SECRETS IN THE SURF (DRIFTWOOD KEY BEACH READS #1) BY CLARA PALMS EPUB & PDF – eBook Details Online
- Status: Available for Free Download
- Authors: CLARA PALMS
- Language: English
- Genre: Contemporary romance
- Format: PDF / EPUB
- Size: 2 MB
- Price: Free
JESS
Jessica Steele stopped in the hallway outside the greenhouse room, just
listening for a moment.
It was an unseasonably cool May morning for the suburbs of
Philadelphia, but she knew it wouldn’t last. From where she stood, Jess
could hear rain lashing the glassy walls of the greenhouse, providing a
lovely backdrop to the soft conversation of her two best friends in the
world, who were chatting while they waited for Jess to bring in a tray of
homemade treats to go with the fresh coffee whose fragrance already filled
the space.
Jess loved her home and adored the greenhouse her husband had built
for her—a replica of just the kind of greenhouse that might have been
original to the gothic Victorian home they shared.
It had been the perfect wedding gift. After all, Jess had fallen in love
with Silas’s garden before she ever fell in love with him. The handsome
widower’s broken heart had slowly healed through their shared love of
helping tender green things grow.
But the best part for Jess now wasn’t the house, or the lush indoor
garden, or even her beloved orchids. It was the company of her two best
friends. For a long time, she had just assumed she’d never get a morning
like this one. Hanging out with Marta, the sweet yet reserved mayor’s wife
and Nikki, the no-nonsense women’s shelter director at the same time was
special. The two of them hadn’t really gotten along in their younger days.
But as time passed, her friends had mellowed. Their first Friday
breakfast in the greenhouse had been a little stilted in the beginning, but by
the end of it they’d all been howling with laughter.
Now it was a time-honored tradition.
Jess swallowed over a lump in her throat. Everything seemed so much
more beautiful now that she was losing it. Soon, there would be no more
greenhouse breakfasts—no more greenhouse at all. But at least the friends
would still have each other, she hoped.
“What are you doing out there?” Nikki called, pulling Jess out of her
quickly darkening thoughts. “I can smell that coffee cake.”
Jess laughed and stepped down from the black and white tiles of the hall
into the warmth of the greenhouse. An antique chandelier hung down from
the cupola over a big, wood-plank table where her friends awaited.
Marta caught her eye.
Jess could practically feel the other woman’s empathy, as if Marta were
hugging her without touching her. Jess hadn’t told them about the apartment
yet, but Marta knew anyway somehow. She was that kind of person. A bit
like someone else Jess had known, once up on a time.
“Here it is,” she said, placing the tray on the table.
She was pleased with the way the coffee cake had come out today—nice
and moist, with a thick layer of crumble on top. There was a bowl of
raspberries alongside it, and a little chocolate syrup, which Marta liked to
put in her coffee.
“Amazing,” Nikki said happily.
Jess took her usual seat, and the room was quiet except for the rain as
they all served themselves.
“It’s so cozy in here today,” Marta remarked as she stirred in the cream
and chocolate.
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