to get some fish.”
“Does that mean to the fish market or out on a boat with a rod?”
Sam raises a withering eyebrow. “You look at him and tell me what you think. Is he mincing round the aisles with a red plastic basket hanging prettily from his very strong, sexy forearm, or is he ruggedly on a large boat, gritting his teeth, his muscles bulging as he hauls in a giant swordfish?”
“Fishing, then?”
Sam nods, then puts down the magazine he was reading, a freebie we picked up on Water Street with a list of houses for sale on Nantucket.
“I was thinking I might buy somewhere here,” says Sam, examining the cover, “until I saw what the prices are. It’s insane, Cat. I don’t think I could even afford a shed here, let alone a sweet little two-bedroomed cottage.”
“Are things already that serious between you and Eddie?” I’m impressed. “You’re actually thinking about buying a house here?”
“No, sweetie.” He sighs. “It’s just what I do. Thank God the only porn I indulge in on a regular basis is real estate porn. You have to look, indulge in the fantasy of what if. What if Eddie and I fell madly in love and decided to live out the rest of our days on Fantasy Island?”
“You do realize he might have to tell his mother he’s gay if that were to happen.”
“Oh, we’ve already had that discussion. Many times. I keep telling him life’s too damn short.”
“Anyway, he’s a builder. You don’t have to buy a house. If we’re going to indulge in fantasy, you could probably buy an adorable piece of land somewhere for next to nothing and have Eddie build you a palace.”
“There are no pieces of land on Nantucket for next to nothing. There’s nothing under a million. Not even land. Also, I don’t want a palace. I want a grey-shingled house with window boxes filled with geraniums and lobelia, and banks of blue hydrangeas, and a white crushed-oyster driveway, and French doors from the bedroom that open onto a gorgeous little balcony with tons of old terra-cotta pots and a couple of chairs for Eddie and me to sit in when we have our morning coffee or our evening glass of wine.”
“Will the balcony overlook the sunset?”
“Well, of course it will!” says Sam. “And the sunrise.”
“Oooh. Same balcony? Tricky!”
“Maybe the balcony will be on the roof. What do they call that thing? A widow’s walk! So we can just turn the chairs around.”
“Or have a backless bench so you can sort of face each other and simply turn your heads one way to watch the sunset, and another way to watch the sunrise.”
“I like it!” He gives a slow grin. “I hadn’t thought of that. You’re good.”
“I’m available for decorating services anytime you need.”
“Sweetie, the one thing I don’t need is decorating services.” He gestures around at the new-look house, for even though he swore he would stop at the living room that first day when we went shopping, every time he goes out he comes back with a little something to make the house even better. The kitchen table now has a burlap runner going down the middle of it, and assorted sizes of glass lanterns, and I’m pretty sure those white ceramic bowls on the sideboard weren’t here yesterday.
“So.” He peers at me. “How is having hunky ex-husband over here?”
“Nice,” I say, getting up and making myself busy at the kitchen sink because Sam has a horrible habit of getting the truth out of me, and I’m not sure I’m ready for him to see how much I still care.
“Nice in a you still want to sleep with him way, or nice because you feel supported and it makes Annie happy?”
“Those days of wanting to sleep with Jason again are long gone,” I lie, as someone clears his throat in the doorway, and I turn, horrified that Jason is standing there, mortified that he heard, my cheeks turning a swift, startling red.
“Well, that told him,” says Sam happily, who loves nothing more than being witness to a horrifyingly embarrassing situation.
“I’m just going to use the bathroom.” I dash past Jason, my head down, and up stairs, where I throw myself onto the bed with a huge groan. I can’t face him again. I just can’t. I grab a hat, tiptoe down the stairs and out the front door, managing to avoid everyone. When I’m safely out of sight of the house I text Sam that I’m going