That Thing You Do (Whispering Bay Romance Book 1) (Volume 1) by Maria Geraci Page A

Mimi warned.
    Claire backed out of the driveway and they took off down the road. Allie gripped the door knob to keep from getting jostled in her seat. She now understood Cameron’s reaction to Claire’s threat. Buteveryone had been a novice driver at one point, right? Claire just needed more practice.
    Cameron yakked all the way to his middle school, which was only a five minute drive.  Allie leaned over and forced him to kiss her goodbye on the cheek, but she didn’t have to push too hard. Apparently, eleven was still a sweet age for pre-adolescent boys. She caught a whiff of freshly brushed teeth,Clearasil and…Old Spice cologne. Claire was right. Cameron had a girlfriend. Scratch the pre-adolescent part. Why was everyone in such a hurry to grow up?
    Claire drove on to the high school and parked (rather badly) into a space in the second row of the student section. Allie hadn’t been back to Whispering Bay High in ages. There were kids everywhere in the parking lot, rushing to get toclass before the first bell. The hair was different and the clothes were definitely different (had Allie ever dressed this hoochie in high school?), but the rest was the same. Bright young faces and pimply chins and lots of laughter and rough-housing.
    A vision of Tom and her eating lunch while sitting on the hood of his red Crown Victoria popped into her head. It was the way they’d spentalmost every lunch period their senior year.
    Claire waved goodbye and disappeared among a gaggle of giggling girls, shaking Allie out of her reverie.
    “Okay, first stop, The Bistro,” Mimi said, back in control of the wheel.

T he nice thing about growing up in a small town was that things rarely changed. Yes, an occasional strip mall might pop up, or a new seafood joint might give the few restaurants in town some competition, but somehow, Whispering Bay had managed to avoid the fate of most north Florida beach towns. With no condos or vacation resorts to attract tourists, it was a sleepy hollow of ten thousandresidents, a middle class bedroom community comprised of almost equal parts young families and retirees.
    The downside to small town living meant no Starbucks. But that was fine with Allie because Whispering Bay had something better.
    The Bistro by the Beach, owned by Frida Hampton, another Bunco pal of Mimi’s, was a cute little coffee house located just a few miles from the senior centerand a major meeting place for the town’s citizens. Brightly colored murals depicting ocean life (painted by Frida’s husband, Ed, a local artist) covered the walls. Ed’s studio was located upstairs and in the last few years he’d become something of a local sensation, prompting tourists to come not just for the caffeine, but the artwork, as well. The coffee was strong, the muffins were fresh,and it had a first rate view of the water. Deputy Rusty was there, along with a dozen or so regulars and the usual handful of tourists from nearby Seaside.
    Rusty smirked at Allie in acknowledgement, then gave Mimi a deferential nod. Although cerebrally Allie knew that Zeke was Whispering Bay’s Chief of Police, she couldn’t help the sudden wave of pride that washed over her. If you’d toldher twenty years ago, when she was ten and Zeke was sixteen, that her pot smoking, juvenile delinquent brother would one day be The Law in this town she would have spit up her Fruit Loops from laughing so hard.
    Kitty Burke Pappas met them by the counter. Her brown hair was pulled back in a low ponytail and her makeup was impeccable. She wore an apricot sheath dress that fit her perfectlyand complimented her lightly freckled skin. She wasn’t a great beauty, but there was something about the way she carried herself that made Allie feel like a total slouch next to her. She’d wish she’d had more than five minutes to pull herself together this morning.
    Allie order the biggest café latte on the menu. “Thanks for talking to your husband for me. Even though it didn’t work