Both girls always have friends or boyfriends visiting and my son, Ben, decided to come this year, too, but he’s not staying with us. He wanted his own place and bought a condo downtown, but then you heard about that fire?”
“Did someone say my name?” A booming voice came into the room along with the familiar face she’d seen the night before.
Lillian laughed. “Your ears must have been ringing. I was just telling Mia here about your condo—you remember Mia? She’s helping with Bethany’s wedding.”
Ben stopped and stared at Mia for a moment and then broke into a grin. “Of course, I remember Mia. I think we’re neighbors now, too—at the Beach Plum Cove Inn and eventually when our condos get fixed up.”
Bethany wondered how he knew she was his neighbor at the condo, too. He must have noticed her confusion, and he explained, “I made it to breakfast late and Lisa filled me in.”
“How interesting. You’re going to be neighbors!” Bethany looked intrigued at the idea.
“Have you eaten? There’s plenty of food. You could join us?” Lillian invited.
But Ben shook his head. “No, I’m not hungry. I just stopped in to pick up some insurance paperwork I had sent here that I need for the restoration. I’ll catch up with you all later.”
Chapter 5
Kate Hodges sighed as she stared at the blank computer screen. Her latest mystery just refused to write itself. She’d blasted through the first fifty pages, caught up in the excitement of her idea, which her trusted advisors—her fiancé Jack, her sisters, and Philippe, her good friend who was also a huge bestselling author, had all given the green light. But she was stuck and just didn’t know what to do with these people next.
She stared past the computer and out the window at the gorgeous ocean views from where she sat in Jack’s office, which had become her regular writing spot. The serene view usually inspired her. But not today—the water was choppy, the waves bigger than usual and topped with frothy whitecaps. It matched her mood, turbulent and unsettled.
She closed the laptop and stood and stretched. Maybe a walk around the block would help get some ideas flowing. She knew what the problem was. She was stressed out about her upcoming wedding and it was dampening her creativity. She pulled her hair into a ponytail, put her sneakers on and stepped outside.
Jack was at work, at the seafood market he helped his father run, and he wasn’t due home until much later. He was going straight to his brother’s place after work, and they were going to grab a beer and a bite to eat somewhere so that Kate could have the house for her girls’ night gathering.
She was looking forward to seeing all of her favorite people, but she was also dreading the wedding-related questions that were bound to come up. Especially since she’d invited Mia, who was thankfully handling her wedding coordinating and was waiting patiently for answers to many of these questions. Her sisters, Kristen and Abby, her soon-to-be sister-in-law, Beth, who was marrying their younger brother, Chase, and their friend Angela, who was engaged to Philippe, were also coming.
Unlike her friend Mia, who lived and breathed weddings, and loved them so much she decided to make a career out of planning them, Kate had never been one of those girls that daydreamed about having a big wedding, who knew exactly what her dress would look like and what kind of cake she’d serve. Thinking about the many decisions she still needed to make was overwhelming, especially when it came to the guest list. She was dreading making the final call on who was a yes and who was a no.
If it was up to her and money was no object, she’d invite everyone they knew, but of course that wasn’t realistic, especially on Nantucket where everything was more expensive, anyway. Jack had some uncles that needed sorting out. One was a definite yes and the other he hadn’t seen in forever and had no interest in inviting, but technically he was Jack’s godfather and his father was putting pressure on him to ‘be nice’ and just invite him. Kate had a good idea how that was going to turn out, but it was just one of many details that needed decisions. And she still had to pick out a dress. She’d tried on a bunch, but nothing had seemed right and they’d seen most of what was available on Nantucket,