Chapter 10
Chapter Ten
K aty was the only influencer going to Nantucket that Anna actually knew in real life. They weren’t close friends, more business acquaintances, as they were both beauty influencers and had gone on a few of the same brand trips. Those were nice perks of the job—big beauty brands would invite top influencers to fly out to exotic destinations where they would wine and dine them for several days and stock their hotel rooms with all the newest products. The hope, of course, was that the influencers would then share all the details on social media.
During one of those trips, Anna and Katy discovered over cocktails and appetizers that they lived in the same area of the city—the West Village. A week before they headed off to Nantucket, they met up for dinner and strategized about what to expect from the reality show.
“Realistically, I don’t expect to find romance,” Katy said. “And I’m not even sure I’d want to be that under the microscope even if I was tempted. But I am excited to pick up new followers. Ultimately, this should help both of us bring in more brand deals, and at higher prices.”
Anna agreed. “That’s the only reason I agreed to do it. I told my manager no initially. But she laughed at me and said my life is already public.”
Katy smiled. “She has a good point. Especially since you did those dating posts.”
“That’s true. I’ve slowed down a bit on that, though. Guys get a little weird about it. I don’t suppose that I blame them.” For a while, Anna had run a series of posts detailing various first dates she’d gone on. She never filmed the men, out of respect for their privacy, but with their permission, she filmed their drinks and dinners and, of course, the outfits that she wore. Her followers loved it. And they especially seemed to relate to her string of first and second dates that fizzled out and never turned into anything serious. For Anna, it had been fun to go out and meet these different men, with no expectations.
“Did you really not like any of them?” Katy asked.
Anna sighed. “Most of them were fine, nice guys. But there just wasn’t a spark. It could be that I’m just not really ready to date yet. My last breakup was tough.” She’d thought that Ryan was the one. They’d dated since her senior year of college and had been engaged for over two years. She’d just started to plan the wedding when he broke things off.
And he admitted that he’d only gotten engaged because of pressure from everyone that it was expected, the obvious next step. But it turned out that he wasn’t in love with her anymore. Anna assumed that there was someone else, but he insisted that there wasn’t. She wasn’t sure if that made her feel better or worse—to think that he’d rather be alone than with her. He’d been a little distant, but she’d assumed it was just work pressure. It really shook her self-esteem, and she wondered how she could have thought things were fine when they were anything but?
She’d thrown herself into work after that. Going to as many events as possible and filming twice the amount of content. It kept her busy, and it grew her business, which was a good thing, even though she felt kind of numb to it all.
“Maybe spending the summer on Nantucket will be good for me. I’ve never been there and I hear that it’s beautiful. Better than the heat of the city.”
“It will be fun,” Katy assured her. “We’ll relax on the beach, go shopping, eat great food and make fun content, too.”
They decided to travel together and shared a car to the airport for the flight to the island. And there was a rental car waiting for them at the tiny Nantucket airport. It was a pretty baby blue Jeep and Katy squealed when she saw it.
“I used to have a Jeep just like this. I miss it living in the city. Do you mind if I drive?”
“Sure.” They loaded their bags in the back of the Jeep and then set out to find the rental house. The Jeep had GPS and Katy loaded the address into it. It was a gorgeous, sunny afternoon, warm enough that they didn’t need a jacket, and there was a slight breeze.
Both of them were impressed when they pulled up to the house. It was massive, especially compared to the small house immediately to its left. There were a few cars in the driveway already, and Anna guessed it was the production staff. Lauren, the producer, had told them that they would likely be the first to arrive. She glanced up at the two-story house. It was in the classic Cape Cod style, with wood shingles, white shutters and flower boxes. It looked brand new, and she was sure it was beautiful inside. She took a deep breath as they opened the front door, knowing that their entrance and reaction would likely be filmed and hoped it would be a good summer.