9 #2
I watch someone parasailing near the shore. On clear days like today, I remember what I used to love about the Bay. The stunning sea views, the not-too-warm weather. The sheer ease of everything.
“And on the inn, apparently,” I add, then glance back to meet Spencer’s confused glare. I explain my parents’ wishes to him, his frown getting deeper the more I reveal.
“You and Maxine?” His eyebrows lift above the rim of his sunglasses. “Working together?”
“It’s insane, right?”
“That’s putting it mildly. How does she feel about this?”
“She’s about as excited as you’d expect her to be.”
Spencer’s brow furrows. “Clearly, we need to talk about this.”
“Do we?” I ask, narrowing my gaze.
He stands up, gathering his things. “You bet your ass we do. Let’s go grab a bite.”
“Not that I don’t love the place, but weren’t we just at the brewery?”
“Nah, not the brewery.” He grabs his phone and texts someone. “Let’s go to Hunt’s. Assuming he’s not too busy with Celia.”
“Did something finally happen?”
While we were at the cemetery the other night, Hunter leveled me with his heartfelt confession.
I had no idea he’d been struggling to deal with his past. And I still can’t get over the fact that Seth had a crush on him, or that they shared a kiss the summer Seth left to join the army.
But I hope our conversation freed him from his guilt.
More importantly, I hope I was able to convince him to follow his heart and pursue Celia.
“Not sure,” Spencer says, but then arches a blond eyebrow. “All I know is they went for a drive last night.”
“Which means…?”
“With Hunter, who knows?” he answers. “But we should definitely go bug him about it.” He winks, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. “Or if you’d rather, I could continue bugging you about Maxine.”
I shove him away, earning his laughter. “Nah, let’s go pick on Hunter.”
Max
Out the window, the afternoon sun glares off the sleek silver SUV parked in Hunter’s driveway across the street.
“Ugh.”
“What are you groaning about?” Celia asks, following my line of sight.
“That car.”
“It’s very shiny,” she says lightheartedly. “Not a fan?”
“It’s Mitchell’s rental.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah, oh. Can’t I go anywhere without him following me? I swear he’s stalking me.”
Celia tilts her head. “To be fair, Max, he’s Hunter’s best friend. I’m sure it’s nothing but a coincidence.”
“And I’m sure it’s not. Since he’s come back, he’s been everywhere I go. And I get he’d be at his parents’ place, but does he have to follow me to the inn? To the fucking cemetery? And of all times to visit my brother, it has to be at the same time I come visit you? It’s fucking shady.”
Celia’s eyes flicker over my shoulder, and I cringe. I’d forgotten her six-year-old daughter, Ella, was playing in her bedroom down the hall.
“Shoot, sorry.”
“It’s all right. I know you’re upset.”
“I am, but I shouldn’t be swearing like a trucker.”
She reaches for the plate of cookies on the table and tilts her chin to our coffee cups. “Why don’t we take this out back. That way, you won’t have to stare at his car all day.”
Guilt-stricken for letting Mitchell distract me from spending time with my friend, I follow behind her as we carry our snacks out to her back patio.
The afternoon is so calm and comfortable. The sun is out and shining, but the typical August humidity is creeping in. We cozy up on her outdoor couch, and I tuck my feet beneath me.
“I’m not one to pry, and we’ll drop it if you don’t want to talk about it,” Celia begins. “But I’d be a better friend if I had some context.”
“About Mitch?” I ask, as if I need to.
She purses her lips. “Seems to me something serious happened between the two of you.”
“To say the least.” I take a few sips of my coffee.
“If you’d rather not dredge up the past, we can talk about something else.”
“Like about you and my brother?” I offer and watch her cheeks darken. “I can’t believe I’ve been at your house for a whole thirty minutes and you haven’t given me all the sordid details about what happened yesterday.”
“It’s complicated.” She tucks her head, her blush getting darker. “I’m sure you don’t want to hear about all that.”
“Okay, maybe not all the details. But, for what it’s worth, I’m happy Hunter finally pulled his head out of his ass. You two are great together.”
Celia’s blue eyes light up with her smile. “And he’s a great guy.”
“One of the best.” I bite into a chocolate chip cookie and moan with delight, but feel her steady gaze. “What? You make good cookies.”
“I’m glad you like them.” She laughs. “I’m curious. Why do you hate Mitch so much when Hunter thinks the world of him?”
“Does he?” I ask, rolling my eyes.
“He does, but clearly Hunter’s not the best judge of character.”
I shake my head. “No, that’s not it. Let’s just say Hunter’s version of Mitch isn’t mine, that’s all.”
“That’s a shame.” Celia’s lips curve into a gentle, understanding smile that seems to absorb some of my hurt.
We drift into a pleasant silence, but I can tell her mind is buzzing with a thousand questions, drawing out my need to explain. Or maybe I’m simply desperate to pour my heart out to someone who won’t judge.
“He used to be a great guy. Way back when we were kids. He was as close to me as Hunter is.”
She smiles as if she’s experienced something similar before. “Let me guess, he became more?”
“Not exactly.” Now it’s my turn to blush, and I drop my gaze.
“I was fourteen, and we started hanging out more, just the two of us. He’d stop by to see Hunter, but he’d be out, so he’d chill with me instead.
He’d say he was bored and had nothing better to do, but I’m pretty sure he just wanted to watch rom-coms with me. ”
I tuck some hair behind my ear, smiling. “If you ask him, he’ll swear Raiders of the Lost Ark is his favorite movie, but I know it’s actually When Harry Met Sally.”
The vivid memory of Mitch’s uncanny Billy Crystal impression sparks in my mind, and I reach for another cookie, eating my emotions without shame.
“Over time, we got close. There was nothing I couldn’t share with him.
Well, almost nothing.” I frown, breaking the cookie in half and sweeping the crumbs off my lap.
“The guys didn’t mind me hanging out with them, even though I was younger.
I mean, Spencer always seemed to hate having me around, like I was infringing on their guy-fun, but Mitch insisted I stay.
We’d spend our days at the beach, or go camping. I used to love camping.”
Celia lets my words fade as I take in everything around me, from her cozy house to the garden, overflowing with the fragrance of the flowers she’s planted over the summer months. “Do you know how lucky you are to have all this?”
“The garden?”
“Everything. It’s just so… perfect.”
Celia’s laugh turns into a snort. “You’re crazy. This house is far from perfect. Perfect are those mansions on Lyndhurst.”
I tilt my head. “Mansions are overrated. I want this,” I reply.
“A cute little house, nothing fancy. Somewhere I can live comfortably and raise a family.” I shrug, polishing off the cookie.
“But at the rate I’m going, I’ll likely die alone and childless, still living above the tailor’s shop,” I add lightheartedly, but Celia glowers, not finding my joke funny.
“You won’t die alone. I am sure of that.” She dips her cookie into her coffee. “I didn’t know you wanted kids.”
“One day, I mean, maybe? There was a time when I had a clear path all planned out. Now it’s all shot to hell.”
“What makes you say that?”
“I wanted to go to college. I wanted to study veterinary medicine, but once I graduated high school, I took a year off to work and save some money. The next thing I knew, my part-time job wasn’t so part-time anymore, and the rest is history.”
“Wait, you’ve been at the inn that long?” she asks, shocked, and I nod in response, a little embarrassed. She places a hand on my arm. “Don’t be so hard on yourself, Max. You run the inn really well. So, what if it wasn’t your dream? I think you ended up in a good place.”
I can’t help but laugh. “Appearances can be deceiving. Besides, if I’m running it so well, then why is it imploding?” I don’t mind talking shop with Celia since she is our part-time bookkeeper and knows more about our finances than anyone else. If anyone understands the inn’s predicament, it’s her.
She chews her cookie slowly, thinking before she speaks. “But we’re turning that around. The brewery’s opening helped and got us loads of reservations.”
When I checked the online reservation system this morning, I expected one or two bookings, not a dozen spread out over the next few months. “Sure, but that’s because we’re offering a huge discount. People love discounts. Once they have to pay full price, we’ll be right back where we started.”
“Wow,” she says, chasing her bite with a few sips of her coffee.
“I always thought you were such a cynical person. Glad to see I was wrong.” Her eyebrow lifts slightly, a faint smile plays on her lips, but her sarcasm is unmistakable.
“There’s still hope. We’ve got to work for it, that’s all. Don’t give up.”
I lean back into the couch cushions, looking up at the dusting of whitish-gray clouds, wondering if it’ll rain soon.
“Mitchell offered to help,” I admit.
“He has? The jerk,” she tacks on.
“I mean, I guess he has the money,” I begin, meeting her gaze. “And Bill and Robyn want the two of us to run it, once Bill’s gone.”
“Oh,” Celia says. Then, her eyes widen as if my words have finally sunk in. “Well… shit.”
“Hey, I thought we weren’t supposed to swear.”
“Ella can’t hear us out here.” She stands up, fixing her shorts. “This calls for something more than coffee.”
While she goes inside and I wait, I shut my eyes, trying to quell this ball of emotions lodged in my throat, when I hear an all too familiar laugh in the not-too-far distance and my eyes burst open. It’s loud, gruff, powerful, and makes my stomach twist.