Nantucket Weddings - Pamela M. Kelley Page 0,9
so a trip to the Cape, and probably to Boston, needed to happen soon.
Kate was excited to marry Jack, she just was dreading the wedding itself. She’d floated the idea of eloping or having a small, intimate family wedding and that had quickly been shot down by everyone. She knew her mother was looking forward to a bigger wedding so all their local friends and family could be there, and Jack had made it clear that his father expected the same. Especially as it didn’t look as though Jack’s brother would be getting married anytime soon, as he wasn’t even dating anyone at the moment. Kate knew she’d probably have a wonderful time once the big day came. It was just getting to that point that was wearing on her.
It also didn’t help that Sam Fisher had reached out to her only an hour ago via Facebook. That Sam Fisher. The one she’d been head-over-heels crazy about in high school. They’d dated for two years, freshman and sophomore year, until his parents moved off-island, back to Wellesley, a suburb of Boston. They’d lost touch after a few months, and Kate hadn’t thought about him in years. He’d sent her a friend request, followed by a message wanting to know if she’d like to meet for coffee, to catch up. Because he’d moved back to Nantucket.
His profile said he was married, with two children, and hers clearly showed she was engaged, so she didn’t think anything of it. It would be fun to see Sam and to hear about his family and what had brought him back to Nantucket. She’d mention it to Jack, but she didn’t think he’d have a problem with it. He wasn’t the jealous type. She was glad, though, that Sam was married. If he’d been single and wanted to meet for coffee after all these years, she wasn’t sure how she would have felt about that.
She started up the hill and hoped that after a fifteen- to twenty-minute walk, she’d have some idea of what needed to happen next in her story. And if that didn’t work, she might just call it a day and start making her marinated tomatoes for her bruschetta topping. Everyone was bringing their favorite appetizers tonight, which was always fun, and Kate still needed to run to Bradford’s Liquors to pick up a few more bottles of wine. A new Facebook message caught her attention as it flashed across her phone from Sam.
“Looking forward to catching up on Sunday. Meet you at eleven at The Bean?”
Kate smiled and immediately typed back. “Sounds good. See you then.”
Mia checked her phone when she finished with Bethany and was back in her car. She quickly returned a few emails and listened to a message from Will Matthews, who was handling the fire damage removal and restoration for her condo. She smiled as she listened to the message.
“Hey, Mia. I’ll be at the condo all afternoon if you want to stop by and take a look at some hard wood samples I found. Hope you’re doing okay?” She texted him quickly. “I’m on my way now. Be there in fifteen minutes.”
She was so glad that Will was doing the work. She trusted him and knew his work was excellent. He’d also been one of Mark’s best friends, and they’d often spent time with Will and his fiancée, Caroline. Mia wasn’t involved with that wedding. Caroline was doing everything herself. But she imagined she’d be getting an invite soon. She didn’t remember the date Will had mentioned last, but thought it was probably coming up in the next few months.
When she pulled up to the condo and parked in one of her two designated parking spots, she saw that Will’s truck was parked in the other one. She took a deep breath as she walked toward her front door. The first time she’d seen the condo after the fire had been such a shock. Even though most of the damage was on the second floor and the roof, there was still soot everywhere and the smoke stench had been almost unbearable. Everything stunk of smoke—it permeated her mattress, the carpet, all of her clothes. She’d had to throw it all out. Will had arranged to have everything else, her bed and other furniture, moved to a storage facility so it could air out and, if needed, he would then work to remove any lingering smoke smell.
Will had also suggested, instead of replacing the wall-to-wall carpeting, that