by Olivia Miles
Family. Was he part of this family, technically speaking? This strange group who talked over one another and went back for years? William was. He fit in right at home. He was one of them now.
And damn it if Alec didn’t envy him for it.
But Alec, he didn’t fit in well. Didn’t know how to ease into this laid-back, cozy lifestyle the way William could. He felt stiff and awkward and out of place. It wasn’t how they’d grown up. It wasn’t what they knew. But it was William’s world now. And it could be his, too. If he accepted it.
“I say renovate,” he said, reaching for his wineglass. “The only way for progress is to move forward, not stay rooted in the past.”
He started at his own words as he set his wineglass back on the table. Where the hell had that come from? He was glued to the past, after all, wasn’t he? Still living in Boston. Still manning the family company. Still haunted by the memory of his mother. He lived the life he knew. He didn’t take risks. And he certainly did make changes. But William did. Big ones.
It was clearly the answer Kate’s father wanted to hear, from the pleased look on his face. Kate, too, he noticed, seemed to slant him a look of approval from the corner of her eye. A wink, he couldn’t help notice, was passed from mother to daughter.
“Aw, now, I’ll give you a pass on this one, but next go around, you stick with us,” Jeff joked, and Alec felt his gut stir uneasily. There it was, a suggestion that he was part of this now. Even by extension.
“We’re sorry your father couldn’t join us tonight,” Sally Jones said. “But then, Elizabeth tells us he’s a busy man.”
“Too busy,” William cut in. All the ease in his face had been replaced with tense lines. His jaw was tight as he reached for his wine, giving Alec a long look.
“He’ll be arriving on Friday,” Alec said. “For the rehearsal dinner.” He stopped chewing, thinking of his last conversation with Mason.
“Then we’ll all be together,” Elizabeth’s mother said, but her smile slipped as a strange silence filled the room.
Alec looked at William, who was focused on cutting his lobster, and then to Kate, who sat with her hands in her lap, her jaw clenched in what seemed like anger.
Confused, he looked over at her parents, who also stared at their plates, her father in overt discomfort if the pull at his collar indicated anything, and her mother with so much sadness that he suddenly realized that he was missing something.
Elizabeth’s mother was blinking her eyes in overt desperation. Her mouth was working out something, but no words came out.
Alec said, “I was hoping for sushi for the rehearsal dinner, but Kate had the sense to talk me into something a little more…elegant.”
From this he elicited a grateful smile from Kate. “Yes, well, we compromised. I think everyone will be pleased,” she said, giving Elizabeth a meaningful stare.
The gesture wasn’t unnoticed by Alec. Even though he’d tried to make more of an effort with the bride before dinner started, she’d been pulled away, and it was clear she was wary around him. He knew he could easily make up for their last and only meeting by apologizing, or showing her how enthusiastic he was that she was marrying William. But he couldn’t exactly do that, either, could he? Not honestly, at least. He couldn’t say he was sorry for getting the shock of his life that night in Boston all those months ago when William sprung not one but two interconnected bombshells on him. And he couldn’t exactly pretend he was excited for this wedding, when because of it, William was here, in Misty Point.
“Well, if everyone’s had enough, I’ll bring out the dessert. Homemade blueberry pie and ice cream,” Maura said, standing to collect their plates. Kate stood to help her, giving Alec a quick view of the curve of her hips as she walked around the table gathering dishes. He stood to help, but Maura set a heavy hand on his shoulder, pushing him back down.
“You’re our guest. Sit. But you can help next time.” She grinned, and Alec relaxed into his chair, feeling strangely at home and strangely nostalgic all at once.
All his life he’d dreamed of a family meal like this. But it was his brother who was lucky enough to find it.
* * *
Kate knew it was silly to feel uncomfortable in your own childhood home, but she couldn’t help it, she did. Her conversations with her parents were stilted and surface level, and they certainly never spoke of Charlotte. She rarely came back here since her sister had left, but she’d made an exception tonight for Elizabeth’s sake. And then things had to get awkward…
She sighed as she started another pot of coffee for the guests who lingered on the deck, chatting away while fireflies blinked in the darkness. Every time she thought she was over it, something had to set her back. And tonight, she couldn’t stop thinking, just as she’d done at Christmastime when there was no way she could not spend the day with her parents, that someone was missing from the group.
And from the look in her mother’s eyes, she had felt the exact same way.
Unscrewing the top from the bottle of cream, she emptied some into a ceramic pourer her mother had had for as long as Kate could remember. She was just about to set everything up on the tray when she saw Alec coming in through the sliding glass doors.
Damn it. She skirted her eyes, trying to look busy, but there was almost nothing left to do. She wondered if it was too late to pour the cream out and start over, just so she could focus on something other than that handsome face or that broad smile that made her heart flutter way more than it should.
Maybe he was just coming in to use the restroom, she thought, only half hoping this was the case.
But no, instead, he walked over to the island, leaned against it, and said, “Need any help?”
Kate blinked quickly. “No. But thanks. I think I have it.”
She eyed the coffee machine, whose drip suddenly felt painfully slow, and all but willed it to hurry the heck up. But as the saying went, a watched pot…
“I can carry the tray for you,” he offered.
My, wasn’t he eager to be of assistance tonight? No doubt feeling a bit guilty over canceling the suit fitting, perhaps? A pleased smile formed on her lips at the thought of it.
She started to protest, but then decided against it. Doing so would only drag out an argument she really couldn’t afford to have. No, the best thing for her—professionally speaking—was to be on good terms with the best man. Professionally speaking only, she reminded herself.
“Thanks,” she said. “It’s almost done.” She shot a warning glance at the coffee machine.
The kitchen felt silent and still and the muffled sound of laughter through the windows only underscored the feeling that she was alone in the house with Alec. She tried to think of something to say, something that wasn’t solely about the wedding, or something she needed him to do for it, but found she was suddenly overwhelmed, and if she dared to admit it, a little nervous, too.
He was a sort of nice guy, she was beginning to realize. Annoying. Impossible. But still…kind of nice.
“You never mentioned a sister,” Alec said mildly.
Kate stiffened and reached for the coffeepot before it had finished brewing. Despite the automatic stopper, a few drops drizzled onto the hot plate and sizzled. “It never came up.” She felt her hands shake as she transferred the coffee to a carafe.
She hated that her parents still kept the photos up in the hall. At first she had found it insensitive, but then she figured it would be a bigger statement and reminder to take everything down. But now, now she wondered if it was a source of denial. Or hope. That their family could someday be what it once was.
That didn’t seem possible.
“Why isn’t she with us tonight?” Alec asked.
She couldn’t make her hands stop shaking, and she was starting to worry she might spill the hot liquid all over her fingers. She set the coffeepot back on the burner, where it continued to brew.
“She’s in Boston, actually. She, um, lives there now.” With my ex-
fiancé. She could just imagine them dining in the best restaurants, crawling into bed together at night, walking through the Common.
“Boston?” Alec raised an eyebrow. “Interesting.”
“It’s not far. A lot of people from Boston have summer homes in Misty Point.”
“That they do,” Alec said. “Who knows, might end up with one myself someday.”
This was surprising. “Really?”
“With my work schedule?” He laughed, but there was a sadness in his eyes she’d noticed earlier, at the dinner table, where he’d been surprisingly subdued.
He lifted the heavy tray effortlessly and jutted his chin to the door. “Mind grabbing that for me?”
Kate slid it open and let him pass, thinking that for someone who came from a world so different from this, he seemed almost at home here.
Not that she was going to get used to having him as a regular fixture or anything.
* * *
“Alec seemed like a nice young man.” Maura slanted a suggestive glance at Kate as she sank her hands into the soapy dishwater.
“Mom…” But Kate couldn’t help but smile. A little. Alec had been the perfect gentleman all through dinner, even if he did seem a little out of his element.
“Is he bringing a date to the wedding?” Maura tried again, and this time, Kate had to burst out laughing, giving her credit where it was due. “What?” her mother asked, feigning innocence. “I’m just making conversation.”
“No, you’re just fishing,” Kate scolded. She sighed as her mother passed her a stainless steel pot to dry. She’d take the nagging over a conversation about Charlotte any day. Even though her mother never broached the topic, she was still uneasy, waiting for the day when a piece of information she didn’t want to hear slipped out.
She ran the towel over the steel pot. Maybe that was why Charlotte was calling so much. Maybe she and Jake were getting married. Maybe her mother knew. Maybe she told Charlotte to reach out to her first. Maybe she was about to drop the bomb.
Or maybe Kate was being paranoid.
She felt shaky as she continued to dry the pot. For all she knew her sister was calling to get back her favorite red pumps. Shoes mattered to her. More than sisterhood.
“He is coming to the wedding alone,” she said, forcing herself to stay focused on the conversation. Just like me. “But don’t go getting any ideas. I’ve had to deal with him these past few days, and he’s been nothing but grief.”
Well, not entirely.
“How so?”
“He canceled today’s fitting at the last minute. Claimed a last-minute meeting came up.”
“Well, he is giving up a whole week of work,” Maura pointed out as she turned on the taps.
“True.” Kate begrudgingly watched as her mother rinsed a pan. “But it was last minute, days before the wedding, and you know how important it is to stick to a strict schedule.”
“I know how important it is to you that this wedding go off without a hitch.” Maura gave her a gentle smile. “Relax, honey. And try to enjoy it. This is your dearest friend’s wedding.”
Kate gave a small smile. Guilty as charged.
“So, other than reschedule a suit fitting, what is it that this man has done to so greatly annoy you?”
“He’s not nice to Elizabeth, Mom. He doesn’t approve of William marrying her. He doesn’t think she’s good enough.” She and her mother exchanged knowing glances. “Doesn’t that sound a little familiar?”
It was a sore subject that Jake’s parents had never warmed to Kate, clearly frowning on her middle-class townie status. She had tried to overlook it, told herself that it didn’t matter, that what mattered was Jake and his loyalty to her. But in the end, she didn’t even have that.
“He seemed nice enough to her tonight,” her mother pressed. “And he was a very polite guest.”
Kate couldn’t argue with that. “But you saw how stiff and almost uncomfortable he was. No doubt our house is not what he is used to.”
“Oh, I have no doubt at all about that,” Maura said. “But just because he was out of place doesn’t mean he was looking down on us. Look at William. He’s different than…” She stopped short of saying the name they were both thinking. “He grew up with a silver spoon, and he fits in right at home here.”
“True,” Kate agreed. “He moved here permanently, after all. And he opened his own business. I think he made a choice to have a different life than the one he grew up with.”
“But not his brother?”
Kate shook her head. “He’s all business. He clearly really likes his life in Boston, and everything that comes with it.”
“That’s too bad,” Maura said, looking genuinely disappointed.
“Too bad for him,” Kate said, “but it has nothing to do with me. In case you were wondering, he was never going to be an eligible suitor. He’s too…handsome.”
Her mother laughed. “How can anyone be too handsome?”
But Kate knew. She’d learned from experience. “He’s rich, good-looking, and successful. Some women might think that’s three things he has going for him, but I know better. That kind of combination…That’s nothing but trouble.”
Her mother stopped washing the dishes and looked at her sadly. “Oh, honey. Someday the right man is going to come along and make you believe in love again.”
Kate pinched her lips. She wanted nothing more than to correct her, to say that no, no, he wouldn’t…almost as much as she wanted to believe that what her mother was saying was true.
“And when that happens…” Maura hesitated. “Well, maybe you and Charlotte can—”
She shot her mother a look of warning. Her heart was hammering in her chest. “Mom—”
“I know, I know. It’s just…What can I say? I want my girls to get along.”
“Too late,” Kate said in a clipped tone. Her cheeks were hot as she turned to open a cabinet door and add a plate to the stack. She wanted to run, grab her keys, and sprint out the front door.
But she was curious. And it could be months before her mother dared to mention Charlotte again.
“Do you ever speak to her?” Kate dared to ask. As soon as she said it, she wished she hadn’t. She didn’t want to know. Not really. But at the same time, she didn’t want to wonder anymore. And she certainly didn’t want to answer one of those calls to find out firsthand what was up.
No, if there was news, it would be better to hear it now. From her mother. Her mother who loved her and wanted the best for her.
“No. Once or twice,” her mother admitted. “But the calls were brief. She didn’t have much to say.”
Kate didn’t know whether to feel betrayed that her mother and Charlotte had spoken or grateful that there wasn’t any more news that could hurt her. She wondered if she should tell her mother about the calls from Charlotte, but then she would be forced to explain that she had deliberately chosen not to answer or return any of them. And then her mother might worry more.
Because of course her mother worried about Charlotte. They all had. Charlotte was flighty and silly and funny. But Charlotte was also very irresponsible.
And that had finally all caught up with her, hadn’t it? Except Kate had never expected that she would be caught up in it.
Chapter Ten
It was raining the next morning, despite the forecast, and Alec fought off the disappointment that his golf plans with William would have to be delayed, or canceled. He looked out the window of the desk near the window where he’d been working since five that morning, watching the waves crash against the rocks that hugged the shoreline.
Back when they were kids, they’d spend some summer weekends at their house on the Cape, but after their mother had died, those weekends ended. The house was boarded up and eventually sold. Their father claimed he was too busy to get out of the city, but Alec was old enough to know better. The house, and everything in it, reminded him too much of their mother. And despite what he said, and despite how he act
ed, he’d never forgiven himself for what happened to her. And why should he?
It was easier to forget, he supposed. He’d tried to do that himself eventually. And it was easier when that house and all the memories they’d shared in it were gone. The Boston brownstone had been their home, yes, but the Cape was where they’d laughed, and played, and behaved like a real family…at least for a little while.
God, he hadn’t thought of that place in years. Now he couldn’t stop.
Alec looked away from the window, swallowing back the ache in his chest. It was Monday, and even though he was now staying through the week, from a glance at Kate’s tightly packed schedule he could see that the chances of getting time alone with his brother seemed less likely than he’d hoped. With the golf outing he had never officially agreed to now off the table, he made a snap decision and texted his brother, seeing if he was free for lunch instead.
An hour later, he was pulling up to an unassuming brick building at the edge of Misty Point’s main stretch; the only thing differentiating it from the dentist next door was the plaque on the wall: WILLIAM MONTGOMERY, FINANCIAL SERVICES.
Alec shook his head. If his father could see this…
Only he wouldn’t see it. And if all went as planned, soon this plaque would be replaced with something else. Something more fitting. An orthodontist’s office, perhaps.
The door was unlocked, and he pushed through it into a small, windowless lobby. The receptionist desk was unassuming—and empty. A single frosted glass door was ajar, until William appeared in the frame.
“You’re here!”
That he was. In a hundred years, Alec never could have imagined he’d be visiting his brother’s offices anywhere other than the third door on the right, corner view, facing northeast, opposite end of the hall from his own. Instead, he was standing in this tight space, feeling large and out of place, just like he had last night in Kate’s parents’ house, while his brother, like last night, seemed right at home and perfectly at ease.