“I should probably go mingle more,” Andrew said as they saw someone coming their way. “It was nice talking to you, Kate.”
They stayed for another twenty minutes or so and Kate was amused that Philippe seemed to know so many people there. Kristen had mentioned that she’d often seen him out at these kinds of events though. She recognized a few people herself, among them Violet Jones, the neighbor who had spoken out at the meeting to oppose The Beach Plum Cove Inn.
Violet was overdressed in Kate’s opinion, although she did look gorgeous. She was wearing expensive black high heels, which Kate could see were the designer Louboutin, as the bottom of the shoe was famously red. Her dress was too, a bright, fire-engine red that was impossible to miss, especially with her tall, curvy figure. Her blonde hair cascaded down her back in a carefully arranged tumble of waves and her makeup was perfect. Her lipstick even matched her dress. Violet raised her eyes when she saw Kate. Philippe had gone to get them more champagne, and Kate was admiring one of the paintings, a watercolor of Nantucket harbor.
“Kate. I’m surprised to see you here!” Violet said.
“Really? Why is that?” Kate replied coolly.
“Well, I’ve just never seen you at these type of things before.”
“I’ve been living in Boston. I’ve only been home for a few weeks.”
“Oh, right. Sorry about that, I heard you lost your job.” Violet sounded anything but sorry as Philippe returned and handed Kate a glass of champagne.
“Thank you. Philippe, do you know my mother’s neighbor, Violet Jones?”
“No, I don’t. It’s nice to meet you.” He held out his hand and Violet took it, holding it a moment longer than necessary.
“We have met actually. At an art show last Spring.” Violet reminded him.
“Oh, that’s right.” Phillipe casually put his arm around Kate and pulled her close. “Now I know why your name sounds familiar. You spoke out against Kate’s mother at the board of selectmen meeting.”
Violet suddenly looked uncomfortable as she realized that Kate and Phillipe were together and that Phillipe was not likely to fall under her charms.
“If you’d both excuse me, I see someone I need to talk to. Have a great night.”
Kate watched with amusement as Violet slithered off. Philippe relaxed his arm and took a step away.
“I don’t care for her much,” he said.
Kate laughed. “Well, that makes two of us. I don’t know why she was so against my mother’s bed and breakfast proposal.”
“I suspect she likes to be difficult.”
They walked around a little more until they’d seen everything in the gallery and then said their goodbyes to Andrew and made their way to the Club Car for dinner.
When they walked into the Club Car, the hostess, a very pretty, younger woman with long dark hair and a perfect glowing complexion, came right over to them and gave Philippe a hug.
“How’ve you been? Your favorite table just opened up. I can take you right over.”
Kate smiled. Apparently the Club Car was one of Philippe’s favorite restaurants too.
“Great to see you again, Olivia. Do you know Kate Hodges?”
The younger woman smiled and looked as though she was trying hard to place Kate, but failed.
“I’m local, but just recently moved back to the island. It’s nice to meet you,” Kate said.
“You as well!” Olivia scooped up two menus and led them to a pretty corner table, with pale blue cushions and a white tabletop. It was a small restaurant, but not too crowded. Kate preferred to come in the off-season. During the summer, all the restaurants along the pier were packed, as tourists went there after getting off the ferries.
“Andrea will be right with you to get your drinks order.” Kate noticed a brief moment of hesitation flash across her face, but Olivia smiled as she walked off, so she didn’t think anything of it. Until she saw a very pretty blonde girl walk their way and then stop short and go back into the kitchen. A minute later, a different waitress, with short, dark hair came to their table.
“Good evening, I’m Penny, and I’ll be taking care of you tonight. Can I get you something to drink?”
Kate ordered a chardonnay and Philippe got a Dewar’s and water.
“I thought Olivia said Andrea was going to be our server. I noticed another girl coming over here first, and then she went back into the kitchen. Isn’t that strange?”
Philippe looked a bit uncomfortable. “I think that may be because of me. I was a regular here for a while, more so than I am now, and I dated a few of the waitresses. Andrea was one. She’s a lovely girl, but she wanted to be a little more serious than I did.”
Kate considered that as Penny returned with their drinks and set them down. She told them the specials for the night and then Philippe put in an order for the grilled local oysters with cilantro butter for the two of them to share. They both decided on the roasted cod with hazelnut romesco for their entrée. Penny took their menus and returned a few minutes later with a basket of hot bread and butter.
“Did you date Olivia too?” Kate asked. The hostess seemed unusually friendly and her eyes had lit up when she saw Philippe.
“No, she’s a bit young for me.” He paused and then added, “She does keep inviting me to her parties though. We know a lot of the same people, and she does throw a good party.”
Kate ripped a piece of bread in half and spread butter on it.
“What are you doing this weekend?” Philippe asked as he reached for the bread.
“Probably starting to move my things to my mother’s friend’s house. Why?”
“I have to go to L.A. For a few days. Why don’t you come with me?”
“You want me to come with you to California? What would we do there?”
“Well, I have to meet with a few people at the studio, but that won’t take long. We can take a ride up the coast, have dinner overlooking the ocean in Malibu or go to Spago in Hollywood for the best pizza you’ve ever had.”
“And where would we stay?”
“I usually get a suite at the Four Seasons. The king sized bed is super comfy.” He winked and Kate knew that many women would find his offer irresistible. She was tempted for about two seconds.
“You remind me a bit of my ex. We just recently broke up.”
“Oh, how so?”
“He was a charmer. Too handsome for his own good and let’s just say he loved women and enjoyed the attention.”
Philippe grinned. “You think I’m charming? And handsome? That sounds like a good thing.”
Kate laughed. “That’s all you heard? Yes, you’ve obviously attractive. I think we may be looking for different things though.” She hesitated for a moment, trying to find the right words. She really did like Philippe but not in the way that he wanted her to.
“I wasn’t really looking to date anyone yet, but when I am, it will be someone who wants something more serious. I don’t really do casual.” She took a bite of bread and added, “But I would love to be friends. I really do enjoy your company. We have a lot in common, and aside from my sisters, I don’t have many friends here. Most of the people I grew up with have moved off-island.”
Philippe sighed and took Kate’s hand and gave it a squeeze. “I think you’re amazing. I wish I could tell you that I’m ready for something more serious, but I like you too much to lie to you.” He grinned. “I’m not sure I ever will be, to be perfectly honest. I’m not in any hurry to settle down. I’m having too much fun. I have to travel quite a bit too, and that’s hard on any relationship. It’s just easier to keep things light.”
Kate squeezed his hand back and let it go. She really liked him and was glad that he’d confirmed her suspicions.
Penny arrived with their grilled oysters and set them down in the middle of the table.
“You have to try one of these, they are incredible.” Philippe reached for an oyster that was so hot the steam was coming off it. Kate took a moment to le
t it cool.
“I will.” She smiled. “You know, I think that eventually, you’re going to be shocked when you meet the right person and she knocks you off your feet. You won’t want to date anyone else.”
“I’m not so sure about that. But one never knows?” Philippe looked skeptical, and Kate wondered if he might be right. After all, Dylan had sworn that he was a changed man. Kate decided to change the subject.
“So, I went to the library today, and did some research for my book. My next step will be making an outline. Does that take you very long?” She popped one of the grilled oysters in her mouth. The flavors were as good as Philippe had promised.
“It doesn’t take me long at all. I don’t outline.”
Kate had assumed that she needed to make an extensive outline, to plan her book and where she needed to go.
“You don’t? But how do you know what you need to write each day?”
He laughed. “I tried to outline once, and it sucked all the joy out of the story for me. But I know some people swear by it. You should definitely try it and see if it helps you. It’s more fun for me to discover the story as I go.”
“That sounds so much harder.” Kate had always been a planner. She couldn’t imagine just sitting down and staring at a blank page wondering what was supposed to happen.
“You have to dream up the story either way, whether it’s for your outline or pantsing as we call it, when you just write and see where the story takes you.”
“That sounds terrifying to me. Especially in a mystery where I have to set things up and drop clues. I’ll try an outline first I think.”
“Good idea. Do you want that last oyster?” Philippe was nice to offer, but Kate knew he was dying for it.
“No, you have it. I don’t want to spoil my appetite.”
“Thanks. Why don’t you show me your outline when you get it finished? I can let you know if the structure looks solid and if the story is compelling. That is one benefit of an outline, you can fix that kind of thing before you write the book.”
Kate appreciated the offer. It was generous of him, especially considering that she’d told him she didn’t want to be more than friends.
“If you don’t mind, I will take you up on that offer.”
Chapter 10
Kristen had barely eaten in the past few days since she’d last seen Sean. He’d called the next day as if everything was fine and wanted to make plans to go out again. He’d been shocked and not happy when Kristen firmly told him that she was ending their relationship. It felt like the right decision, but it still felt awful, and she’d been grieving what she’d thought they had.
But finally, after three days of misery, not eating enough and sleeping too much, she woke Friday morning and felt almost as if the fog had lifted. She had more energy, and she was starving. And there was nothing in her house to eat. She wanted to make a giant omelet and wash it down with many cups of coffee and she was out of both eggs and coffee. So, she had a cup of tea to take the edge off, and then headed downtown to the supermarket to do some grocery shopping.
Since she was hungry, she ended up buying twice what she normally would. She lugged the bags out to her jeep, tossed them in the back seat and climbed in to drive home. As she sat waiting to pull out of the parking lot onto Main St. Her phone rang. She saw that it was Sean and let it go to voice mail. It immediately rang again and she saw that it was Kate and went to answer it, but when she picked up the phone, it slipped out of her hands. She swore and reached over to get the phone and took her eyes off the road for two seconds.
But it was two seconds too long. She lifted her foot off the gas slightly and her car rolled forward and into something. She looked up and swore again. She’d rolled into an old navy Mercedes that was waiting to turn into the parking lot. The driver stopped his car, jumped out and came around front to assess the damage. And then he came her way.
Kristen took a deep breath and got out of the car. It was totally her fault. There wasn’t a lot of damage, but she’d tapped his front bumper and there was a big scrape that showed the car was once beige.
“I’m so sorry,” she said.
“You hit me!” The man standing in front of her sounded frustrated, and she didn’t blame him. He was also somewhat familiar looking and very attractive. She didn’t think she’d ever seen him on the island before though.
“Were you texting?” He accused her.
“What? No! My phone rang, and I went to answer and dropped it. I really am sorry. I’ve never hit anyone before.” The stress of the past few days and her growling stomach caught up with her and Kristen suddenly felt like she might burst into tears. “Let me get my insurance information for you.” Her voice cracked as she went to turn back to her car. His voice stopped her.
“Hold on a second. I don’t think it’s really that bad. It’s just a scrape. We might not need to get our insurance companies involved.”
“Okay. I’ll totally pay for any repairs though.”
The driver nodded. “Why don’t we exchange numbers? I’ll have a guy I know look at it, and we’ll go from there?” He pulled a business card out of his wallet and handed it to her. She glanced at the name, Andrew Everly. The owner of the new art gallery. She fished in her purse for one of her cards and handed it to him. She’d designed her cards herself, and they represented her style, with a swirl of pale, pretty watercolors in the background. He smiled as he looked it over.
“You’re an artist. It’s funny, but someone actually mentioned your name to me recently. I looked you up online and liked what I saw. I was planning to reach out to you.”
Kate’s jaw dropped. It was the last thing she expected to hear after hitting the man’s car.
“Thank you. That means a lot to me. My sister Kate, was at your open house the other night. She was impressed.”
He thought for a moment. “She was with Philippe Gaston, right?”
“She was.”
Andrew tucked her card in his front pocket. “I’ll be in touch after I talk to my car guy. Maybe we can work out a barter arrangement. I’d love to include a painting or two of yours at the gallery, and we could just deduct the cost of the paint job when they sell. It shouldn’t be too much. It looks like it will just be a touch up.”
Kristen relaxed a little. That seemed reasonable enough, and it was another opportunity to show her work, which was always a good thing.
“I’d love that. Thank you. And again, I’m really sorry about your car.”
He smiled. “It’s just paint. We’ll talk soon, Kristen.”
“So, how do you feel about being a grandmother?” Sue asked as she and Lisa strolled along Main St. They’d just had a quick lunch at Oath Pizza, Lisa’s favorite place for pizza on the island. You could order it by the slice. They made it to order, adding whatever toppings you wanted and passing it through a high speed oven, so it was almost ready by the time you reached the cash register. They’d had two big slices each and decided to walk it off by window shopping.
Lisa found herself slowing down every time they passed a window that had anything baby related. She came to a full stop in front of a yarn shop where there was a display of the tiniest, cutest baby socks in both pink and blue.
“Well, I’m thinking of taking up knitting, so I can make socks like those. What does that tell you?” Lisa laughed. “I’m thrilled. It’s still very early stage though, so of course I worry about Abby and the baby’s health. She’s under a lot of stress these days.”
“She and Jeff haven’t worked things out yet? I thought they’d be back together by now. With the holidays and all.”
“I know. I hoped that she would too. But, I think it’s more serious than I originally thought. Seems like something has been bothering her for a long time.”
“Jeff must be over the moon about the baby though? He has a good reason to work on things now. Or has she still not told him yet?”
“She’s waiting until she’s three months along. She’s hoping that th
ey can work things out by then and it won’t be because of the baby.”
“I feel for her. My first three months with each kid were hell. It must be hard for her to go through that alone.” Sue had three children all grown, but none were married yet.
“I know. She has her up and down days. And we’ve seen more of her than we used to. The girls and I are trying to support her as much as possible. They’re all coming over for dinner tonight actually.”
“You’re lucky that they all live here.” Sue’s children all lived off-island in different Boston suburbs.
“I know. I didn’t think Kate would ever come back though. It’s nice having her here, though I’m not sure how long it will last.”
“You think she’ll go back to Boston?”
“There’s a good chance that she’ll have to. Either Boston or New York area, as that’s where most of the media jobs are. Unless she can get enough freelance work.”
“She’s working on a book too, I think you mentioned?”
Kate smiled. “She is. A murder mystery. I can’t wait to read it. But, from what I understand, it’s very difficult to get published, so earning a living from books is a long shot. It would be marvelous though. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for her.”
Sue looked thoughtful. “Maybe she could self-publish. Be an indie author. ”
Lisa was surprised by the suggestion. “Really? I don’t know much about that, but I always thought self-publishing was a last resort type of thing?”
“It used to be, but it’s all the rage right now, thanks to Amazon and Apple. I just read something about it recently in the New York Times. And I’ve discovered some really good new authors this past year that are self-published. A few of them used to be with big publishers and do it themselves now.”
The Nantucket Inn Page 10