Chapter 28
Chapter Twenty-Eight
“ T his chocolate mousse cake is so good,” Lisa said as she dipped her fork into the massive slice for another bite.
“I’m glad we decided to share it, though,” Marley agreed.
They’d had a delicious dinner. Lisa had loved her roasted halibut and Marley enjoyed her filet with béarnaise sauce. Both of them saved half to bring home because they needed room for dessert.
“I wonder what they were talking about over there. The whole table looked shocked for a moment. I’ll have to ask Lauren over breakfast tomorrow. If she’s allowed to say.”
“She might not be. But if she does spill the tea, call me immediately,” Marley said.
“Speaking of tea, look who is coming this way,” Lisa said.
The restaurant had filled up once word got out that filming was happening at the restaurant and all the tables were filled. But there were two empty seats at the bar, next to Marley and Lisa. They’d just opened up when two people who were having a drink while waiting to be seated were notified that their table was ready.
Lisa’s nemesis and neighbor, Violet, and her sister, walked over to the bar and settled into the two empty seats. Lisa nodded hello as she didn’t want to be rude. Violet did not look happy to see her. Though Violet rarely looked happy about anything. The woman’s face seemed to have a permanent pout.
“Hi Lisa. Of course you’re here when they are filming.”
Lisa smiled sweetly. “I thought it sounded like a fun thing to see. Is that why you came in tonight?”
Violet hesitated, then laughed. “Of course not. We had no idea this was happening. We just wanted a nice dinner out and didn’t want to go downtown.”
Lisa signaled Ted to bring the check. They were just about finished. She’d considered getting a coffee and lingering a bit, but now she just wanted to get home. And it looked like the filming was wrapping up. They were paying their bill and two of the cameramen were heading toward the door.
Lisa and Marley put their credit cards down when Ted brought them the bill. He walked off, then came back a moment later and gave them back their cards. “Rhett says your money is no good here.” He grinned, and Lisa sighed. She wasn’t surprised. Rhett never let her pay when she came in, but she always tried.
“How nice for you,” Violet said snidely.
Lisa ignored her and fished into her purse for cash to leave Ted a good tip. Marley did the same. They put their money down and stood to leave. “Thanks so much Ted. Tell Rhett thanks too, and I’ll see him at home.”
“Will do. Always a pleasure, ladies.”
Violet looked their way as they stood to leave. “I hear I’ll be seeing you soon at the food festival.”
Lisa nodded. “That’s right. I’m looking forward to it. It sounds like a fun event.”
“It will be great advertising for whoever wins,” Violet agreed. She looked smug and overconfident. Which Lisa found incredibly annoying.
“I think it will be fun just to meet people and have them try my food. If I win, that will be a nice bonus.”
Violet had no response for that. Clearly, winning was all that mattered to her. Lisa meant what she said, though. She had no control over who won. She hoped it would be her, but if not, she expected to benefit just from being there.
“Good luck to both of you,” Marley said pleasantly before they walked out. Once they were outside, she turned to Lisa.
“That woman is horrid. You have to beat her. Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help? I can hand out samples or do anything.”
Lisa thought for a moment and then smiled. “Thanks. Maybe there is something you can do to help.” She told Marley what she had in mind, and Marley nodded.
“Piece of cake. I can definitely do that.”
It was after eight by the time they got back to the beach house. The sun was setting over the harbor and Anna walked out onto the deck to get a better look and to take some shots with her camera. The production staff headed home after the restaurant dinner, so they had the rest of the evening to relax.
Katy joined her a few minutes later. “Oh, I need to grab a shot of that too, before it disappears. The colors are incredible.” The sky was a rich rosy pink with splashes of dark orange and it was slipping away fast. Anna guessed they had maybe ten or fifteen minutes before darkness filled the sky.
“Do you really think nothing happened with Suzanne and Noah?” Katy asked.
Anna shrugged. “It’s probably mostly true. I mean, they might have kissed a little, and she just didn’t need to share that. She seems pretty direct. I don’t think she would have said they’d just watched Friends and slept if they’d actually hooked up.”
Katy nodded. “I suppose you’re right. I kind of wish they had hooked up, though.”
That surprised Anna. “Why would you care?”
“Well, if a romance developed with her and Noah, then I wouldn’t have to worry about her going after Billy.”
“Ah. Got it.” Anna hadn’t realized Katy was that into Billy. She thought back to their initial conversation before coming to Nantucket. They were in agreement then that neither one of them wanted to start a romance on the show. It didn’t feel like a solid foundation and neither wanted to let the public in that much. But now that they were here and Katy had met Billy, things seemed to have changed. Anna was curious if Billy knew Katy was interested and how he felt. It was hard to tell because he’d flirted just as much with Suzanne and even Anna. It wouldn’t have surprised her if Suzanne had been coming out of his room instead of Noah’s. She wanted Katy to find love—but given what she’d read about Billy, she was a little worried for her friend.
“You know, Billy and Lauren dated for a few months. You might want to talk to her and see what she thinks of him before diving into anything,” Lauren suggested.
Katy looked like she was going to protest. It was clear that she didn’t want to be talked out of anything. But she nodded. “That’s not a bad idea. I am curious to hear what she thinks of him. You’d never know they dated.”
“Well, she’s a professional. I’m sure it was awkward for her at first, having to see him and produce him,” Anna said.
Katy nodded. “You’re probably right. I’ll talk to her.”