On the Rocks (Becker Brothers, #1)

by Kandi Steiner

She smelled like lavender, like an open field in the heat of summer.

She laughed the way the wind blew — softly, and then all at once, without an ounce of shame for how that sound might permanently shift the atmosphere around it.

I didn’t mean to ruffle her feathers, but damn if I didn’t like getting under that pretty bird’s skin.

Everything was perfect, and if you asked any of my friends, they’d say I was the luckiest girl in Tennessee. So then why did it feel like I was drowning?

even if she ever was diagnosed with dementia. And I also knew I’d never forget her. Betty was the first one to ever open my eyes to a world outside of Stratford, to challenge me to take risks, to move passionately and unapologetically through life. “Anyone can lead an ordinary life, child,” she’d said to me one lazy afternoon. “But the best adventures are reserved for the ones brave enough to be extraordinary.”

“This man you’ll marry,” she said as I pulled the knit blanket up to her shoulders. “Does he make you feel the way Richard Gere made Julia Roberts feel in Pretty Woman?” I smiled, tucking the blanket around her arms as I considered the question. Did Anthony make me feel like that — special, desired, beautiful in a way that he can’t resist? Not necessarily. But did he make me feel safe, comfortable, cared for? Yes. “I think so,” I whispered, but then I raised both brows as my eyes found hers. “He’s not quite as handsome, though.” “Well, no one is as handsome as Richard Gere, my dear,” she said on an exaggerated sigh, as if that were obvious. “Don’t be so hard on yourself.”