Chapter 14
Riley pulled into the driveway at Eastward Look right on time. He’d been to the gym and to the grocery store to shop for what he needed to make dinner for Nikki later. Depending on Finn’s plans for the evening, he’d either invite her to their place or bring it to hers.
He still had questions about what exactly had happened last night, but for now, he was choosing not to dwell on that. Rather, he planned to focus on the renovations she wanted to do and how he could help her. That was far less complicated than thinking about why their great night had gone so wrong.
He’d texted to let her know he was on his way, so she came out when she saw his truck in the driveway.
She wore a white turtleneck sweater under a down vest with jeans and duck boots. Other than the hint of dark circles under her eyes, she looked fresh and pretty and much better than she had the night before when the devastation had dampened her natural sparkle.
“Thanks for doing this,” she said, saving him the trouble of thinking of a way to say hello that didn’t include the questions he was dying to ask. Are you okay? How did you sleep? Will you please tell me what happened last night?
“No problem. Syd is great. You’ll love her. She’s married to Luke, who’s Mac’s partner in the construction business—and the marina. They’re like brothers from another mother.”
“I’m looking forward to meeting her and Luke.”
“They also have a baby girl named Lily. Luke is crazy about that baby. He shows us pictures every day at work.”
“That’s cute.”
“He waited a long time to get married and have a family. Mac told me that he and Syd were together for four years when they were younger, but then she went to college, met someone else and married that guy. They had two kids together, and when the kids were seven and five, their car was hit by a drunk driver. The kids and her husband were killed. She lost her whole family that night.”
“Oh my God. That’s so awful.”
Riley noticed tears in her eyes and was touched by her compassion for a woman she’d never met. “She and Luke saw each other again a year or so later. They’ve been together again ever since, and now they have Lily.”
“I give her credit for picking up the pieces that way and taking another chance with Luke. That couldn’t have been easy for her.”
“From what Mac said, it wasn’t, but Luke never gave up on her. He never stopped loving her, even when she was married to someone else.”
“That’s very sweet.” After a long period of quiet, during which Riley still wanted to ask her if she was okay, she said, “There was more to what happened to me in college than what I told you last night.”
“Oh,” he said, feeling woefully unprepared for this. His dad would know exactly what to say and how to deal with whatever she had to tell him. “Okay…”
“After we see Syd, maybe I could buy you lunch and we could talk?”
“Sure.” He rubbed the tight knot of stress that formed in his chest as he tried to imagine what she would say and how it might change everything.
Sydney welcomed them into her home with a gracious smile as she held her baby girl on her hip. Her long reddish-blonde hair was captured in a high ponytail, and the house, while stylishly put together, was clearly devoted to the baby and her toys.
“Pardon the mess,” she said. “Lily has been on a tear this morning.”
“No problem,” Nikki said. “I appreciate you seeing me on short notice.”
“When Riley told me you’re Mrs. Hopper’s granddaughter and want to do some renovations to Eastward Look, I jumped at the chance to meet with you.” She put Lily down on an activity mat on the floor. “I’ve always loved the lines of that house and have been dying to see the inside.”
“Come over whenever you’d like. I’d be happy to show it to you.”
“I’ll take you up on that.”
“I absolutely love this room,” Nikki said, taking in the scenic ocean views through big plate-glass windows.
“Thank you. It was one of my first designs. Can you believe that used to be a wall?” she asked, gesturing to one of two big windows.
“No, I can’t. Good move to bring in the view.”
“I thought so, too. Riley says you’re interested in redoing the kitchen and bathrooms at your grandmother’s house?” She picked up an iPad from the coffee table and began to make some notes as she kept a watchful eye on Lily.
“Yes, they’re original to the house, which means 1950s.”
“Are you thinking complete gut of the kitchen or partial or what?”
“My grandmother said to go for it, so probably complete.”
“That’s exciting! We can reconfigure it any way we want with a full gut.”
“I have a few ideas about how we might do it. I took some photos of what’s there now, so you can see what I mean.”
They spent the next hour going through photos and discussing options, while Riley offered construction advice.
“I’d like to show you the kitchen we just did at the Chesterfield,” Syd said. “It’s similar in size and scope to yours, and Lizzie wanted a coastal theme, too.”
“I’d love to see it. If you’ve had house curiosity about my grandmother’s home, I’ve had it for the Chesterfield.”
When Lily began to fuss, Syd scooped her up off the floor and snuggled her, immediately calming the baby. “Jared and Lizzie James have done such a beautiful job of restoring and renovating the public rooms. I’m sure Lizzie would be happy to show you. She’s very proud of it, and rightfully so.”
They made plans for Syd to come to Eastward Look on Monday morning, and from there, they’d drop by the Chesterfield.
“I’ll give Lizzie a heads-up,” Syd said. “I hope you don’t mind if I have my little peanut with me. She’s my full-time business associate.”
“Of course not,” Nikki said. “She’s adorable.”
“We quite agree.”
The baby had her mother’s strawberry-blonde hair. Where Syd’s eyes were blue, her daughter’s eyes were more gray than blue. They were wrapping up the meeting when a handsome dark-haired guy came in through the sliding door off the kitchen.
Lily squealed at the sight of him.
“Daddy is very popular around here.”
“I’m coming,” Luke said from the kitchen, where he stopped to wash his hands before joining them.
“Luke, this is Nikki Stokes, Mrs. Hopper’s granddaughter. Nikki, my husband, Luke Harris.”
“Good to meet you.” Luke shook Nikki’s hand and took Lily from Syd. “I love your grandmother.”
“We have that in common. She’s awesome.”
“Yes, she is.”
After they filled Luke in on the purpose of their meeting, he said to Riley, “You don’t get enough of this stuff eight hours a day?”
Riley shrugged. “What’s a few more hours to help a friend?”
“A long-ass day,” Luke said, teasing.
“I can handle it,” Riley said. “We’re only young once. Have you been working on a boat?”
“Yep. A 1957 Century Coronado.”
“Riley told me about your boats.” Nikki asked, “Could I see?”
“Sure.” To Riley, he said, “Hit the barn on the way out. It’s unlocked. I’m going to spend some time with my girls before naptime.”
“How do you have time for restoring boats after working eight hours a day?” Riley joked.
“Ha,” Luke said, grinning. “Touché.” Bouncing the baby on his lap, he smiled when she giggled. “I’m not doing as much of it as I used to. Now I have much better things to do with my time off.”
“I need to come see the latest with the Wayfarer,” Syd said. “I haven’t been there in weeks. I bet you guys have gotten a lot done.”
“We’re getting there,” Luke said. “Still got miles to go.”
“We’ll get it done for the season,” Riley said. “Has Mac said any more about hiring someone to run the place for us?”
“He’s put out some feelers, but nothing yet. It’s a big deal for someone to move out here for what’s basically a seasonal job.”
“And an intense one at that.”
“What kind of person are you looking for?” Nikki asked, feeling a spark of interest—and excitement—at the thought of being involved in a project like the Wayfarer.
“Someone with banquet, food and beverage experience, some management,” Luke said. “I haven’t seen the full job description. Mac has it.”
Nikki licked her lips and took the plunge. “I think I’d like to see it.”
“Really?” Riley asked, his brows lifting.
Nodding, Nikki said, “I worked for a banquet facility for seven years while I was in high school and college, I worked summers at the Lobster Pot, and I managed my sister’s very high-profile career for the last three years. I think I might be qualified.”
“Wow,” Luke said. “That’d be amazing.”
“I’ll text Mac and ask him to send it to me,” Riley said.
Nikki fanned her face and then laughed. “Did I really just say I might be interested?”
“I think you did,” Sydney said, laughing with her.
“Be prepared,” Luke said. “Mac will probably pounce if you show an ounce of interest. We need someone in that job like last week to start the ball rolling on hiring for the summer, buying equipment and generally getting things organized.”
“The manager’s office was the first thing we finished,” Riley added as he typed on his phone. “Sent the text.”
“Gulp,” Nikki said.
“This is awesome!” Sydney clapped her hands. “This is a great place to live and work. I’ve met some of the best friends I’ve ever had here.”
“Same,” Luke said. “Island life is the bomb if you can handle the winters.”
“I love the winters,” Sydney said, blushing as she glanced at her husband.
“The summers are crazy with the marina and the construction business,” Luke said. “I only have one job in the winter.”
“Lily and I love having Daddy home more, don’t we, sweet girl?”
The baby gave her a gummy smile that did weird things to Nikki’s insides. What would it be like, she wondered, to have a life like Syd and Luke’s, to know they’d walked through fire to find each other a second time, to end up with the kind of happiness they clearly shared?
When Lily began to yawn, Nikki and Riley said their goodbyes and then walked out to the barn that Luke used as a workshop.
He held the door for her, and she walked into the smell of varnish and paint thinner and turpentine.
On a trailer in the center of the vast space was the nearly completed restoration of a gleaming wooden boat.