Chapter 32
Mid-August in Kennebunkport was the hottest one on record.
The inn was running at full capacity, but for once, everything worked, including the central air conditioning system.
There were no burst pipes, no emergency repairs, no crises demanding immediate attention.
Just the smooth rhythm of a well-run establishment.
Kate stood in front of the closet in her bedroom, trying to decide what to wear. She was thrilled when Ben asked her to the Seafood Festival, but her usual wardrobe wasn't exactly date-appropriate. She thought back to his invitation and smiled.
“We’re not going as friends helping with inn business, not as colleagues grabbing a quick bite between repairs, but as an actual date.”
He'd been specific about that word. “A date, Kate,” he'd said yesterday while fixing a loose board on the porch. “I'm asking you on a proper date. Will you go with me?”
The way he'd looked at her, direct and hopeful, had made her stomach flip. She'd said yes before her brain could interfere with all the reasons why changing their friendship might be a mistake.
“You're overthinking,” Dani said from the doorway, carrying what looked like her entire makeup collection. “I could hear you panicking from down the hall.”
“I'm not panicking.”
“You've changed clothes three times. I've watched you the last ten minutes. You definitely were panicking.”
“What are you doing here? I thought you were shopping for apartment furniture.”
“I had to stop here and grab a few things I forgot.”
Dani set her supplies on Kate's dresser. “The white blouse and jeans, then the khakis and tank top, now you're back to staring at your closet like it holds the secrets of the universe.”
“How do you dress for a date with someone who's seen you covered in paint and smelling like fish? Who's held your hair while you threw up from food poisoning? Who knows all your worst moments?”
“You dress like someone who's worth all of that and more,” Dani said firmly. “Sit. I'm doing your hair and makeup.”
“Dani, I'm capable of…”
“Sit.” Dani pushed her into the chair. “When was the last time you wore makeup? Or did anything with your hair besides that braid?”
Kate couldn't remember. “Hey, I wore lipstick recently.”
“Recently? That was months ago.”
Dani began working, her fingers gentle as she brushed out Kate's sun-lightened hair. The repetitive motion was soothing, reminding Kate of when they were young and Dani would beg to play with her older sister's hair.
“Your hair has lightened.”
Kate nodded. “Yeah, summer will do that.”
“So. Ben finally made his move.”
“It's just the festival.”
“Kate, the man has been rebuilding this inn board by board just to spend time with you.
This isn't just anything.” Dani began working some product through Kate's hair that smelled like coconuts.
“Remember when the washing machine broke in June?
He drove to Portland in a thunderstorm to get the right part.
For a washing machine. That's not friendship, that's love.”
Kate watched her sister work in the mirror. “When did you become such a romantic?”
“When I realized what I'd been doing wrong.” Dani began sectioning Kate's hair with clips. “You know, I'm jealous.”
“Of what?”
“Of having someone look at you the way Ben looks at you. Like you're the answer to every question he’s ever had or will ever have.”
Kate met her sister's eyes in the mirror. “What about you? Any romantic prospects?”
Dani laughed, but it sounded a little sad. “I've had plenty of romance. Too much, actually. Bad boys, artists, men who were all passion and no stability. I'm almost twenty-nine and I've never had what you have with Ben.”
“Which is?”
“Foundation. Something to build on.” Dani began creating soft waves with a curling iron.
“I dated this gallery owner in New York who swept me off my feet. Private jets, expensive dinners, constant excitement. It lasted six months before I realized I was just another acquisition to him. Then there was Corbin, the sculptor who told me I was his muse. Turned out he told that to all his girlfriends. All five of us.”
“Five?”
“We actually formed a support group afterward. We still text.” Dani worked steadily, her hands sure. “The thing is, I kept choosing men who made me feel like I was in a movie. Grand gestures, dramatic declarations, the whole thing. But movies end, Kate. And then you're left with reality.”
“And reality was?”
“Empty. They loved the idea of me, but not the real me.” She began working on another section. “But Ben? He knows exactly who you are. He's seen you at your worst and still shows up. That's real.”
Kate thought about all the times Ben had been there. Through Pop's decline. The nor'easter. Every crisis and every quiet moment between.
“What if I mess it up?” Kate asked quietly.
Dani sighed. “Kate I hate to break it to you, but you’ve already been messing it up, and the guy keeps coming back for more. I’m your sister and I love you, but you can be a real pain in the…”
“Don’t say it,” Kate warned.
“The point is, I don’t know what it would take for that man to walk away from you. I don’t think you can screw this up, unless you tell him you don’t love him. You’re not going to tell him that, are you?”
Kate smiled and shook her head. “No, I’m not.”
Dani laughed. “I knew it. You love him. Good, now make sure you let him know.”
Dani stepped back to check her work, then continued. “You’re a lucky girl, Katie.”
“I don't know how to date,” Kate admitted. “I barely remember how it works.”
“It's like riding a bike.”
“I was terrible at riding bikes. Remember? I crashed into the Libbys’ fence.”
“Okay, bad analogy.” Dani laughed, beginning to work on Kate's makeup. “Look, dating Ben won't be like dating a stranger. You already know him. You trust him. The foundation's there. Now you just get to build the fun parts on top.”
“The fun parts?”
“The butterflies when he takes your hand.
The anticipation when he leans in to kiss you.
The discovery of who he is when he's not fixing something.” Dani applied mascara with a practiced hand.
“Like, what's his favorite movie? Does he sleep on the left or right side of the bed? Is he a morning person or does he just pretend to be?”
Kate felt her cheeks warm at the mention of bed sides. “Dani...”
“What? You're thirty-five, not fifteen. You're allowed to think about these things.” She grinned. “Besides, Tom's running a betting pool on when you two will finally sleep together. Want to know the odds?”
“Absolutely not.”
“James has money on tonight.”
“DANI!”
“I'm just saying, the sundress I'm putting you in might shift the odds.” She stepped back. “Look at yourself.”
Kate turned to the mirror and barely recognized herself. Her hair fell in soft waves past her shoulders, catching the light from the window. Her eyes looked larger with the subtle makeup Dani had applied. She looked... pretty. Young. Like someone who might go on dates instead of avoiding them.
“You're beautiful,” Dani said simply. “Ben already knows it. It's time you did too.”
Kate touched her hair carefully. “It feels strange. Like I'm playing dress-up.”
“No. This is really you under all the usual flannel and boots. This is Kate who gets to want things for herself that don’t involve physical labor.
” Dani shrugged. “I may be terrible at choosing men, but I know real love when I see it.
The way Ben's been looking at you lately?
Like he can't believe you're finally seeing him too? That's everything.”
A knock at the door made them both jump. James's voice called out, “Ben's here. He's wearing an actual button-down shirt. And he brought flowers. Good ones, not from the grocery store.”
Kate's stomach flipped.
“Wear the sundress,” Dani commanded, pulling a blue dress from Kate's closet that had been hanging there unworn for years. “The one Mom bought you for your birthday before she got sick. And the sandals, not your practical shoes.”
“Dani…”
“Trust me. I may not have found my own happily-ever-after yet, but I know the real deal when I see it. And Katie? Don't overthink. Don't manage. Don't plan. Just let yourself feel whatever you feel.”
Dani turned to get her things, but Katie grabbed her arm and pulled her sister into a hug. “Thank you. If I’m lucky at all it’s because I’ve got the best sister in the world.”
Dani kissed Kate on the cheek and whispered, “Go get him.”
Kate changed into the sundress, surprised it still fit. The fabric was soft and light, the color bringing out her eyes. She barely recognized herself in the full-length mirror.
When she came downstairs, Ben was waiting in the front hall, and James was right. Ben was wearing a button-down shirt, navy blue, with khakis instead of his usual work clothes. He held a bouquet of wildflowers, black-eyed Susans and Queen Anne's lace and something purple she didn't recognize.
When he saw her, his face changed, softened, like he was seeing something he'd been waiting for his whole life.
“You look...” he started, then stopped, seemingly at a loss for words. “Katie, you look beautiful.”
“Thank you.” She took the flowers, their fingers brushing. Even that small contact sent warmth up her arm. “You clean up pretty well yourself.”
And he did. The shirt brought out his eyes, and he'd clearly brushed his usually unruly hair. He looked like a boy picking up his prom date, except now with laugh lines and calloused hands and the quiet confidence of a man who knew what he wanted.
Tom appeared from the office, “Have her home by midnight,” he said in an exaggerated dad voice. “And no stopping at Lookout Point.”
“We don't have a Lookout Point,” Kate said.
“Then no stopping at whatever scenic overlook Ben's planning to take you to after the festival to watch the moon over the water. Walker’s Point is always a good view.”
Ben's ears turned red, and Kate realized that's exactly what he'd been planning.