A Nantucket Affair (Nantucket Beach Plum Cove #4)(44)

Saturday afternoon, after the open house, while Beth was being lazy on the living room sofa, clicking the remote and catching up on episodes of the reality show Bachelor in Paradise, Chase’s cell phone rang. He’d left it on the coffee table while he was in the shower. The water stopped as the phone rang and Beth saw from the caller ID that it was Lauren. She hollered for Chase to hurry. He ran out of the bathroom, wrapped in a towel and answered the phone on speaker.

“Hi Lauren, please tell us you have good news?”

“Well, I’m not calling with an offer, but I am calling to let you know that not one, not two, but three different clients said they are going to be making an offer. They all know there’s multiple interest, so they said they’d get back to me later today with specifics.”

“That’s great news,” Beth said.

“It is. And I think you might be pleasantly surprised by one of them, but I don’t want to get your hopes up so I’m not saying anything more until I have an official offer. Are you both going to be at A Nantucket Affair tonight?”

“We are,” Chase answered for both of them.

“Good. I’ll have my cell of course and if the offers come in the way we want them, maybe we’ll be drinking champagne!”





Chapter 27





“Curt really outdid himself this year. Everything looks stunning. And we got very lucky with the weather. It couldn’t be more perfect tonight.” Lisa took a sip of her chardonnay and gazed around the beach, where several huge white and gray tents were set up and what looked like hundreds of tables, all covered in snowy linens, flowers and vintage lanterns with candles inside. The dress was ‘creative black tie’ so there was a sea of gorgeous dresses on the women and distinguished suits on the men. Tuxedo clad waiters strolled by with silver platters of mouth-watering hors d’oeuvres.

“He really did,” Sue agreed as she selected a mini-crab cake from one of the passing platters.

“Did I hear my name?” Curt laughed as he finished talking with someone and turned toward Lisa, Sue and Paige. Rhett and Peter were off getting drinks and all of Lisa’s kids and their partners were floating around the event somewhere.

“I was just saying you did a great job, Curt. This is lovely.”

He beamed, and Lisa knew the compliment was appreciated. “Thank you. We had an excellent team, and it was a lot of fun to make it happen. Oh, will you ladies excuse me? I see someone I need to go talk to.”

Lisa noticed that Curt gave Sue a quick kiss before he left them, and she’d also noticed lately that the vibe between them seemed different. They both looked happier.

“Things seem good with you and Curt?”

“They are much better. Going into the office helped, and brought us closer together. We’re both making more of an effort and have had a few date nights recently. I forgot how much fun dating used to be.” She smiled and Lisa was happy for her.

“How’s Rhett doing with his mask? Is it getting any better? Peter mentioned he called a few weeks ago and was frustrated,” Paige asked.

“Much better. He just had to get used to it. He still pulls it off sometimes in his sleep, but he’s better with it than he used to be and he admitted that he feels better now. More rested, which is the most important thing.”

“Oh, there’s Kristen and Tyler with Kate and Jack. The girls look gorgeous, they’re both so slim,” Sue said.

Lisa laughed. “Remember, they are much younger. They do look pretty. And Tyler is doing well, according to Kristen. He goes to more meetings now and that helps to keep him on track.”

“Good. They seem so well suited, both being artists and all. I hope it works out for them,” Paige said.

Lisa looked over at Kristen and Tyler. He had his hand lightly on the back of her dress and she was looking up at him with so much love in her eyes. They seem to have gotten more serious since his relapse, and Lisa hoped that it would work out for them.

“Who is that guy that Brandi is with? I thought she was dating John? This guy looks more her age,” Lisa asked as Brandi and her date came towards them.

“Funny story there, you’ll see in a minute.” Sue smiled and greeted Brandi as she walked over to say hello. She introduced everyone.

“Lisa and Paige, this is Brandi. She works in the office with us and Jordan is John’s son.”

“Nice to meet you,” Brandi said.

Lisa couldn’t help herself. She had to ask, “How did you two meet?”

“Through the agency, sort of. I was helping John with a new policy and dropped off some papers at his house for him to sign, and Jordan was there. We’ve been spending time together ever since.” She beamed up at Jordan, and he smiled shyly and looked around the room.

“Well, we should go find Jordan’s friends. We were supposed to meet them by the bar.”

“Have fun,” Sue said.

“So, you two are friends now?” Paige asked.

“Sure. Work friends. She’s a good kid. And I definitely approve of Jordan over John.”

“Are Chase and Abby coming tonight, too?” Sue asked as she snagged a scallop and bacon appetizer as another server with a platter full of food walked by.

“They should both be here somewhere. Abby might be running a little late. She was having some sitter issues. Her usual sitter wasn’t available.”