Crazy Little Thing Read Free Page A

ask Fontaine about his magazine article. Oh, and the renovations at his house. That’s why he’s staying with us for a few weeks, you know.”
    I spilled beer on the front of my shirt. “You’re staying here too?” Damn! How many men was I going to have to put up with during this visit?
    “I’m moving a few walls. But the drywall dust is hell on my nasal passages. Besides, you’ll have way more fun with me here. You can’t just sit around all day with my mom.”
    Au, contraire! That is exactly what I planned to do. A big, fat nothing! I wanted to lie on the beach for hours, play checkers with my kids, watch mindless television, and give up all personal grooming habits. I was here to escape from men, but my visions of a perfectly estrogen-driven summer vacation were vanishing faster than the polar ice caps. Sure, Fontaine was fun, like cotton candy is fun. But it’s also sickeningly sweet and too much gives me a splitting headache. Just like Fontaine.
    I forced a smile. “That’s great. We’ll have a blast.”
    I looked back over the water and gulped down my beer. This wasn’t at all what I had planned. But then again, what in my life was turning out the way I expected?
    Fontaine tapped his elbow against mine. “So, sugarplum, aside from the total collapse of your marriage, what else is new?”
    He was as blunt as he was fashion conscious, which is to say, very.
    “Not much. Richard is still mad I got the house. My mother is still mad I got divorced while my sister is mad I didn’t dump him sooner. And I’m thinking about cutting my hair. How about you?”
    He nodded. “Yes, I definitely think you should cut your hair.”
    “That’s not what I meant. Hey, wait a minute! You said I looked fabulous.”
    He was already getting on my nerves.
    “You do, mostly. But your hair shows hints of giving up. We’ll have to do better since you’re back on the market.”
    I sat forward in my chair so abruptly a flock of nearby seagulls launched into flight. “I am not on the market!”
    “Of course you are.” He set his empty bottle in the sand.
    “That’s what I said!” Dody nodded emphatically.
    “I am not.” I shook my head, equally emphatic.
    “Don’t even bother, Sadie.” Jasper chuckled. “You’re their summer project. Didn’t you know?”
    “Pish-posh, Jasper. Shush yourself,” Dody hissed.
    “Is that why you invited me here?” A wave of nausea rolled over me and the back of my neck prickled like heat rash. I should have known my aunt’s insistent invitation cloaked an ulterior motive. She wasn’t president of the Bell Harbor Busybody Association for nothing.
    “Don’t listen to him, darling,” Dody assured me. “We just want to nurture you and mend your broken spirit.”
    “I don’t have a broken spirit!”
    Fontaine and his mother exchanged a look. One that said She’s so pathetic she doesn’t even realize how pathetic she is .
    “Seriously. I’m fine. I just need a little vacation.”
    “Don’t get your knickers in a twist, kitty cat.” Fontaine sighed. “We just want you to have a little fun, you know.”
    “Yeah, well, fun for me does not involve men.”
    “But darling,” Dody chided gently, “you can’t fight against the universal balance. Without the despair of today we can’t experience the joy of tomorrow.”
    “Did Dr. Phil tell you that?” Jasper asked, draining the last of his beer before reaching into the cooler and taking another.
    She shook her head. “Not Dr. Phil. Kung Fu Panda. But nonetheless, Sadie can’t let one bad apple sour her on romance.”
    “Romance?” Fontaine snorted, crossing his arms behind his head and stretching. “Who’s talking about romance? I’m talking about crazy, rowdy sex. Like...with him.” He nodded toward the shoreline.
    Jogging along the water’s edge was a man. Quite a man, in fact. Tanned, tall, muscular, and sweaty. The type of man who knew how the sun bounced off the waves and flickered over his gleaming muscles.