The Girlfriend (Single Wide Female in Love, Book 2) by Lillianna Blake, P. Seymour

mind to settle into a peaceful state. I was ready to seize the moment and live only in the present.
    It was a balmy afternoon, and as usual, the pedestrian traffic along the water was pretty intense. The sea of faces had once made me feel a little lonely; now it just made me feel lucky, because I knew that Max was one of those faces. I was no longer alone in the crowd, and there was only one face that I looked for. Once my great love had been a mystery to me, but now I had the luxury of heading straight for him.
    A few boats were making their way into the harbor. Joggers whizzed past me along with a handful of cyclists. I leaned against the railing and took another deep breath. It always amazed me how the tall buildings became hulking monsters in the water’s surface. Their reflections were distorted to the point of appearing supernatural, and yet all I had to do to know the truth was look up.  
    “Hi, beautiful.” Max stepped up beside me.
    I turned to hug him and nearly knocked over a skateboarder. Luckily he caught himself before he could get hurt.  
    “Watch it, lady!” He scowled.  
    “Pedestrian traffic, kid. Nowhere does it say you can use your skateboard!” Max bristled.
    I loved it when he stood up for me.  
    “Shove it, old man!”  
    Max started to turn as if he might go after the kid, but I grabbed his elbow and steered him back to me.  
    “Don’t go. Stay right here with me.” We shared a lingering kiss.
    When he pulled away he still looked flustered.  
    “Old man?” He quirked an eyebrow. “When did we become the old people?”
    “We’re not old. We’re just refined.”  
    “Refined?” He let out a loud laugh. “I don’t think we can pass for that.”  
    I wrapped my arms around him. I loved being held by him. Usually it made me feel as if I was the only person that existed. Tonight it made me feel wonderful, but that pesky concern was still there.  
    “So what’s your thing tonight?”  
    “Thing?”  
    “You said you couldn’t do dinner because you had a thing.”  
    “Oh, right. Yeah, I do.”  
    “So what is it?” I grinned at him.  
    “I’m just meeting with someone.”  
    I stared at him. What kind of answer was that? I didn’t think it could be more evasive or vague.
    Live in the moment, Sammy. Focus on the positive, Sammy. Deep breath in and deep breath out.  
    “Max why won’t you tell me who you’re meeting?”  
    Max’s expression tightened. “Sammy, not this again.”  
    “Well, it just seems odd to me.”  
    “It’s personal.”  
    Those words actually hurt. What could be so personal that he would need to keep from me? It wasn’t like he had to make a visit to the gyno for a check-up. Getting a Pap smear—now that was personal; but meeting with someone shouldn’t be. I wanted to ask him a million questions. Then I remembered my conversation with Stephanie. She had warned me that I was reading too much into things.  
    “Okay.” I turned back toward the water.  
    “Sammy.” He slipped his arms around my waist from behind. “There are some things I have to do alone, you know.”  
    “Like what?”  
    “Like urinating. I prefer to do that alone. And also eating chicken wings. I really like my privacy when I do that. You know, so I can get as messy as I want.”  
    I laughed and shook my head. “Now you’re teasing me. You know that’s something I like to do alone.”  
    “Oh, is it? Then I guess we need to do it together some time.”  
    “Sounds good.” I leaned my head back against his chest.
    In that moment, with the subtle sounds of the harbor around us and his scent drifting over me, I felt foolish. I didn’t want to be that girlfriend that gave her boyfriend no freedom. A good attempt at showing Max I trusted him would be to just drop it.  
    “Don’t forget dessert tonight.” He smiled and kissed my cheek. “I better get going.”  
    I glanced at my watch. It was getting close to six.  
    “Alright. Oh, I