Sand Jewels (The Wishes Series) Read Free Page B

don’t like secrets,” I spat. “I’m certainly not going to be one.”
    Alex turned around and paced a few steps away from me, blowing out a long breath while he pieced his next sentence together. “I’m just asking for a little time. I like you Gabrielle, you have to believe that.”
    “You have a funny way of showing it,” I muttered.
    He turned back to face me. “I have lots of funny ways. I have no choice. My situation is very complicated.”
    I knew the situation he was speaking of. She was the demanding little diva whose bad attitude marred my every day. I found it incredibly unfair that he’d been lumbered with such baggage.
    “I’m sure Charli wants you to be happy,” I reasoned.
    “She does, and I am,” he insisted. “But I’m not going to jump headfirst into anything until I can be sure you can deal with it. I’m not free and easy. I have responsibilities.”
    “And if I can’t deal with it?”
    “Then I will walk away and you’ll be thankful that no one ever knew we spent time together,” he said glumly.
    “That’s it? You wouldn’t even try to make it work?”
    He shook his head. “I can’t promise you everything, Gabrielle. I’m not capable of giving you everything right now.”
    “Because of Charli?”
    He cringed as I said it. Perhaps I’d put a sour spin on her name.
    “You’re not going to want to hear it, but she comes first. It’s been that way for a long time.”
    Part of me wanted to run inside and lock the door. Any man who put his life on hold for the sake of his bratty younger sister was a little off kilter. A bigger part of me wanted a repeat performance of the night before. There was something special about Alex Blake, and I wanted to hang in there long enough to find out what it was.

    5. SICK DAY
    For someone who’d claimed not to like secrets, I was enjoying ours far too much. I saw Alex every day, usually more than once. He was a creature of habit. I’d wake up every morning and make a beeline for the lounge room windows. Without fail, I’d see him hundreds of yards off shore chasing waves.
    Despite the fact that it screamed stalker, I’d gone as far as buying binoculars so I could get a better look. I liked studying Alex. The man with a wildly complicated home life found complete solace in the ocean.
    The evil sister did too. I liked to study Charli as well – when she was half a mile off shore and I couldn’t hear her.
    Their routine was always the same. She’d trail behind her brother, paddling hard to get to where they needed to be. Eventually Alex would stop and let her catch up. He led her through the ocean the same way he led her through life, always stopping to let her catch up.
    Alex’s take hadn’t been so poetic when I mentioned it to him. “She’s only small, Gabs,” he replied. “It’s a long way to paddle.”
    As much as she grated on me, Charli really didn’t impede on the time I spent with Alex, probably because she knew nothing about it. We’d steal a moment in the mornings when I went to the café for coffee and thanks to Charli’s out of control social schedule, most weekends were our own.
    Wednesdays were not usually our day so I was surprised when Alex turned up at my door just after eight o’clock.
    “What are you doing here?” I asked, grabbing his hand and pulling him through the door.
    Alex pulled me in and kissed me as if it had been weeks since we’d seen each other. “I have the whole day planned,” he murmured. “Let’s go.”
    Breaking free of his hold on me, I giggled. “I have to be at school in twenty minutes.”
    “Are you sure?” he asked, drawing out the words. “You don’t look very well.” He put his hand to my forehead. “You might be coming down with something.”
    I brushed his hand away. “Really?” I asked, playing along.
    “Yes. You should call in sick, just to be sure.”
    I’d never faked a sick day in my life. I wasn’t even sure how. Alex obviously had a few ideas. He coached me