coeur d'Alene was littered with all types of watercraft from sailboats to jet skis and even some adventurous people floating in inflatable rafts. Amelia had managed to maneuver the boat to the edge of the cluster. Music, blasting from nearby boats, echoed off the surface of the water. The joyous chatter of the boaters nearby only ebbed when the sun set and night