Nantucket Romance 3-in-1 Bundle (47 page)

Not that Lucas was hard to be affectionate with; he’d played along beautifully. But she was tired of being on display. By the time the fireworks ended, she was ready to hole up at the house where she didn’t have to pretend.

As Kate finished putting away the picnic supplies, the shower went off. Good. She could use a rinsing herself. Though the weather had cooled after dusk, the sun had been hot and bright overhead all day. Besides, she wanted to wash the sand out of her hair.

Kate gathered her things from the bedroom and headed for the bathroom, her mind on her plans for the next day. When Lucas rounded the corner, she nearly smacked into his bare chest. He wore a blue towel that barely closed around his waist.

Kate stepped aside, averting her eyes. “Do you mind?” She pulled her own bundle of clothing into her chest as she passed.

“Nope.” His tone was uncharacteristically sharp.

Kate stopped, ready to return and ask him what was wrong. But when she heard the unmistakable whoosh of the towel dropping to the rug, she darted into the bathroom and shut the door behind her.

Every relationship you try on won’t fit.
Don’t try to squeeze into it. Put it back
on the rack and look for a better fit.

—Excerpt from
Finding Mr. Right-for-You
by Dr. Kate

Chapter Eleven

Lucas watched his mom and Kate cut across the beach, their bare feet kicking up sand, their evening shadows stretching behind them. He hoped his mom behaved herself.

The warm breeze ruffled the corners of the newspaper in his lap as he thought over the past two weeks. He’d enjoyed having Kate around, grown
used to it. It felt good seeing evidence of her presence
in his house. Her robe on a hook behind the door. Her toiletries a neat row in the medicine cabinet. Her shoes lined up by color inside the closet. He didn’t see the point in that one, but whatever.

There’d been a learning curve too. Earlier that week, she’d exited the bathroom, a look of strained patience lining her lips. “I appreciate that you shaved, but would you mind rinsing out the sink since we only have the one?”

He shrugged. “Sure.”

She hadn’t mentioned the wet towels until the third morning and by then they were a knee-high blue pile in the corner.

What was it with Kate and order? It was like a god she worshipped. Why did everything have to be perfect?

Lucas opened the
Mirror
and shook his head. It did tickle him to watch confusion shadow her face when he cooked. He’d thought everyone dumped the whole package of bacon into the frying pan until he’d seen the way she’d done it, one tedious strip at a time, all neat and tidy.

The woman kept a record of her workouts, for crying out loud. He’d looked at the clipboard one day after she’d exercised, made notes, and disappeared into the shower. She marked the miles, the speed, the incline, and the time she’d walked, down to the minute.

But as much as her librarian ways amused him, he wondered what had her so tightly wound. She lived as if life could be boiled down to one big list. As if by keeping everything in order, somehow she could control things.

You’d think she’d have learned by now that some things were beyond control. If Lucas hadn’t known that before Emily’s death, he knew it now.

“Hey, Luc.” Jamie stepped onto the covered deck and sat in the Adirondack chair beside him. Her lanky legs, already summer brown, extended from a frayed pair of denim shorts.

“Hey, sis. How’s summer going?” He gave up on the paper, folding it and dropping it onto the deck.

“Okay, I guess.” Jamie twirled a purple flower in her fingers. “Mom and Kate went for a walk?”

He closed his eyes and let his weight sag into the chair. “Yep.”

“The gazebo looks good there,” Jamie said.

Ethan had helped Lucas move the piece to his backyard over-looking the beach. It was as though it had been built for the spot.

For a while they sat in silence, listening to the sound of the water licking the shoreline. Lucas wondered what Kate was saying to his mom. More important, he wondered what his mom was saying to Kate. What if Kate figured out his parents were fine? He felt bad she was spending so much time on a fictional problem, but he’d had to use some excuse. He could hardly have told her the real reason he’d married her.

“How do you know when you’re in love?” Jamie’s voice cut through his thoughts.

Lucas looked at his sister, only fourteen, still in braces, and wanted to tell her she shouldn’t be thinking about love at her age. But he’d been fourteen once, although it seemed a lifetime ago. Emotions had felt bigger than life then.

“Who is he?”

Jamie wrapped the flower’s threadlike stem around her index finger. “His name is Aaron Brinkley, and he goes to my school. I’ve liked him forever, but he was going out with a girl named Liz.” She rolled her eyes.

“Don’t like her much?”

“She’s a snot. I don’t know what he saw in her. But he’s been at the beach all week, and Meredith said he broke up with Liz. He asked me to play volleyball today.”

Lucas propped his ankle on his knee and clasped his hands on his stomach. “Did you?”

Jamie flicked sand off her shorts. “Yeah, but I beat him.”

Lucas laughed. Jamie was a starter on her team and the best player, if he did say so.

Jamie slugged his arm, and the flower went flying. “It’s not funny. I think he’s mad at me.”

Lucas stifled the laugh. “What makes you say that?”

“He didn’t talk to me after that.” She wrinkled her little nose.

“Were his friends around?”

Jamie’s face fell. “I should have let him win.” She crossed her arms and chewed on her lip.

“He’ll get over it. Trust me.”

“What do I say when I see him tomorrow? I really like him.”

“
You’re
worried about finding something to say?”

She shrugged. “I get tongue-tied with him. I’m afraid I’ll say something dumb.”

“Be yourself. If he likes you, he’ll like you for who you are.”

She rolled her eyes. “You sound like Mom.”

Maybe he wasn’t helping. But given his own love life, he wasn’t sure he was qualified to give advice. “What are his interests? People like to talk about themselves. Especially teenage boys.”

Her face brightened. “He likes the Red Sox, and I know he’s into sailing, so we can talk about that. What else?”

“What do you mean?”

“Duh. I mean, do you have any other advice?”

If only he could condense everything he’d learned about relationships and pass it like a baton. Unfortunately, life didn’t work that way. “Just don’t be afraid to let him know you like him. He asked you to play volleyball, so it sounds like he’s interested. Guys have a lot of pressure to initiate things. It’ll make it easier if he knows he’s not going to get rejected.”

“You think he’s nervous too?”

Lucas clasped his hands behind his head. “Trust me, the nerves go both ways.”

Jamie was gone by the time Kate returned. The back door fell closed with a smack, and she cornered him in the living room.

“
What
is the deal with your mom?” Her damp bangs clung to her forehead, and her ponytail swung like a pendulum.

Lucas folded the paper again and set it on the table. “What do you mean?”

“I mean she can’t talk to me for two minutes without getting in a dig. There’s all this subtext going on, and I think it’s more than that she missed our wedding. You want to fill me in?”

It was only fair. He should have already. “It’s not you. There’s some history you don’t know about.” Maybe her mom had told her the story, and she didn’t realize who Susan was. “Your mom was my mom’s best friend years ago. They went to high school together. Did your mom ever talk about that?”

Kate shook her head. “What happened?”

It was all ancient history, but to his mom it was the unpardonable sin. A woman scorned, and all that, he supposed. “When my mom and dad were engaged, your mom was supposed to be her maid of honor, only—” How to put it delicately?

“What?”

He sighed. “I guess your mom had a thing for my dad. Something happened the week before the wedding. I don’t know the details, but your mom slept with my dad. My mom cut her out of the wedding and refused to talk to her again.”

Kate’s eyes widened slowly, her jaw following suit. Then she pressed her lips together and jabbed her hands onto her hips. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I didn’t think it mattered.”

“It matters to your mom.” Kate walked to the window and turned. “How
am I supposed to help your parents when your mom hates
me?”

“She doesn’t hate you. She doesn’t even know you.”

“She’ll never trust me now.”

He supposed Kate was right, but he’d been hoping his mom would come around. It wasn’t Kate’s fault, and it had been more than thirty years ago. “I’m sorry. I should have told you, but I was hoping she’d get to know you and realize you’re not to blame.”

That seemed to quench the fire in her eyes. “She probably thinks I’m just like my mom. Not only am I guilty by association, she’s probably worried I’ll betray you just like my mom did her. She’s worried I’ll hurt her son.”

Funny, he was worried about the same thing. But he hadn’t considered his mom might be worried for him. “Being a therapist must come in handy.”

Kate gave him a wry smile. “I have a feeling I’m going to need all the expertise I can get.”

Two days later, Lucas was remembering his conversation with Kate when a knock sounded on his shop door.

Ethan, his friend and his best salesperson, opened the door. Lucas turned off the sander.

“There’s a lady here who’s interested in a few custom pieces.” Ethan pushed up his wire glasses with his middle finger.

Lucas set the sander on the plywood table. “Be right there.”

He removed his goggles and brushed the sawdust from his skin and clothing before entering the showroom. He found Ethan and the customer by his collection of Shaker-style bedroom furniture. The woman had auburn hair that fell in waves past bare, slender shoulders.

“Miss Delaney, this is the owner, Lucas Wright. Lucas, this is Sydney Delaney. She recently purchased a home on Madaket Harbor.”

Lucas shook her hand. “Pleased to meet you. That’s a nice area.”

Though she was tall enough to intimidate most men, her movements were fluid. “I love your work.” Her fingers caressed the footboard of a queen-sized sleigh bed made of maple and finished with a caramel stain.

“Thanks. Ethan said you’re interested in some custom work.”

Another couple entered the store, and Ethan excused himself.

“I love the Shaker style. It’s simple but elegant.”

It was Lucas’s favorite as well. There was something about the old-fashioned simplicity of the lines that drew attention to the beauty of the wood.

“I see a lot of things I like.” Sydney gave Lucas a coy look. “But I have some specific pieces in mind for the living room that would need to be custom-made.”

“I’d be happy to come and take a look at the space. You could show me what you have in mind.”

She cocked her head and smiled slowly.

Lucas realized she’d read too much into his words. He crossed his arms, making sure his left hand showed. “I’ll need to take measurements; then I can give you an estimate, and we’ll go from there. How does tomorrow at ten a.m. sound?”