Book 3 The Summer I Turned Pretty ✓

Belly’s chest ached. Susannah’s empty chair in the living room still had her favorite blanket draped over it. No one had moved it. No one could.

“Because I can’t sit at that fire and pretend,” he said quietly. “Pretend I’m fine. Pretend we’re all fine. Pretend Mom—”

Conrad’s mouth twitched. Not quite a smile. “That sounds like him.” book 3 the summer i turned pretty

Because that’s what you did at Cousins Beach. You showed up. You stayed. And you tried not to drown in the space between what you wanted and what you couldn’t have.

He stepped closer. Close enough that she could smell his sweatshirt—salt, cedar, something underneath that was just Conrad . His hand hovered near her arm but didn’t touch. Belly’s chest ached

Belly set her cup down in the sand and walked toward the house. She found him leaning against the porch railing, facing the ocean. The screen door groaned behind her, but he didn’t turn.

“Jeremiah just pretended to fall into the fire. On purpose. For a girl.” No one could

“Yes, I do.” Conrad’s voice broke on the second word. “Because it’s the same way I look at you.”