Chapter 20
Chapter Twenty
L auren had a relaxing day. She poked around in the shops downtown for a bit and found another book to read, one of Angela’s husband, Philippe’s latest suspense thrillers. She stocked up at Stop and Shop on a few things, and made herself a turkey sandwich for lunch before heading to the beach for the afternoon. It was a perfect beach day, mid-seventies, so plenty warm enough without being too hot and there was a nice breeze. She stayed there until almost four, then reluctantly went in to shower and get ready for dinner.
She decided to wear her new dress that she’d gotten at Izzy’s shop. It was casual and flowy and felt nice and light on her slightly sunburned skin. She was careful with sunscreen but had missed a few spots on her shoulders and they were pink. She drove out to Millie’s, which was on the opposite side of the island, tucked away in a residential neighborhood and set just behind the dunes. It was a gorgeous spot.
Eloise was already there, waiting outside by the front door. As Lauren parked, she saw a Jeep pull in, with Hudson behind the wheel.
“I love that dress. Is it Free People?” Eloise asked as Lauren walked over.
“I think it might be. I got it at a cute boutique downtown—Nantucket Threads. It’s on the wharf.” Hudson joined them a minute later, and they headed inside and were seated at a hightop table in the bar area. There was a stunning view of the ocean and waves rolling in. So far, Lauren had only seen Hudson in t-shirts and shorts. Tonight he was wearing a Nantucket Red, that unique faded pinkish red shade that originated from Murray’s Toggery, a shop downtown. The color made his dark hair seem even darker and his brown eyes drew her attention. She forced herself to look away and focus on the menu.
They all ordered margaritas and guacamole and chips to share as an appetizer while they decided what else to order.
“My friend Angela said that the scallop and bacon tacos are amazing. Though the shrimp sound really good, too,” Lauren said.
“I was looking at both of those, too. Do you want to split them so we’ll have one of each?” Eloise suggested.
“Perfect, I’d love to.”
“Hudson, what are you going to get?” Eloise asked.
“The steak tacos sound pretty good to me.”
Their server returned with their guacamole and chips, and they placed their order.
“This may be the best guac I’ve ever had,” Eloise said happily as she reached for another chip.
Lauren and Hudson both agreed. Eloise asked Hudson what it was like to grow up on Nantucket. “It’s just so beautiful here. Is it very different when summer is over?”
Hudson nodded. “It was great growing up here. My parents moved to Nantucket when I was in elementary school. We’d lived in a suburb of Boston before that. But an opportunity came up for them to take over a veterinary practice here.” Hudson paused to have another chip with guacamole.
“It is very different in the off-season. The population triples, or maybe even quadruples, in the summer months. It’s still busy, but not as crazy in September and October, and dies out fast after that. Although there is one last hurrah the first weekend in December for the Christmas Stroll. That’s the last weekend for a lot of the seasonal restaurants and shops. Everything shuts down after that.”
“Is it too quiet? Or kind of nice?” Lauren asked. She imagined that like Cape Cod, the lack of people and traffic might be peaceful in the cooler months.
Hudson grinned. “It’s awesome. People always assume that the island must be boring when the tourists go home, but as much as we appreciate them—I mean many of the island businesses depend on the tourism—most of us just don’t mind when they go away. They take the traffic with them and we start to see our neighbors out and about again. A lot of them avoid going downtown much during the summer because it’s so crazy.”
“What do you do in the off-season, though?” Eloise didn’t sound convinced. Lauren understood, since Eloise was used to the hustle and bustle of Los Angeles.
“All the things we do in summer—except go swimming. I still walk on the beach and fish and go out to dinner with friends. Oh, and I’m in a men’s hockey league—and that’s something that doesn’t happen during the summer. So, I keep pretty busy.”
Eloise looked intrigued. “You lived in LA for a while, though? Is that how you know Billy?”
Their server arrived with their food and set the plates down. Lauren and Eloise took a moment to swap one of their tacos. Everything looked delicious.
Hudson picked up a taco. But before taking a bite, he answered Eloise’s question. “I met Billy when I first moved out west. I answered an ad he’d placed for a roommate. We hit it off right away, and I stayed for five years before getting my own place, but we still hung out all the time. I’ve actually only been back on the island for a little over a year.”
“How did that come about?” Lauren asked. “I think you mentioned that you knew Cami Carmichael?”
Hudson nodded. “We’d worked together on a few projects. I started out in the reality TV world, then had an opportunity to move to film and after my first project, other movies and a TV drama came my way. I loved the work but never really loved LA—especially the traffic.”
“The traffic is the worst,” Lauren agreed.
“So when Cami called me, it was a no-brainer,” Hudson said.
“These scallop tacos really are incredible,” Eloise said. “I’m so glad we decided to share.”
“I’ll thank Angela for the recommendation when I see her tomorrow. We’re going to an art show opening for one of her friends,” Lauren said.
Hudson looked interested. “Is it Kristen Hodges by any chance? I’m friends with the owner of the art gallery and with Kristen’s boyfriend, Tyler—he plays hockey with me. I’d told them I’d try to stop by tomorrow too, as it’s unlikely I can get there over the weekend because of filming.”
“It is Kristen. What a small world. I haven’t met her boyfriend, but I know he’s a mystery author. I think he had a movie made of one of his books?”
“It was a limited series on Netflix, actually. I worked on it. My only TV drama so far. That was a very cool project,” Hudson said.
“We might run into you then. I think we’re going on the early side, around seven or so,” Lauren said.
“I’ll look for you there,” Hudson said.
“Did any of you look at the film from last night after the clambake?” Eloise asked.
Lauren nodded. “I took a peek this afternoon, right before I came here. Lots of flirting going on, but no specific romances brewing yet.”
“That’s what I thought too. Are most of them sticking around today and tomorrow? Or are they heading off-island?” Eloise asked.
“I think most of them are staying put,” Hudson said. “As far as I know.”
“Jason, Noah and Billy were going to head to Boston tonight to catch a Red Sox game. I think they are coming back tomorrow at some point. As far as I know, that’s it,” Lauren said.
When they finished and their server cleared the table, they decided to have another round of margaritas as dessert. It was still early, and no one was ready to go home just yet.
Eloise took a big sip of her new margarita and then casually asked. “So, Hudson, what’s the social life like here on the island? Do you have a girlfriend?”
He laughed. “Social life is fine. At the moment, I’m fairly newly single. I ended a relationship a little over a month ago.” He paused for a moment and then continued, “I’d met Meghan soon after I moved home. She was a year behind me in school, so I sort of knew her and met her one night when I was out with friends. We hit it off right away. Incredible chemistry. She’s a beautiful girl.” He paused for a moment to take a sip of his margarita.
“Ultimately we just wanted different things. She knew I’d lived in LA and worked in entertainment and I think that excited her. She’s bored with life here and was hoping I’d want to move back to the West Coast and take her with me. I let her know that was highly unlikely. She didn’t believe me at first and kept bringing it up over the winter. I guess she thought after spending a winter here I’d be eager to get back to LA. But it was the opposite. It just made me appreciate being here even more. So we had another conversation and decided to go our separate ways.”
“I’m sorry.” Eloise looked sympathetic.
“It’s fine. It’s for the best. Better to find out early, right? What about you two?” Hudson asked.
“I’ve been with my boyfriend, Jim, for just over two years. He’s actually coming here in two weeks to spend a week. We’re pretty serious.”
“I think you know my status,” Lauren said wryly.
Hudson smiled. “It’s been a few months since you and Billy broke up. No one new yet?”
Lauren shook her head. “I haven’t gone on a single date since we broke up. Just wasn’t ready, and it has been easier to not think about it and focus on work. Maybe after the summer, when I’m back home.”
“Home? You mean in LA?” Hudson asked.
“Yes. Unfortunately, that’s where the work is.”
“You don’t love it there either?”
“I don’t hate it. But it’s not really home, you know? When I fly into Boston and then drive over the Cape Cod Canal, that’s when I feel that sense of peace, of being home. I haven’t really found that anywhere else, yet.”
“I understand, completely. I am so grateful that Cami thought of me for this opportunity.”
“Are you busy enough with work?” Eloise asked.
“We’ve been pretty booked since we started up. Most of it has been projects with Cami. She likes to adapt books that she falls in love with and so far, that’s worked out well. She’s expanding into other projects where she’s just producing and not starring, which means even more work.”
“That sounds so interesting, having a mix of things like that,” Lauren said. As much as she enjoyed producing the reality shows, she did sometimes wonder what it would be like to work on a movie or a dramatic TV series.
“I like the reality stuff, but it’s nice to have the variety. I think it’s good for my resume too. In case things get slow with Cami, I’ll have more opportunities to pick up other projects. But it doesn’t look like I’m going to have to worry about that anytime soon.”
When they finished their drinks, Hudson asked for the check and then insisted on paying when the server brought it. “This is on us tonight. Cami and I were grateful to get the chance to do this show. It would have been easier and less expensive to shoot on Cape Cod.”
“Well, thank you,” Lauren said. “As much as I love the Cape, I’m so glad they went with Nantucket, too. There’s something so magical and aspirational about it. I think viewers will be excited.” She grinned. “This is a huge opportunity for me too, and I don’t hate the thought of being here for the summer.”
“I’m loving it too,” Eloise said. “I’d never really been to the East Coast before. I had no idea how beautiful it was. Or how good lobster could be.”
They all laughed as they stood to leave and then said their goodbyes outside.
“I’ll look for you tomorrow,” Hudson said as they reached their cars.
“Thanks again for dinner. This was a fun night,” Lauren said.
Hudson smiled. “It really was.”