Page 48 of The Summer that Changed Everything
“And how would you describe Coastal Comfort?”
“You’ve seen it.”
“A decorator’s dream?” she said.
“A decorator’swork,” he clarified. “It’s comfortable, too, in a different way.”
“In the way money makes everything comfortable—expensive mattresses and pillows and thousand thread count sheets?” she said with a laugh.
“I guess I can’t argue there.” He cut the cake she’d put on the counter and slid a thin sliver onto the extra plate before handing the much bigger piece to her.
“Whoa, this is a lot more than half,” she said.
“I’ve already had some.” He went through the drawers until he found the forks while she got the milk and poured two glasses. “Shall we go to the porch again?” he asked.
“Why not?” she replied. “It’s the best place in the house. Well, it’s not reallyinthe house, but you know what I mean.”
He followed her out and muttered “thank goodness” as he took a seat on the wicker furniture, apparently relieved to get a small reprieve from the heat. Even with the windows open, the house was hotter than the outdoors.
“What kind of house do you live in?” he asked as she sat across from him so she could use the table nearby for her milk.
She picked up her fork. “If you’re wondering if I hit the lottery since I left here penniless, the answer is no.”
“I’m not comparing or judging you. I’m just curious about your life. Is that so terrible?”
What she had could never compare with what he had, but she was proud of herself for owning a piece of real estate. Her father had never owned anything beyond a vehicle, and even that was generally a piece of junk. “I have a condo in Vegas,” she told him. “I could’ve bought a house, but I didn’t want to worry about the yard, and I like the security the complex offers—the amenities, too, with the pool and clubhouse.”
“Why Vegas?” he asked.
She put the first bite of cake into her mouth and closed her eyes as the cream cheese frosting melted on her tongue. “God, this is good.”
“Lucy?”
She opened her eyes.
“Why Vegas?”
“That’s where I work.” Although, she could live anywhere if she could get used to playing poker online. So far, it hadn’t been her thing. Maybe she was a little superstitious, but she tended to do better in person, felt it was easier to read the players around her.
Already finished with his small sliver of cake, Ford put down his fork. “What do you do that enables you to take the whole summer off?”
“I’m not going to tell you,” she said and took another bite of cake.
He looked up. “Why?”
“I’d just rather not.” Some people frowned on gambling. She didn’t want to give him another reason to feel superior—or his parents another reason to commend themselves for keeping their son away from her.
“Are you a teacher?” he guessed. “Teachers have summers off...”
“Not a teacher. I didn’t have the opportunity to go to college. I was homeless until I was twenty-two. I doubt I would’ve been able to get through college even if I’d had the money. I was pretty messed up after what happened here.”
His lips compressed into a straight line. Then he said, softly, “How’d you survive?”
She used her fork to make swirls in the frosting on her cake. “It’s kind of a blur, to tell you the truth.”
He drank his milk. “You didn’t have any family to help you?”
She shook her head.
