GET READY FOR A SNEAK PEEK AT THE SECOND BOOK IN THE SUNSET COVE SERIES
Love by Numbers
Chapter One ~Henry~
T he raucous sounds of laughter hit Henry’s ears as he made his way towards the dining room for his family’s monthly dinner gathering. Henry listened just outside the door as his parents, siblings, and their partners enjoyed a lively conversation. A sad smile pulled at the corners of his mouth. He was happy for his sisters, truly, but the family dinners and other gatherings were getting harder and harder to attend now that he was the only Baker kid without a significant other. The loneliness that had been nothing more than a dull ache over the last few years felt more like an acute pain lately, especially when he had to spend time around three happy couples.
Henry’s parents, Bernie and Ellen Baker, had always been very much in love and displayed it often, sometimes to the dismay of their own children. It wasn’t fun to walk in on your parents getting a little too handsy in the kitchen when you were just twelve years old. To be honest, it wasn’t much better now that Henry was coming up on twenty-six. He was happy to have two parents who were so devoted to one another, he just didn’t need to see evidence of it at all times. His older sister, Hailey, and her one time rival turned fiancé, Louis Balardi, were almost just as bad with their own public displays of affection, and it seemed to be ramping up now that their wedding was only a week away. His twin sister, Holly, had just gotten married to his friend, Ben, two months prior, and they were still firmly entrenched in the honeymoon phase, always touching and whispering sweet nothings to one another. Henry was just glad that Holly had moved out of their formerly shared apartment before he accidentally walked in on anything that would have made things awkward.
With a sigh and another deep breath, Henry pushed open the door to the dining room and wandered inside. He looked around the table and saw that his family, who had clearly followed his request to not hold up dinner on his account while he was working late with one of his clients, were busy eating and chatting away. His mom looked up as he came into the room, greeting him with her typical wide grin. “Hey, honey. How was Deliah?”
Deliah Smith was the owner and manager of a clothing boutique in the downtown district of his small hometown of Sunset Cove. Henry was an accountant for various small businesses in the area, and as he currently worked out of the office of his family’s bakeshop, he regularly visited his clients at their own place of business. He should probably think about finding a new office space. His current office had made sense at first, especially since he also did the books for Baker’s Bakeshop, but a little distance from all of the loved-up couples might do him some good. He cleared his throat of any residual sadness that may have been lingering and addressed his mom. “She’s good. Her sales have been up all summer with the increased tourism. She says hello, by the way.” He grabbed his plate and started filling it with the pasta salad, grilled chicken skewers, and cut veggies that were on offer at the table.
“That’s sweet of her. I’ll have to stop by and visit her soon. Maybe after all the wedding craziness is behind us,” his mom said.
“What craziness?” His sister, Hailey, asked incredulously. “Our wedding is going to be small and Holly has helped plan it so everything will happen seamlessly.”
His mom smiled politely at her eldest daughter. “You’re right, sweetie. I guess I should have said excitement instead of craziness.” She turned to Holly who was currently resting her head on her husband’s shoulder. “Thank you again for being such a dear and helping with Hailey’s wedding. I know summer is your busy season.”
Holly was a wedding planner, and she had already made quite a name for herself in the area. She sat up and nodded.” It is, but this wedding was almost as fun as planning my own,” she said wistfully before staring at Ben, her eyes filled with love.
Henry felt a twinge of jealousy as he looked at his sister. He was happy for his twin, but it didn’t take away his own heartache. As if he could sense his distress, Hailey’s fiancé, Louis, leaned over to him. “You know, my friend Max is always looking for a wingman since I am off the market. You could always go out with him and try to meet someone.”
Henry shook his head. “I appreciate the suggestion, but bars and clubs aren’t really my scene.” He had tried to meet women that way in the past, but Henry wasn’t super comfortable walking up to women he didn’t know and starting a conversation. He had grown a lot from the shy, awkward teen he had been in high school, but he wasn’t what you would call bold.
Louis lifted a shoulder. “Suit yourself, but I still think it is better than those dating apps,” he said with a full body shudder.
Henry chuckled because while he didn’t love bars and clubs, he didn’t love dating apps either. He had had a bit of success in college and the couple of years since, but after the last three matches he dated broke things off because he was “too nice,” or “like a brother,” or “more of a friend,” Henry had decided to take a break from them as well. With those two options off the table, Henry wasn’t left with much other than to hope that a woman literally fell into his lap.
“What are you two whispering about?” Hailey asked, and Henry put a forkful of pasta in his mouth to avoid answering the question.
“I was just trying to help Henry with his love life,” Louis answered before raising his sister’s hand to his mouth to give it a kiss.
He glared at the traitorous Frenchman, swallowed his food, and prepared to fend off the incoming attack. He could already see both of his sister’s posed to strike, ready to inundate him with questions about dating. Ever since they had been coupled with someone, Hailey and Holly had been fairly relentless in trying to set him up with just about anyone they could think of. “Before you two start in on me,” he said with as much authority in his voice as he could muster. “Just try to remember how little you enjoyed being pestered about his kind of thing when you were single.”