Chapter 25
Chapter Twenty-Five
T he scallops that Honey was roasting smelled amazing. Almost as if she could read Lauren’s mind, Honey turned and addressed the production team.
“I hope you all like scallops. I’m making plenty for everyone,” she said.
Lauren was thrilled to hear it. She’d assumed they’d be eating the leftover sandwiches that catering had made earlier.
“Thank you, Honey. Let us know if you need help with anything,” Lauren said.
Honey smiled and wiped her hands on her flowered apron. “I’m good, thanks. This is actually a pretty simple recipe. There’s tons of potato salad left from lunch, so I figured we’d have that along with some grilled asparagus.
“Sounds perfect,” Lauren agreed.
It had been an uneventful day so far. They’d been on the beach filming the cast as they chatted, swam and played a little volleyball. They all took a break for a few hours in the late afternoon, and now at a quarter to six, everyone was back and ready to film Honey cooking and serving dinner.
Everyone gathered around the big dining room table and the girls helped Honey bring all the food to the table and everyone helped themselves. Honey had set a separate batch of scallops aside and the production team all made their plates as well and resumed their positions as the cast sat down to eat.
Lauren took a bite of a scallop and sighed. It was so sweet and cooked perfectly with a little crunch from the panko coating and the lemony garlic mayo was the perfect dipping sauce. Lauren laughed when she saw Honey’s cat Simon, even had his own plate of scallops. He’d looked ready to jump up on the counter twice, but each time, she’d sent him a ‘don’t you dare’ look.
Everyone in the cast raved about the food, too and thanked Honey for cooking. The conversation slowed at first as everyone focused on their food. When it started up again, Suzanne teased Jason for bringing coffee in bed for Anna and Katy.
“What about us? Sami and I like fancy coffee, too.”
Jason laughed. “Okay, you got it. Tomorrow is your turn.”
“If you like chocolate, you will love it,” Katy said. “I told Jason we could get used to having our morning coffee served to us.”
Anna laughed. “It was a nice treat.”
“Jeez, Jason, you’re making the rest of us look bad,” Billy teased.
“Hey, I’ve gotta give myself an edge here. Competition is stiff with two of you.”
Noah and Billy both laughed.
“So, what are we doing after dinner? I don’t suppose anyone is up for a little skinny-dipping?” Billy asked. It was hard to tell if he was serious or just messing with them.
“There is no way I would skinny dip at night here,” Katy said.
“Why not? It could be awesome.” Billy flashed his most charming grin.
But Katy looked at him as if he was crazy to even suggest it. “Seriously, Billy? Haven’t you seen the movie Jaws ? This area has tons of great whites. You’d make a nice midnight snack for them.”
Billy’s grin disappeared. “Okay, you may have a point there. Jaws was Martha’s Vineyard though, not Nantucket.”
This time, everyone laughed at him. “It’s basically the same thing, Billy,” Jason said. “Katy’s right. There have always been great whites in this area, but in recent years there have been even more, all up and down the Cape and both islands. I don’t swim way out like I used to.”
“Fine, Plan B then—how about strip poker?”
Suzanne made a face. “You just want to see us all naked. We’re not that stupid. And I don’t know about anyone else, but I am terrible at poker.”
“I think I may have stayed on the beach a little too long today,” Katy admitted. “I don’t think I’m up for a late night tonight.”
“I am feeling a little stir-crazy, though,” Suzanne said. “And I had a nap this afternoon. Would anyone want to head into town and go to the Chicken Box? I hear they have good live music and it’s supposed to be a fun, casual place. Have any of you been there?”
“Never been there, but I’m up for anything,” Billy said. He glanced Lauren’s way. “Lauren, Hudson, you guys know the island. What do you think?”
“The Chicken Box is a fun place. I think you guys would like it,” Lauren said. She’d only been there once, but it had been a fun night.
Hudson agreed. “Billy, Suzanne, I think it’s right up your alley. Super casual place, jeans or shorts are fine and the music is usually good.”
“Okay, Chicken Box it is, let’s do it. Who else is coming?”
Everyone seemed enthused about the idea.
Katy yawned, but agreed to go, since everyone else was going.
Hudson turned to Lauren and Eloise and grinned. “Looks like this is going to be a late night.”
“I’ll call ahead and make sure they are okay with the cameras,” Lauren said. She thought that they probably would be as it was a Wednesday night and not as busy as the weekends and it would be incredible free advertising for them.
Sure enough, after a quick call to the manager of the Chicken Box, they had the green light to film.
Everyone piled into a few vehicles and headed into town. The Chicken Box was pretty busy. Lauren could only imagine how packed it must get on the weekends. They were met at the door by the manager, who led them to the end of the bar, near where the band was playing. There were some empty seats at the bar and a few tables that the manager reserved for their group. The guys set up their cameras, and Lauren and Eloise sat out of the way at a smaller table in the corner. Hudson positioned himself next to them with his camera.
“I’m going to get a soda. Can I get you guys anything?” Lauren offered.
“I’ll take a soda and cranberry, please,” Eloise said.
“I’ll have a Coke. Wait, make that a Sam Adams. I can have one beer,” Hudson said. They usually didn’t drink while they were filming. But now that they were out at a bar, it was tempting.
“Hmm. Maybe I’ll have a glass of wine,” Lauren said.
Eloise laughed. “Fine, I’ll have a chardonnay.”
Lauren went to the bar and returned with their drinks a few minutes later. Katy, Billy and Noah were sitting at the bar. Billy tried to catch Lauren’s eye to talk to her, but she glanced at Hudson, to remind Billy that they were filming and to keep his conversations with his other cast members. He made a face and turned his attention back to Katy and Noah.
She turned to her table with their drinks and took her seat. “Where’s Suzanne and Jason?” She asked Eloise. Everyone else was sitting at a table nearby.
“Suzanne just dragged Jason out to the dance floor. She said this is her favorite song,” Eloise said.
Sure enough, Suzanne and Jason were in the middle of the crowded dance floor, laughing and dancing energetically to a popular country music song. They stayed out there for the next one, which was even more popular, and Honey and Brett and Sami, Anna and Noah joined them. Katy and Billy were deep in conversation at the bar. And Lauren noticed that every so often, Katy touched Billy’s arm lightly, just for a second, and then laughed. Hudson moved closer so he could hear some of their conversation and get it onto film.
“Katy is flirting hard,” Eloise said. “I wonder if anything will happen with her and Billy.”
“Who knows?” Lauren said. Billy was hard to read. She couldn’t tell if he was just enjoying the attention from Katy or if he was interested. If he started something with her, she hoped it was real. Katy seemed like a sweet girl and Lauren hated to see Katy get her hopes up and then have Billy revert to his usual cheating ways. And Lauren actually liked Billy—she hoped he’d get his act together and be a better man. But she wasn’t sure that was likely to happen any time soon.
On the next song, Katy and Billy joined the others on the dance floor and Hudson came back to their table.
“So, what do you think? Is anything developing there?” Eloise asked.
“Maybe? I know Billy and can’t get a read on if he’s into Katy or not. He flirts like that with everyone. She’s definitely up for a little romance, though.”
“That band is really good.” Lauren liked the mix of country and rock that they were playing. It was mostly lively songs that kept everyone dancing.
“They’re here a lot,” Hudson said. “We should all come back here some night when we’re not working and can enjoy it.”
“I’d love that,” Eloise said.
The cast seemed to be having a great time. They were laughing and joking with each other and spent a good amount of time on the dance floor. Except for Honey and Brett, the rest of them switched off who they danced with, and by the end of the night, Katy was back to chatting at a table with Anna and Sami while Suzanne was doing shots at the bar with the guys.
By eleven, they were all ready to call it a night. Both Lauren and Eloise had several cast members riding with them and Honey also drove, as she wasn’t drinking at all. Lauren dropped everyone off, then headed home to the inn and fell into bed. It had been a long day. And tomorrow promised to be more of the same as they had the restaurant dinner at Rhett’s.