“She’s fine,” Nate assured Riley. “I stopped by to check up on her. She was helping Annie decorate cookies for the full-moon party. She got a ninety-six on her geography test, and she wanted to know if Kristin can spend the night tonight.”
“You still haven’t told me where you’re taking me,” Riley said. “Bluff Road? We’re going to Shutters? Mama wanted me to take some pictures of the progress on the porch repairs.”
“Maybe later,” Nate said. He drove past the drive to her family’s home, and in another quarter mile, turned down a similar driveway.
The house was the same vintage as Shutters, 1920s, and it was cedar shingle, with wide porches and a spacious green lawn with spreading oaks, but it was not nearly as big or grand as the other house. A FOR SALE sign was stuck in the grass, near a live oak with a rope-hung swinging bench.
Riley got out of the cart and walked up to the sign. “You’re thinking of buying it? I’ve always loved this house. In fact, I tried to talk Wendell into buying it years ago. He thought it was old and ugly, with drafty windows, and he really hated the fact that there was only one shower in the whole house. Not exactly the statement he thought appropriate for the president of Belle Isle Enterprises.”
Nate reached into his pocket and pulled out what looked like a bumper sticker. He peeled off the backing and slapped it on the sign. SOLD.
“I happen to think this house makes the perfect statement for the president of Belle Isle Enterprises,” he said.
“You bought this? You bought me a house?” Riley stared at him in disbelief.
“I was thinking it could be a wedding gift,” Nate said. “You know, like this coming May.”
He reached into his other pocket and held out a blue velvet ring box. She opened the box and sighed. It was a slender white-gold band with a circlet of sparkling diamond stones. There was no beginning to this circle, and no end. No giant solitaires; no engraved, empty promises. It was perfect. She slid it on the naked ring finger of her left hand and held it out for him to admire. Nate took the hand she offered and kissed it.
“So? What do you think?”
“I think we might need to move up the date a little,” she admitted. “I don’t know if I can wait until May.”
ALSO BY MARY KAY ANDREWS
Beach Town
Save the Date
Christmas Bliss
Ladies’ Night
Spring Fever
Summer Rental
The Fixer Upper
Deep Dish
Savannah Breeze
Blue Christmas
Hissy Fit
Little Bitty Lies
Savannah Blues
About the Author
MARY KAY ANDREWS is the New York Times bestselling author of Beach Town, Save the Date, Ladies’ Night, Christmas Bliss, Spring Fever, Summer Rental, The Fixer Upper, Deep Dish, Blue Christmas, Savannah Breeze, Hissy Fit, Little Bitty Lies, and Savannah Blues. A former journalist for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, she lives in Atlanta, Georgia. Visit www.marykayandrews.com. Or sign up for email updates here.
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Contents
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Chapter 59
Chapter 60
Chapter 61
Chapter 62
Chapter 63
Chapter 64
Chapter 65
Chapter 66
Epilogue
Also by Mary Kay Andrews
About the Author
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
THE WEEKENDERS. Copyright © 2016 by Whodunnit, Inc. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
Cover design by Michael Storrings
Photo-illustration © James Iacobelli
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The Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.
ISBN 978-1-250-06594-0 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-1-250-10972-9 (Canadian edition)
ISBN 978-1-250-10706-0 (signed edition)
ISBN 978-1-4668-7292-9 (e-book)
e-ISBN 9781466872929
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First Edition: May 2016