A Nantucket Affair (Nantucket Beach Plum Cove #4)
Pamela M. Kelley
Chapter 1
“What do you think? I’m not sure if I like this or the other recipe better?” Lisa took another bite of the artichoke and spinach quiche. It was a new recipe, and it was delicious.
“I like it. Maybe a little more than your other, although that’s really good, too. Sorry, I’m no help.” Her best friend, Sue, laughed and helped herself to another small slice. It was early, just a quarter past eight, on Friday, and she and Sue were heading off-island to do some shopping. Sue was taking a rare day off, and they were planning to have lunch in Hyannis and maybe see a movie before hitting Trader Joe’s and then taking the late afternoon Fast Ferry back to Nantucket.
“This is good, but I think I actually like your other recipe a little better. Something is different about this one. A missing spice, maybe?” Angela said. She always shared breakfast with Lisa before heading upstairs to clean the guest rooms. Angela hadn’t been on the island long, less than six months, but she’d quickly become like a member of the family. Angela’s life had changed so much since she left San Francisco and moved to Nantucket when her grandmother, whom she had never known, left her a cottage on Nantucket. Angela’s original plan had been to make a few repairs, sell the house and move back to San Francisco.
But then she met the Hodges family, and through them, Philippe Gaston. Now, the two were practically engaged and Angela decided to stay on Nantucket—which Lisa was very glad about. She enjoyed Angela’s company, and it was a godsend having her do the cleaning. Lisa still did it on Angela’s days off, but it was a huge help to have someone else do it most of the time. Her knees and back protested when she did it more often.
And fortunately, her home, now also known as the Beach Plum Cove Inn, had a steady business going. With the help of her son, Chase, she’d turned the five upstairs bedrooms into guest rooms and served breakfast each morning in the dining room for those who wanted it. She always had a selection of juices, coffee, breads, pastries, cereal, fresh fruit and usually one hot item, like a quiche.
Usually, her fiancé, Rhett, was the first one to breakfast, but he was away for a few days visiting his daughter and his other restaurants. They’d met when Lisa first started the bed-and-breakfast, and Rhett was her first guest. He liked to joke that he came and never left. But it was true. He came to open a restaurant in Beach Plum Cove, their area of Nantucket. And he and Lisa were both surprised to find themselves drawn to each other as neither was really looking. Rhett proposed at Thanksgiving, moved out of his guest room and into the main house with Lisa.
“So, it sounds like you two have a fun day planned,” Angela said.
Lisa smiled. “We do. It’s been ages since we’ve done this. Sue’s business is booming, so we’ve had to reschedule a few times.”
“It has been crazy, but in a good way. Brandi is working out so well.”
“Brandi is the pretty blonde girl you pointed out a while back?” Lisa hadn’t actually met her, but thought she remembered Sue mentioning when they were out to dinner a few months ago that a woman sitting at the bar with an older man worked for her.
Sue nodded. “Yes, she’s a gorgeous girl. Long blonde hair, a figure I’d kill for and big blue eyes. Though she’s in her early thirties and we all looked much hotter then.” She laughed and patted her stomach which, like Lisa’s, had grown a bit soft over the years.
“She’s done a great job, though. She just landed a huge client. You know the Lawson family? Cory Lawson runs Lawson Financial Group, a hugely successful hedge fund. They are insanely rich, and Brandi closed him and now we are handling all their insurance needs. And the policy for his business is one of the largest we’ve ever written.”
“That’s incredible.” Lisa was happy for her friend. Sue and her husband Curt had started their insurance firm when they were first married. Curt handled sales while Sue did all the back end operations of running the firm. They had a bustling office right on Main Street with about a half-dozen people working for them, but Sue mostly worked from home. In addition to the insurance firm, she also ran a related online business, a new venture that she was having a lot of fun with, and it was easier for her to focus at home. When Lisa had once asked if she missed working in the office, Sue had said that she got so much more done at home without people constantly interrupting her.
“I know them. I just started cleaning for the Lawsons a few weeks ago. Mandy is really nice. I haven’t met her husband Cory yet, though. She said he’s a workaholic and is never home.”
“Kate and Kristen graduated with them. I think they were high school sweethearts and married young, right after college. They’ve done well for themselves. Chase mentioned that he is going to be doing a kitchen remodeling project for them soon. He said their house is stunning.” Lisa’s son, Chase, was a successful contractor.
“They bought that house a few years ago. I remember when it went on the market and one of the girls in the office brought in a real estate brochure. It looked like something out of the Great Gatsby, with French doors that opened out to a sunroom that was practically hanging over the ocean. Just gorgeous.”
“They are so young to be so rich. I wonder if they’re happy?” Angela said.
Sue chuckled. “How could they not be with that much money?”