Love In Alabama (The Love In Series Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page B

in the six years I'd spent with Brian. This was my time—indulge, relax, enjoy. I couldn't do any of that if my ex-husband kept creeping into my thoughts.
    I glanced around the room. It was sparsely decorated but clean and cool, the wall-unit air conditioner humming steadily. A king size bed with a seashell comforter took up most of the room and there was a long, low dresser against the opposite wall, a television mounted above it. The kitchenette had a set of cupboards, a mini refrigerator and a microwave the size of a toaster. A coffeemaker sat on top of the fridge, along with a small package of chocolate chip cookies. A “Welcome to the Beach” sticker was slapped on the front of it. I grabbed the bag and tore it open and pulled out a cookie.
    I ate it in two bites, then kicked off my sandals and headed toward the sliding glass door. The curtain was pulled, hiding the view, and I tugged on the cord on the side, sliding it out of the way. I let out an involuntary sigh at the view waiting for me.
    The beach. Beautiful, blue-green water and white foam waves that crashed rhythmically to shore. Large gulls soaring overhead and smaller birds racing across the sand on pencil-thin legs. The sand, a blinding, bright white that reflected the sunlight.
    I took a deep breath and drank it all in. The weight that had dropped on my shoulders at the airport, that had settled into my muscles as I sat with Dylan, that had eased up a bit as I'd flown across the Bay Bridge and headed toward the beach—it disappeared. Lifted, like some kind, invisible spirit had noticed I was struggling and had reached out and grabbed hold of it and tossed it aside.
    I opened the slider and I didn't care that the humidity slammed into me like a wall of liquid air. I breathed deeply, inhaling the scent of the Gulf, listening to the waves and the birds and the distant sound of someone's radio on the beach in front of me.
    I didn't think about Brian. I didn't think about the couple in the parking lot. And I didn't think about the reason Paige had sent me on this mission.
    All I could think about was that I was finally doing something I wanted to do.
    Bound by no one. Bound by nothing.
    Dylan's words echoed again.
    The world is your oyster.
    It was. And I wanted to enjoy, relax, and indulge in every second of it.

SIX
     
     
    The old, practical me would've sat down, made a grocery list and headed immediately to the store to pick up food, toiletries and anything else the room needed before even touching the sand. That wasn't a bad thing, but it spoke volumes as to how everything had become routine and how I'd fallen victim to thinking that was who I was.
    The new me? She tossed the grocery list idea aside and stripped out of her clothes. Dug the brand new blue bikini out of the suitcase, put it on, and walked down to the water.
    Groceries could wait.
    My feet sank into the soft, white sand as I walked and I couldn't believe I'd waited twenty six years to visit a real beach. I'd been on the shores of the Atlantic in New England, but those weren't beaches I could lounge around on or use the sand as a bed because it was so perfect. This beach looked exactly like a postcard or an ad in a magazine. The sun sparkled on the surface of the water and all I could see for what seemed like miles was sand and water.
    Maybe I'd have to send Brian a thank you card for serving me with divorce papers.
    I skirted the line of over-sized umbrellas on the sand shading families and couples and walked directly to the water's edge. I dipped my toes into the water and stared down in amazement. The Gulf felt more like bath water than cool saltwater. There was no cold shock as the water washed over my feet. I shuffled in further, the gentle waves splashing against my legs, until the water reached my knees.
    Then I sighed, loud and audible. If someone had heard me, they'd probably think I was a little weird, maybe even a little obnoxious.
    “Pretty relaxing, right?” a voice said off to