laughed, loving his enthusiasm. She also felt a bit of relief.
“Does that mean you didn’t hate my pages? I have to confess, I was worried about what you’d think,” she admitted.
“Of course I didn’t hate them. They’re actually quite good, better than I expected. There’s a few things here and there that I’ll point out, but they’re minor fixes. You have a solid premise. I’m looking forward to reading more.”
“You are? Really?” Kate was floored. She’d felt like she was imposing as it was.
“Really. When you finish your first draft, send it along. I’ll read and give you some big picture feedback. You’re on the right track though.”
“That’s incredibly generous of you. I’ll gladly take you up on it. And I’ll owe you another dinner.”
“I look forward to it.”
When the pasta was done, Kate drained it, then filled two plates with pasta, meatballs and sauce. She also set out parmesan cheese, bread and butter. They settled at the island and dove in. Philippe was impressed with the meatballs.
“These are amazing, as good as any I’ve had in a restaurant.”
Kate laughed. “Thank you. It’s one of the few things I know how to make well.”
They both went back for a second helping and then finished off one of the bottles of wine as they sat talking for well over an hour. Philippe had some great suggestions for her story which she knew would make it tighter and stronger. When they finished going over the feedback, he made her laugh telling her about his upcoming TV project and the crazy cast of characters that were involved.
“Filming starts in two weeks, and I won’t be around as much for a few months until the season wraps. I might get home a few weekends a month, hopefully.”
“Would it be easier to just live there full-time?” she wondered.
“Oh, much easier in some ways. But, I’d miss the island too much. This is what I consider home. As soon as I step off the plane and breathe in the Nantucket air, it’s like all the stress leaves my body. It’s kind of hard to explain.”
“No, I get it. That’s exactly how I feel too, though I’m usually arriving by ferry.”
“Do you think you’ll stay here? Or move back to Boston?”
“I’m really not sure. It depends how things go this winter and if I’m able to get enough freelance work to allow me to stay. There are more jobs in Boston.”
Philippe frowned at the thought.
“If the rest of your book is as good as your first chapters, hopefully you won’t have to worry about that.” His words gave her hope and made her feel excited to make his changes and continue with the story.
“Do you ever doubt that what you’ve written is good enough?” she asked. She was sure if he did, it was a long time ago, but still she was curious.
He smiled. “Yes, all the time. With every book actually.” His answer surprised her.
“Really? Still?”
“From what I hear, it’s normal. Most writers feel that way at some point in their process. So you’re in good company. Just keep going.”
“I will,” she promised.
“Well, I should probably get going. Unless you want to open that other bottle of wine? But then I might be here longer than you’d like. And I might forget about our agreement to just be friends?” He grinned, and she couldn’t help but laugh. He was like a mischievous child at times. A very good-looking, charming one to be sure. And she knew that more wine would be a very bad idea.
“I think I’ve had my limit. And we both have to work tomorrow, I think?” She wasn’t sure if he was or not, but she didn’t want to be feeling hung-over in the morning.
He stood. “Well, it was worth a shot, right? I’ll give you a call when I’m back on the island, and we’ll see how far along you are then.”
“That sounds, good. Thanks again for all of your help and for the wine, and flowers.”
“It was my pleasure, all of it.” Philippe wrapped her in a hug and kissed her cheek again before walking out the door.
Once he left, all the energy seemed to leave the room. Kate wondered if she’d done the right thing to discourage his interest. He’d been such good company, making her laugh all night and taking a sincere interest in her book. She appreciated that he cared. And he was certainly handsome, she definitely found him attractive. But there was still a little voice that