The One Real Thing (Hart's Boardwalk) Read Online Free PDF

at thirty-three years old this is where you always hoped your life would lead you?”

    For hours I sat in my empty apartment later that evening, Fatima’s words ringing in my ears. The woman had always known how to be blunt, but up until now I’d never felt the force of her words so much as I did today.
    I didn’t want to believe that she was right or that the reason I felt so much for the woman I’d met through her letters was because I, too, felt as if life had slipped away from me somehow.
    That there was no hope of a happy ending for me.
    And maybe there wasn’t. Maybe I’d designed it that way.
    I picked up my phone and called Matthew.
    “How’s Helena’s mom?” I said as a hello.
    “The same as she was yesterday. She hasn’t gotten any worse so that’s a good sign, I guess.”
    “Is there anything I can do?”
    “You could tell me why you’re really calling.”
    I rolled my eyes at the amusement in his voice. He knew me too well. “I really am concerned about your mother-in-law.”
    “I know that. But I also know when your voice gets all high and twitchy like that, you’re worrying about something.”
    “Is my life empty?”
    “Sweetheart,” he replied.
    And everything was in that one word.
    Jesus Christ, Matthew thought my life was empty.
    He would. In comparison to his it was. He was an architect and passionate about it; he had Helena, who he was in rapture over (still!); and he had his little girl, Perry, who he adored. And it wasn’t hard to adore her since she was the coolest, most awesome thing that had existed since Jimmy Stewart! Of course my life would look empty next to Matthew’s.
    “You need that vacation, Jess. That’s all I’m going to say. Get away from that prison, that apartment, and that idiot you’re screwing around with.”
    “Get a little perspective?”
    “Exactly,” Matthew said. “Helena and I were in Hawaii last year and it was amazing. You’d love it there.”
    “Hawaii.” I tried to picture myself lying on a beach, drinking cocktails for a few weeks.
    “There are some nice treks in Honolulu. Water sports. Deep-sea diving. More to it than cocktails by the pool.”
    But even so, Hawaii didn’t feel right. “I don’t think so.”
    “Okay, so where do you feel like going?”
    Honestly, the whole idea of taking a vacation to get perspectiveon my life scared me a little. What if I found perspective and realized I really did hate my entire life? That would suck, black-hole-style. And who needed to deal with a black hole, right?
    “Jess?”
    “Hartwell,” I blurted out. “I’m going to Hartwell.”
    “Hartwhat now?”
    “Hartwell. It’s a boardwalk town here in Delaware.”
    “How adventurous of you.”
    “I’ll have you know that it is an exciting place to be.”
    “It’s Delaware, honey. The same state you live and work in. If it was an adventure it would be Hawaii or the jungles of South America.”
    “You’re lucky I love you, you condescending ass.”
    “You’re lucky I love you, you
pain
in the ass.”
    At the sound of his warm laughter, I felt better than I had since I’d found Sarah’s letters.

FOUR

Cooper
    Hartwell, Delaware
    “It’s your alternator, Ayd,” Cooper said, staring down into the engine and pretending he couldn’t feel his sister’s best friend’s breasts pressed up against his back.
    “Really?” she said breathily. “And what about that squealing noise it was making before it died?”
    “Drive belt needs to be replaced probably.” He pulled back, taking a step away from her.
    Aydan was a good-looking woman, but Cooper had a rule. He didn’t fuck a woman who would care if he didn’t call her again. He especially wasn’t going to mess around with Cat’s best friend. Not only because he didn’t want to piss off his sister but also because Aydan was vulnerable. Her husband had run off a year before, leaving her alone with her teenage daughter, Angela. She was struggling to make ends meet, which was why