A Mile in My Flip-Flops (28 page)

“Promise you won’t get mad?”

I laugh. “I’ve been engaged to you for like maybe ninety minutes. Do you seriously think I could get mad at you now or anytime soon?”

“I sold the sailboat.”

I can’t even speak as I consider this. Did I hear him right?

“Are you okay?”

“You sold the sailboat?”
I echo.

“You promised you wouldn’t get mad.”

“I-I’m not mad. Just confused. You love that boat, Noah. You put your heart and soul into it.”

“I put my head and my hands into it. My heart has better things to do.”

I cannot believe this incredible sacrifice, and I feel tears welling up again. “I just can’t believe it,” I finally mutter. “You sold your boat…”

“I wanted to sell it, Gretchen. Honestly, it was worth it. And if it makes you feel any better, I got an incredibly good price for it, enough to pay off most of the house. And I can build another boat. Maybe a little smaller this time, a little easier to handle. And your dad can help me, and—”

But I stifle his explanation with a kiss. A sweet, long kiss. And then, as I run my hands over his face and stare deep into his eyes, I say, “And, hey, if all else fails, we can take on this house-flipping business professionally.”

Looking directly into my eyes, he nods. “The thought has crossed my mind too.”

“And to think … I thought this flip was going to flop.”

M
ELODY
C
ARLSON
is the award-winning author of more than one hundred books for adults, children, and teens. She is the mother of two grown sons and lives near the Cascade Mountains in central Oregon with her husband and a chocolate Lab retriever. She is a full-time writer and an avid gardener, biker, hiker, and home remodeler.

These Boots Weren’t Made for Walking
On This Day
Finding Alice
Crystal Lies
Notes from a Spinning Planet series
Diary of a Teenage Girl series
The Secret Life of Samantha McGregor series

A
M
ILE IN
M
Y
F
LIP
-F
LOPS
P
UBLISHED BY
W
ATERBROOK
P
RESS
12265 Oracle Boulevard, Suite 200
Colorado Springs, Colorado 80921

The characters and events in this book are fictional, and any resemblance to actual persons or events is coincidental.

Copyright © 2008 by Carlson Management Co. Inc.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

W
ATERBROOK
and its deer colophon are registered trademarks of Random House Inc.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Carlson, Melody.
    A mile in my flip-flops / Melody Carlson. — 1st ed.
        p. cm
    1. Single women—Fiction. 2. Dwellings—Remodeling—Fiction. I. Title.
    PS3553A73257M56 2008
    813’.54—dc22

2007049135

eISBN: 978-0-307-49899-1

v3.0