Juliet put her hands on Ryder’s face, lightly, and it was like making a discovery, like opening a door, or feeling warmth after cold, or seeing a new planet. “I’d like that, too.”
Ryder gathered her close to him and kissed her deeply. They remained in each other’s arms, breathing, learning this new sensation.
Juliet broke away. “You’d better take me home. I want to get back to work on the website.”
Ryder grinned down at her. “You are perfect.”
“Just wait until you see what I can do,” Juliet told him.
twenty-one
Summer was officially here, with its heat and tourists and climbing dawn roses and convertibles bouncing over the cobblestones. Lisa lingered in bed for a moment, watching the play of sunlight through her curtains. She smiled, thinking of Mack. This summer was unlike any other.
Finally she rose, showered, and dressed. Theo was undoubtedly sleeping, and Juliet was either sleeping or tapping away as if possessed on the website she was building for Ocean Matters. Lisa wondered whether Juliet was working so hard to impress Ryder, who was away for a few days, but decided that for Juliet, working was her favorite kind of playing.
She left the house before Tom and Dave came, carrying her coffee as she hurried to her shop. She had two hours before she opened, but Gretchen, her summer help, had arrived last night and Lisa wanted some quiet time to discuss Gretchen’s winter and organize themselves for the season.
She unlocked her front door and entered her shop. Everything looked tidy, enticing. She’d discovered a new fragrance by TokyoMilk called “Honey & the Moon,” which had an original scent, spicy, not sweet, and she sprayed it around the shop lightly. It woke up her senses, and her customers noticed it, too. Later, when the shop opened, she’d play upbeat music, the kind that put people in a good mood, but for now, she wanted silence.
Someone tapped on the front door. Lisa went to open it and welcome Gretchen back. Gretchen was twenty-two, free-spirited, and energetic. She ran and did lots of yoga and she believed in living in the now. Gretchen hugged Lisa and immediately scanned the clothes on the racks.
“So!” Gretchen said. “What’s going to be our big seller this summer?”
Lisa smiled. “You are a breath of fresh air!”
They set to work, unpacking new merchandise, arranging the jewelry in its glass case.
Lisa’s phone buzzed. Mack. “I have to take this,” she told Gretchen and went into the bathroom for privacy.
“Could you come home for lunch?” Mack asked. “Because we’re working here and I’ve got something I want to talk to you about. We can sit out in the sun for a while.”
“What do you want to talk about?” Lisa asked.
“I’d rather not say now,” Mack answered.
“Oooh, a mystery,” Lisa said.
“It’s not that big a deal, it’s just…I need your judgment on this.”
“I’ll be there at one,” Lisa told him, and clicked off. She felt unsettled and oddly annoyed. She had to brace herself emotionally. If Mack wanted to break off with her, it would be kinder to do it now, before it got serious, although Lisa had been serious from the moment she and Mack kissed.
It was fortunate that the shop was busy that morning. Lisa kept her attention back to the store, the clothes, the jewelry, the easy chatter about summer. At a quarter to one, Lisa left the shop to Gretchen’s experienced care and walked home. Her heart was racing, and not because she was walking fast. She lifted her chin, preparing herself for a blow.
The house was quiet. Mack’s truck was gone, and Tom and Dave with it. Theo and Juliet didn’t seem to be around, although knowing Theo, he was still in bed, asleep.
“Hey.” Mack was in paint-stained canvas pants and a white tee, and the cotton of his shirt was stuck to his back with sweat. Lisa’s senses went bananas at the sight, at Mack, his big hands wiping a tool before setting it in his toolbox.
“Hey,” Lisa replied with a forced smile.
“I picked up sandwiches at Fast Forward. Want a beer?”
“Um, no, I think I’ll just get some ice water.”
They took a tray of food out to Lisa’s backyard. At the end of the garden, she had, over many years, trained a wisteria plant to grow over a wooden gazebo so that the long lavender clusters of flowers formed a shady canopy. A small table and two chairs sat waiting. Lisa and Mack settled themselves, and Lisa kept her hands in her lap, not touching her food, signaling to Mack she wanted the announcement now.
“So here’s my question,” Mack said. “What would you think if I asked Theo to work for me?”
“Theo?” It was taking a moment for Lisa’s nerves to unscramble.
“Yes. He’s damned strong, not surprising given how athletic he was in high school. He’s adept with his hands. He’s easygoing, pleasant to work with. The guys like him. And to tell the truth, now that summer’s here, the work’s piling up on me.” Mack held up his hand. “Your house comes first, of course. Tom and Dave are the best men I’ve got and we’ll stay here till the work is finished. But it would go faster if Theo joined us.”
“But, he doesn’t know how to do anything,” Lisa said.
“Maybe not, but he’s a fast learner. Plus, he could do a lot of the pickup and delivery service, driving out to the lumberyard, that sort of thing. It would be a great time saver for me.”
“Does he want to work for you?”
“I think he does. He’s been hanging around, helping Dave and Tom with basic stuff. I didn’t want to ask him without talking to you first.”
“Well, then, of course. I mean, why would I have any objection? Plus, he is an adult. I’m not in charge of him anymore.”
“I wasn’t thinking about him. I was thinking about you. You and me.”
“Oh, right. Was Beth upset the other night when she came home?”
“Not upset. Curious. We talked about it, and I told her you and I are friends.”
Lisa looked at Mack. His tanned arms bulged with muscles, and his nose was turning red from the sun. His hair, darkened by the winter, was developing white blond streaks, and his eyes were sea-green, clear and bright. She wanted to crawl over the table and sit in his lap and kiss him.
“Friends,” she said softly.
“I want more than that, I think that’s obvious. But it’s complicated, with all our children cluttering up our lives.”
Lisa laughed. “I should have called you about the ceiling when all three were living off-island.”