A Nantucket Affair (Nantucket Beach Plum Cove #4)(3)

“He just stopped eating anything white. Skips breakfast. Doesn’t eat lunch and is now terrified of carbs, apparently. But it’s working for him.”

“Ugh. That doesn’t sound like fun. I’d miss carbs.”

Sue laughed. “I know. I would, too. It’s fine. I don’t really hate him, of course.”

“I know you don’t. And you got some delicious stuff at Trader Joe’s.”

“I did. I’m looking forward to putting on my sweats, maybe having another glass of wine and diving into the jalapeno and cilantro hummus we just bought.”

“That sounds good to me, too.”





Chapter 2





It was nearly nine by the time Curt finally got home. Sue was in her pajamas by then, and curled up on the sofa watching the movie Jerry Maguire for the third time while polishing off a pint of Ben and Gerry’s Cherry Garcia. She raised her eyebrows at Curt when he walked in the room.

“Well, hello there. Dinner was fun?”

Curt flopped on the love seat adjacent to the sofa that she was lying on.

“It was a good time. I didn’t realize it was so late. You don’t care, right? I figured you’d be tired after shopping all day.”

Sue sighed. “No, it’s fine. Lisa and I had a big lunch today. We had fun. Who all went to dinner?”

Curt grinned. “The usual suspects. Bill and Tom, Mary and Brandi.” Bill and Tom were the other agents in the office. They were in their forties, both married with children. Mary was the receptionist, and Sue was surprised that she went out with them. She usually rushed home to get dinner on the table for her husband. Brandi didn’t surprise her. She was always up to go out. Sue wondered how she liked Nantucket, and if there was enough here to keep her around more than a year or two. She supposed it depended on if she met someone that she could be serious with. She imagined that Brandi probably wanted to marry and have kids and her window of opportunity for that was narrowing, as she was already in her mid-thirties.

“I’m surprised Mary went out.”

“I was, too. Her husband is out of town.”

“Ah, that explains it. Where did you go?”

“Brandi wanted tacos. So we went to Millie’s and practically closed the upstairs bar. It was a good time.”

Sue loved Millie’s. They had the best Mexican food on the island and it was California style, so more authentic and a bit lighter, with really fresh ingredients.

“I’m glad you had fun.” A thought occurred to her. “What did you eat? Mexican isn’t very diet friendly.”

Curt laughed. “You’re right. It was hard not sharing the nachos that they ordered for the table. I just had a piece of fish and some veggies. It was fine.”

Sue shook her head. “I don’t know how you do it. I couldn’t have resisted.”

Curt patted his stomach proudly. “Down twenty-two pounds as of this morning. Eight more to go. I’m fitting in pants now that I haven’t worn in years.”

“Congrats.” The weight loss was definitely noticeable. Curt looked leaner and toned, too. She frowned as she took a good look at his slightly brown face.

“Have you been tanning?” The gym that they belonged to had a tanning bed, but neither one of them had used it before. As far as she knew.

Curt looked a little embarrassed. “Yeah, I checked it out the past few times I was in the gym. Figured why not try it out? I read somewhere that you look thinner with a tan.”

Sue shook her head. “I didn’t realize you’d been hitting the gym that often.”

“Yeah, I started back up again about a month ago, after I lost my first ten pounds. I suddenly had more energy and wanted to get back in the routine of going.”

Sue wondered when he was fitting it in, and realized he probably went at lunch, instead of eating. Since she was rarely in the office, she’d had no idea.

“That’s good. I should probably get back there one of these days myself.” They had a family membership and Sue cringed whenever she’d get the occasional email from the gym, saying how much they missed her and inviting her to come in soon for a workout or a smoothie. She felt guilty for not going, but still didn’t get in there. And it was irritating to think that now Curt was regularly working out again.

“I don’t think that tanning beds are all that good for you.”

Curt grinned. “Everything in moderation, right?”

“Right. Well, I’m off to bed. Are you coming?”

He hesitated. “No, I’m going to stay up a bit. I’m not really tired yet. I’ll see you in the morning.”





Chapter 3





“All right, I’m ready to hit the road. I’m meeting the guys at the McCarthy project this morning and I’ll be in Siasconset at the Jones’s new construction this afternoon. Anything else you have lined up for me?” Chase Hodges sipped from an aluminum thermos of coffee as he waited for Beth, his office manager and girlfriend, to respond.

“Mrs. Granberry is expecting you at eleven for an estimate on her kitchen remodel and don’t forget, we’re meeting Lauren at two at 68 Bayberry Road.” Beth handed Chase a slip of paper with both addresses.

“Oh, that’s right. That’s today. That one sounds almost too good to be true. At that price, offers will probably go over the asking price, don’t you think?” He was trying not to get his hopes up as the property Beth had found seemed perfect for them for their new hobby, flipping houses.