My heart leapt to my throat as I realized it was. He stood at the edge of the parking lot, facing the water. The Subaru, with Caleb inside, was behind him.
“You’re still together. I had a feeling you’d be.”
“Actually, we’re not.” I waved, held up one finger to let him know I needed a minute. “He broke up with me in October, after …”
This time, my voice trailed off. I didn’t have to explain.
“Trust me,” she said, sounding a combination of pleased and disappointed, “you might be broken up … but you’re still very much together.”
I turned back. She gave me a small smile.
“Go. Say hello.”
“It’s okay, I can—”
“Vanessa.” She touched my arm. “I’ll be here when you’re done.”
I didn’t move as she lowered herself to the edge of the dock, rolled up her jeans, and removed her sandals. I waited until she dipped her bare legs into the water, as if the salt would lock them in place until my return, and then finally started down the dock. While I hurried toward Simon, I tried to sort out my feelings. Charlotte lived in Boston. Back home I could see her every day if I wanted to, but I hadn’t. And now that she wouldn’t be so accessible, I suddenly wished I’d taken advantage of the opportunity.
For better or worse, those mixed emotions gave way to only one as I neared Simon.
Happiness.
“Hey,” he said.
“Hi.” I stopped two feet away, wanting to hug him, but not sure I should.
“I’m sorry, I hope I didn’t interrupt …?”
“You didn’t,” I said quickly. “But for future reference, please feel free to anytime, anyplace.”
“Noted.” He nodded toward the dock. “Is that Betty?”
I glanced behind me. I couldn’t say it was, because Simon knew Betty and might want to say hello. I was tempted to say she was a friend of my parents’, or even a potential Chowder House hire, because I didn’t want to remind him of everything I wished we could both forget … but I couldn’t do this, either. If Simon and I had any chance of moving forward, we had to do so the right way. And that meant being honest, no matter how uncomfortable it might be.
“It’s Charlotte,” I said, turning back. “She’s on her way to Canada and stopped by to say hello.”
“Oh.” His face tensed for a moment, then relaxed. “I won’t keep you, I promise.… I just wanted to make sure you’d made it here okay.”
My chest warmed. “I did.”
“Anything out of the ordinary?”
“No, not that I could tell.”
“Good.” He stepped toward me, lowered his voice. “There’s something else.”
My eyes fell to his lips, only inches away from mine.
“Would you like to have dinner tonight?”
I looked up. Smiled. “I’d love to.”
“Great. What about Paige?”
I paused. “What about her?”
“Do you think she can come, too? Because, based on last night, these people are obviously willing to take some risks to find out what they want. The more brainpower we have to figure out who they are and why they’re here, the better.”
Three thoughts immediately came to mind. The first was that, based on what I’d overheard at the open house, I had a pretty good idea why trespassers were watching us last night. The second was that I didn’t want Simon to know that, because I didn’t want him to worry. They were probably curious thrill seekers who’d picked up on an Internet rumor and meant no harm, but I knew that was enough to call Simon to action.
The third was that he was already worried. Just like always.
“I’ll ask,” I said.
“Great.” He exhaled, stepped away. “We have to get back to the marina, but how’s seven? Murph’s Grill?”
I nodded. He gave me a small smile before turning and jogging to the car.
As I headed for the dock, I thought about how this wasn’t the way the summer was supposed to go. I knew there was no denying who I was, regardless of how much I often wanted to … but if it continued to be the focus of any time Simon and I spent together, would we ever really be able to move forward? And at the very least, have a normal friendship—or at least the closest thing to normal we could get?
The thought was so upsetting, by the time my feet hit the dock, I could barely feel them. My mouth was dry and my throat burned. When my torso started to sway to one side, I quickened my pace and half-ran, half-stumbled the remaining distance.
At the edge of the dock, I sat down, yanked up my pant legs, and dropped my legs into the harbor. Relief didn’t come fast enough, so I leaned forward and splashed water on my arms and face. It was a solid minute before I felt strong enough to sit upright without instantly falling forward again.
At which point, Charlotte, who was still there as promised, finally spoke. Her voice was soft, serious.
“So, Vanessa … is there anything you need from me?”
“Yes.” I took a deep breath and slowly released it. “I need you to stay a little longer. Please.”
CHAPTER 11
“I’VE BEEN SINGLE two hundred and forty-two days, nine hours, and three minutes,” Paige said.
“And?” I asked.
“And I don’t know if that’s enough time. To heal and be ready to date again.”
I parked the Jeep and turned to her. “First of all, you broke up with Riley, not the other way around, so I’m pretty sure you’ve fully recovered from that heartbreak.”
“That was a lot harder than you’d think. I’d never broken up with anyone before and I didn’t even really want to break up with him. I only did it because I felt like I had to.”
“I understand.” And I did. After Paige transformed into a siren to help stop Raina for good last fall, she’d wanted to become familiar with her new abilities without influencing someone she genuinely cared about, so she’d ended her relationship with Riley, Simon’s friend and roommate at Bates. “But before tonight, you hadn’t so much as mentioned his name in about two hundred and forty days.”
“Maybe that’s because it was too upsetting.”
“Or maybe it was because you were too distracted by the dozens of cute prep-school boys suddenly vying for your attention.”
“Well.” She shrugged. “Warding them off was pretty time consuming.”
“And second of all,” I continued, giving her a quick grin, “this isn’t a date.”
“Right. It’s a double date.”
“It’s a meeting.”
“With food, drinks … and a pretty new outfit I’ve never seen before.”
I glanced down at the turquoise skirt I’d bought on my break that afternoon. “I was just doing my part. To support local business.”
She patted my knee. “How very civic minded of you.”
I looked at her. “Is it too much? Maybe I should run home and change. Because this really isn’t a date and I don’t want Simon to think I’m trying to turn it into one. That’s the last thing I need.”
“Are you kidding? You love this guy. You need to take advantage of every opportunity you have to remind him that he feels the same way about you. Trust me, we could be meeting at a gas station and that”—she motioned to my ruffled tank, my denim jacket, my beaded necklace—“still wouldn’t be too much.”
Her hand was still on my knee; I squeezed it. “Thanks.”
“Anytime. Now let’s go do our part for Winter Harbor’s favorite grease pit.”
As we hopped out of the Jeep and crossed the street, I wondered, not for the first time that day, why Simon had chosen it for our meeting place. If we were going to be talking about things we didn’t want anyone else to hear, wouldn’t somewhere a bit more private, like one of our houses, have made more sense?
The reason didn’t become any clearer as we entered the restaurant. Because it was packed. Every table and bar stool was taken.
“I don’t get it!” Paige declared, over the din of
classic rock, conversation, and laughter. “Do their burgers come with cash instead of fries?”
“Evening!” A heavyset man holding a half-empty beer stein turned away from the pool game he was watching, and toward us. “Buy you ladies a drink?”
“No, thanks!” I hooked one arm through Paige’s and tugged her through the crowd.
“Need a seat?” another guy shouted from the bar. “I’ve got two!”
Paige cringed. “He just patted his legs!”
I pulled harder.
“Wrong way!” a third called out from a group of twenty-somethings gathered around a foosball table. “We’re over here!”
A dozen similar comments fired at us like bullets as we made our way to the back of the restaurant. The guys who were either too drunk or not drunk enough to speak up as we passed gave us slow, appreciative once-overs as they sipped their drinks. Even the ones wearing wedding rings stopped talking to check us out. This kind of attention wasn’t unfamiliar—but receiving so much of it at once was. As I did my best to avoid eye contact, I found myself wishing I’d gone with jeans and a fleece instead of my pretty new outfit.
“Vanessa!”
That voice was familiar. Slowing slightly, I spotted Colin across the crowd. He was sitting in a booth with three girls—the only other girls present besides Paige and me.
“Come join us! We’ll make room!”
As he waved and slid down the bench seat, the crowd shifted, giving me a better view of his company. I’d never seen two of the girls, but I definitely recognized the third.
“Natalie!” Paige called out, tugging my arm. “Let’s say hi!”
As she started to head toward them, my chest tightened slightly. Paige had seemed eager to embrace Natalie’s new friendship, but I wasn’t totally sold yet. Between the strange feeling I got when we’d first met, the salty coffee she’d served, and something else I couldn’t quite put my finger on, I thought it best to be cautious.
That was one reason why I didn’t want to say hi right then. The other was that I didn’t want to keep our company waiting—or have to explain later if Colin seemed even more excited to see me than might be expected. So when Paige tugged harder, I stood my ground. She glanced back at me and I nodded to the pub’s second room.
It was smaller but equally packed. And Simon and Caleb sat at a tiny table in the corner.
Paige gave me a thumb’s-up, then turned toward Natalie and held one hand to her ear like a phone receiver, telling her she’d call later. I waved to Colin as Natalie leaned toward him and spoke by his ear. Something crossed his face, but the crowd pushed us along before I could decide what it was.
“Is that a laptop?” Paige asked, as we neared Simon and Caleb.
Reaching the room, which was a designated eating area and noticeably quieter than the bar section, I saw that it was indeed a laptop. It sat on the table between Simon and Caleb and was surrounded by notebooks, pens, and index cards, like we were meeting at the library.
“My mistake,” she said, near my ear. “A computer does not a date make.”
Maybe not, but that didn’t make me any less happy to see Simon. He stood, pulled out the chair next to his, and waited until I was wedged in the narrow space between it and the table before sitting. Caleb did the same for Paige.
“Thank you.” She smiled. “It’s nice to know some mothers are still teaching their sons manners.”
“I’m so sorry,” Simon said. “We had no idea it’d be this crowded.”
“We had no idea there were even this many people still in town,” Caleb added.
“Which is why no apology’s necessary,” Paige said. “It’s actually nice to see. How have things been at the marina?”
I couldn’t tell whether she intentionally directed this question at Caleb (knowing her, she probably did), but he launched into a lengthy update about his boss, Captain Monty, and the marina’s current state of affairs. Too aware of Simon sitting inches away, I was only half-listening to the exchange, when he leaned even closer and apologized again.
“It’s really okay,” I assured. “But why didn’t we meet at one of our houses?”
“I thought it’d be best to avoid the parents. My mom would’ve been so happy to see you, she wouldn’t have let you leave the kitchen without sharing a pot of tea with her first. And I wasn’t sure, but I thought your parents might’ve been just as happy to see Caleb and me.”
“Absolutely. And even if we managed to somehow escape the endless questions about school and family, they would’ve found a million reasons to interrupt us—hot chocolate, snacks, more hot chocolate.” Feeling strangely shy, I gave him a small smile. “You made the right call.”
His lips turned up as his eyes lowered briefly to my necklace, then raised back to mine. “You look really nice, by the way.”
My cheeks warmed. “Thanks. So do you.”
I’d decided to try not to overanalyze every word and gesture in hopes of figuring out what Simon was really thinking and feeling, but I couldn’t help noticing that he’d shaved off his scruff and gotten a haircut. And that he wore khakis instead of jeans and a brown cotton sweater instead of his usual T-shirt. Unlike our impromptu visit at the lake house, he’d known about this one in advance … so maybe he’d put extra effort into his appearance? The way I had for him?
“Hi, there.” A waitress stood behind us. “What can I get you?”
I picked up the menu as Paige elbowed me in the side. When I looked at her, her chin lifted toward the server. I didn’t know what she wanted me to see—that the waitress wore a mask of makeup? And a shirt so tight, it rose up her abdomen? Or that even though she seemed to be the only employee assigned to the back room, she was completely at ease, like she’d been there a million times before?
“Carla,” Paige hissed, after we’d ordered.
“Who?” I asked.
“The newbie waitress I hired, who quit after Louis made her cry.” The words flew from Paige’s mouth. “That was her.”
“No way.” I swiveled in my seat for another look. Carla couldn’t have been older than eighteen, and this waitress was definitely in her mid to late twenties.
“I’m sure of it. She’s wearing a silver bangle bracelet engraved with her initials and flowers, the same one Carla wore every day when she worked at Betty’s.” Paige shook her head. “Did you see how she took our order without writing it down? That’s the mark of a seasoned professional, yet a few weeks ago, she couldn’t hold a pencil and pad at the same time without dropping one of them.”
“You taught her well.”
“I’m good,” Paige said, “but I’m no miracle worker.”
Carla disappeared into the crowd in the other room. I turned back to find Simon’s laptop open and facing Paige and me.
“My digital-camera cord was compatible with the camera you guys found,” Caleb said. “We downloaded the pictures to see if we were missing anything.”
He clicked slowly through the shots, each of which took up the entire computer screen. I searched for clues as to whom the camera belonged, but the bigger images didn’t reveal anything the smaller ones on the camera screen hadn’t.
“They still look like ordinary tourist shots to me,” I said.
“Me, too,” Simon said, with a sigh.
“Not quite,” Paige said.
We looked at her, then back at the screen.
“What do you mean?” Simon asked.
She pointed to the track pad. “May I?”
He slid the computer across the table. She scrolled back to the beginning of the slide show.
“A few of these could pass as tourist pictures—the lighthouse, the wide shot of the ocean, even the rickety dock jutting out into the harbor. But if this camera really belonged to a random visitor, it’d also have pictures of the sailboat-shaped WELCOME TO WINTER HARBOR sign, the ten-foot-tall inflated lobster waving outside Harbor Sports Rentals, the bronze fishing captain at the end of the wharf. I’ve spent enough time talking to
tourists at Betty’s to know what they’re always most excited to see.”
“That lobster does get a lot of attention,” Caleb admitted.
“Plus, where are all the people?” Paige asked. “Tourists love taking pictures of whoever they’re traveling with. Mostly so they can laugh at each other when they relive the memories later on.”
I thought of the old, fat photo albums lining one of the glass shelves in the beach-house living room. My family and I hadn’t been tourists in a long time, and we still had countless pictures of one another standing and smiling by the exact spots Paige had just listed.
“But this is what really makes me think something else is up.” She stopped on an image of boulder. “It’s a gigantic rock. On the beach. A lifelong landlubber might want to document such a sight, but if he did, he’d try to get as much of it as possible so everyone back home could see how big it really was. A nature photographer might be into it, too, but he’d probably balance it better against the surroundings. This shot’s of the top of the rock with a sliver of sand and water behind it. What’s the point?”
She was right. And the boulder was the first of several similar shots. Some were of smaller, rounded rocks, like the kind that blanket the local shoreline. Others were of granite slabs. Still others were of red and gray pebbles that could’ve filled a driveway. And then there were the other close-ups, of logs and driftwood and beach grass.
“Wait.” I put one hand on Paige’s to keep her from clicking forward. “That looks familiar.”
“Really?” she asked, studying the image. “It looks like more random cropped rocks to me.”
I pulled the computer close, squinted. “I think I’ve been there.” I glanced at Paige. “That doesn’t look like anywhere you’ve visited before?”
“It looks like everywhere I’ve visited. That’s the problem.”
I shifted the computer so Simon and Caleb had a better view. “What do you think?”
Caleb shook his head. “I’m with Paige.”
I watched Simon examine the image, hoping for a flash of recognition to cross his face. It didn’t, but something else did: a mixture of excitement and seriousness. I’d seen the look before, like last summer, when, with the help of an old science teacher, he’d figured out how to freeze Winter Harbor for the very first time. Seeing it now made me hopeful—and nervous.
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