That Thing You Do (Whispering Bay Romance Book 1) (Volume 1) Read Online Free PDF Page B

I’m a dick, and I don’t blame you. But it’s not up to me. We can’t build the new rec center until the old building comes down. There’s a schedule—”
    “And a budget, yeah, yeah, I know.” It was like talking to a brick wall. She decided to try another angle. “You musthave spent time in the building. Have you ever seen or heard anything strange? Anything that might lead you to think the place might be haunted?”
    “There’s no ghost, Allie. Trust me on this.”
    Trust him ?
    Strange as it seemed, on this, she did trust him. At least, she believed that he believed what he was saying. Funny, even after all these years she could still read his expressions.When he said he knew nothing about a ghost, he meant it.
    Which meant there was nothing left for her to do but reach into the back seat of his truck and pull out her overnight bag. Tom got out of the vehicle and opened the door for her. Gentlemanly enough, she supposed, but she also had the feeling he was going to try to walk her to the front door.
    “I got this,” she said, but he ignoredher and kept walking alongside her anyway. There was probably no use in arguing, so Allie let it slide.
    The front porch light snapped on, which meant her sister-in-law knew she was here. Knowing Mimi, she was probably peeking out the window as well. Allie tested the door and found it unlocked, but before she could twist the knob, Tom placed his hand over hers, stopping her cold. “Hold on.I want to say something.”
    She glanced down at their hands then lifted her gaze to meet his. For the first time tonight he looked nervous. Oh, this was golden. Tom Donalan was about to apologize for breaking her heart. Ha! It’s just a little too late for that, buddy!
    “I was really sorry about your grandmother,” he said quietly. “I wanted to come to the funeral. But under the circumstances,I thought it was best I stayed away.”
    Allie snatched her hand from his. He was apologizing for missing Buela’s funeral?
    Buela died three days after The Night of the Great Humiliation. Her death had been unexpected. The doctors said it was a heart attack, but it had taken Allie a long time to come to grips with that diagnosis.
    A part of her wanted to shove Tom in the chest. Toknock him off her brother’s front porch. But that was silly. Buela’s death hadn’t been his fault. Just like she knew it hadn’t been hers, either.
    In the immortal words of the Beatles, Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da . Life goes on. The lyrics to the song began playing in her head. Quiet and warm and oddly familiar.
    Allie frowned.
    Where had that come from?
    Allie had never in her lifequoted the Beatles. Either out loud or in her head. She rubbed her arms up and down.
    Tom frowned. “You cold?”
    “No…I just…”
    Weird.
    He looked concerned, so she straightened back her shoulders and tried to sound normal.
    “No worries about Buela’s funeral. That was twelve years ago, and yeah, you were right. It was best you stayed away.” Allie didn’t think she could havehandled seeing Tom at the funeral. And Zeke? He would have punched Tom’s lights out. “It’s nice that you remembered her, though. After all this time,” she added.
    Neither of them said anything for a few long seconds. Oh God. They were having a moment . She didn’t expect to ever get an apology from Tom for leading her on that summer after high school. What happened was twelve years ago, forGod’s sake. She was a grown woman. As much as she wanted to, she couldn’t hate Tom Donalan.
    “About your car. You’ll have to move it before nine. Because—”
    “Yeah, I know. The building is coming down. Don’t worry. I’ll get Mimi to help.”
    He looked distracted, but he nodded. “So long, Allie. It was really good seeing you again.”
    Strangely, she realized that a part of her (avery tiny part, maybe) thought it was good to see him again, too.
    The Beatles were right. Life does go on .
    Running into Tom Donalan hadn’t been as terrible (or