Better Not Love Me Read Online Free PDF Page B

engulfed the lake.  
    The girls were each sprawled out on the flat seats in the bow of the boat. Susanna and Priscilla chatted and pointed at the other boats that were only illuminated by white, evening running lights. It was a beautiful, all-American scene.
    Marcus used a life jacket as a pillow and just stared up at the stars. Amelia had wondered if Marcus was up for a night on the lake. She'd never thought to ask him. He'd been tentative on the water ever since that Christmas Day nearly six years ago when he fell through the ice at Rocktop Lake. She had noted the first thing Marcus did when he entered the boat was to remove a life jacket from the side storage compartment and place it on the seat next to him. He didn't put it on, but it was never too far from his side. He was a proficient swimmer, but she had not taken him out in a boat since he was a toddler. She wondered if he was protecting himself with the life jacket and if he still had emotional scars from Rocktop Lake and Edwin's death. She needed to be more considerate of what he may still be going through. She'd failed to mother him the way she should.
    Amy handed Amelia a plastic cup filled with red wine. They ceremoniously touched the cups together. Amelia smiled appreciatively before taking a large gulp.
    "Two Buck Chuck?" Amelia asked, holding up the cup.
    "Only the best for Boat Captain Cook."
    "Nice," Amelia said.
    "So what was all that about back at the dock?" Amy asked. "I get it. You know him somehow, obviously. And you didn't want his help, but you sort of cut the poor guy's head off." 
    Amelia didn’t want to spend the night catching up her sister on what a terrible boss Nate was to her. It meant she'd have to relive the experiences herself too. She didn't want to talk about how she'd called him out on all of his BS before finally quitting Mr. Z's Corp. She'd gone out in a blaze of glory and thought that her actions were far behind her. So when he showed up here at her place of sanctuary, she was shocked and angry.
    But Amelia knew she had to tell Amy about Nate.
    "That was Nate Rosen. My old boss. The guy I complained about for the last four-plus years."
    "That was him? No horns or a pitchfork. Not what I pictured. He's pretty cute."
    "Oh my Lord, Amy. It doesn't matter that he's cute. He's the evil boss from the Dilbert comics. He made Mr. Z's unbearable for me."
    "Then why did you rent a cabin next to his?" Amy asked.
    "How was I supposed to know he had a cabin here? He lives in Dallas where Riddell is located. There's a million other places he could have owned a cabin, but no. It had to be here in Idaho."
    "That's a mighty big coincidence, Sis," Amy said, stating the obvious. 
    "I didn't plan it, if that's what you think."
    "No, that's not it. I just think it's a big coincidence."
    But there was something in the way Amy said it that sounded like she was hinting at something else.
    "Is he single?" Amy asked.
    "I have no earthly idea. Probably. He doesn't wear a ring and it looks like it's just him and his daughter. "
    "Well, this summer just got a little hotter, didn't it?" Amy said, sipping her wine. "Yet, he's not really my type anyway. I go for guys who are flabby and in need of a job. They are easier to find around dinner time."
    "Promise me you won't chase this guy," Amelia said. "He's bad news. He might look like an underwear model, but he's pure evil inside."
    "One hundred percent pure evil beefcake!" Amy said, chuckling.
    Amelia reluctantly returned the laugh. She had to admit, Nate wasn't bad to look at. But it didn’t matter. He was an awful person all around.
     
    * * *
     
    The family ate dinner on the boat. Amy had made fried chicken and macaroni salad. Since she owned a diner back home, she was quite the whiz in the kitchen, so anytime Amelia could get her to whip up a meal, she did so. Amy made so much food that she even shared the leftovers with the guys on the boat next to them. They were a couple of college-age boys who were