“So, what do you think about the barbecue?”
Taylor thought she was going to need a long walk on the beach when she got home from work because she was eating every last bite of her sandwich.
“It’s amazing. And a little dangerous that it’s so close to the office.”
Blake laughed. “It is. But, I almost never take a full lunch hour. I usually eat at my desk. But, you are certainly welcome to go to lunch every day if you like.”
Taylor smiled. “I’d love to, but I couldn’t eat like this every day.”
“It’s a great after work spot for drinks too. We all do that now and then. So, you know all about me. Tell me more about you. What brought you to Nantucket?”
“Well, as you know, I started out in advertising and it was a good opportunity. I learned that I want a career in journalism. But I wanted to do more and ideally work at a paper. My mother was pushing me to be a proper Southern girl, join the Junior League and find a husband and ideally get a job in real estate like her. But, I’m not my mother.”
“I don’t see you in real estate,” Blake agreed.
Taylor laughed. “Not at all. That was the only thing my mother liked about me moving to Nantucket. It’s apparently a great market for real estate sales and she encouraged me to join a local office here.”
“Well, she is right about that. There’s a lot of money on Nantucket. The homes are wildly expensive.” He took his last bite of his sandwich and grinned. “So, I take it there are no serious husband candidates either?”
“No. I’m very single. Finding a husband is the last thing on my mind. Nantucket seems more laid back than Charleston when it comes to that. It’s one of the things I really liked about it when I visited Abby, my college roommate, a few times.”
“That’s right, you’re good friends with Abby and her husband, Jeff. I play hockey in a men’s league with him in the winter.”
“When she told me about the opening at the paper, it seemed almost too good to be true. I applied immediately, but I was worried that I didn’t have enough actual reporting experience. So, I’m really grateful for the opportunity.”
He smiled. “Well, compared to Victoria, you don’t have as much experience, no. But that’s okay. I needed to hire for two roles and it made sense to me to hire two people with different levels of experience. You can learn from her and from Joe. And because you are more junior, you’ll handle some of the assignments that neither of them will want to do,” he admitted.
She laughed at that. “I’ll handle whatever you need. It’s all new to me, well, other than obituaries and birth announcements.” She hoped that those wouldn’t come her way though.
“I like your attitude. And don’t worry, you won’t get stuck doing those. We have a part-timer that works one day a week for a few hours. Nantucket is a much smaller place and we don’t have the volume that a big city would.”
Taylor smiled. “Well, I’ll admit that I’m happy to hear that. But, if you ever got stuck, I could do it.”
“I appreciate that.” Blake put down the company credit card when the waiter brought the bill.
“Thank you for lunch. This was really wonderful.”
Chapter 9
Marley went home, walked along the beach in front of her house for about a half hour, then took a long soak in her oversized tub. She stayed there until the water grew cold, then reluctantly got out, dried off and dressed in her favorite old jeans and soft sweatshirt that she’d bought her first week on Nantucket at her client, Izzy’s shop. It was such a touristy sweatshirt with big letters that said Nantucket on it and was a unique pinkish red shade known as Nantucket Red. She’d loved it at first sight.
She settled in her kitchen with her laptop and did a little work, checking emails mostly, before it was time to call the order in. She did know what Frank’s favorites were, so she ordered a bunch of things they both liked.
He arrived a few minutes early, which was the norm for him. She opened the door and he handed her a big paper bag of food.
“It was ready when I got there and there’s no traffic on Nantucket. Took no time to get here.”
“Thanks. Let’s go in the kitchen.” She set the bag on the island and was about to put all the containers out so they could help themselves.
“Can you give me a tour first? I’d love to see the rest of your place.”
“Sure.” Marley walked him around her house, which she had loved at first sight. It was right on the ocean and was relatively small in comparison to all the McMansions on the island. It had three bedrooms, a small office, a cozy family room, lots of floor-to-ceiling windows with incredible ocean views and an oversized farmer’s porch that wrapped around the whole house.
“This is really something,” Frank said as she led him into her office. It wasn’t very big, but the view was amazing. “How do you get any work done? I’d be distracted by that view.”
Marley smiled. “You get used to it. I find it really relaxing.”
They made their way back to the kitchen, and she set about opening the various containers and getting some plates and utensils out.
“Start helping yourself. What would you like to drink? I have beer and wine.”
“No scotch?”
“Beer and wine,” she repeated.
“I’ll take a beer then.”
She got it for him, poured herself a glass of chardonnay and joined him at the island. They chatted easily as they ate, mostly comparing notes about the conference. Once they finished eating though and Marley put all the food away, Frank got more serious.
“I really do want to try again and make this work with you. We were so good, for so long. Don’t you want to see if we can get the magic back?” He looked so sincere that for two seconds Marley actually wavered before realizing it was just his usual charm. It wasn’t real.
“Frank. What’s really going on with you? Nothing has really changed with us. We fell out of love a long time ago.”
He sighed. “I was afraid you’d say that. You’re sure? We have so much in common. You could come back to San Francisco, join the company again.”
She shook her head sadly. “Thank you, but no. I don’t want to do any of that. Nantucket is my home now, and I like what I’m doing. I loved working with you and helping to build the business, but I’ve really moved on.” She reached out and put her hand on his arm. “What’s really going on?”
He was quiet for a long moment. “Tina left me for a twenty-five-year-old guitar player that makes tens of millions in some band. I can’t compete with that. I feel old.”
Marley bit her tongue. Agreeing that he was old wasn’t going to help the situation. She chose her words carefully.
“I’m sorry that didn’t work out for you. I’m sure it was fun for a while. Have you considered looking for someone closer to your own age? With more common interests?”
He took a sip of his beer. “Well, yes. That’s why I’m here.”
“And you don’t want to be alone.” She suspected that was really at the heart of it.
“Who does?”