An Invincible Summer (Wyndham Beach #1)(15)

Maggie reached for one of the cheese straws she’d purchased the day before at Nibbles ’n’ Such. “Oh, buying a vacation house somewhere near the water. Writing a novel. Taking a photography class. Brushing up on my sailing skills. Traveling. Spain. Egypt. Spending a summer in Tuscany.” She shrugged. “Stuff you think about when you turn forty. How ’bout you? You have a list of things you want to do before you die?”

“Not really. I’ve done pretty much everything I’ve ever wanted to do.” Liddy looked away, then smiled. “I guess the only thing I really want to do before I die is have sex again.”

Maggie rolled her eyes. “It’s supposed to be something you’ve always wanted, Lids. Not something you’ve wanted since last week.”

“There are no rules when it comes to the bucket list. You put on it what you want. That’s what I want. I want to have sex again. Preferably soon.”

“Let me know if you think you’re going to get lucky later. I can probably bunk in with Emma for the night.”

Liddy laughed. “Not to worry. I’m not going to bring anyone home tonight.”

“Good to know. We should leave if we’re going to pick up Emma.”

“Good point. Wrap up those cheese sticks, would you?” Liddy grabbed their wineglasses and rinsed them out before putting them into the dishwasher. “And once again, you’re going to turn heads. That dress is gorgeous on you.”

“This old thing?” Maggie quipped, then laughed. “Found it on sale in Neiman Marcus three weeks ago. I’ve had to practically starve myself since to make sure it would fit, but I love it.”

“Blue is definitely your color.”

“Thank you. And that black sheath you’re wearing is perfect, if I may say so. I can’t remember the last time you wore a fitted dress. You look wonderful. Ten years younger.” Maggie grabbed her bag off the table as Liddy turned off all the lights except the one over the stove. “And I love your hair like that. You definitely rock the bun, Lids.”

“Thank you for the kind words and thank you for pinning my hair up for me. It’s a bit more than I can handle on my own. I should probably get it trimmed sometime soon.” She gestured to the door, and Maggie opened it. “I bought this dress for Jessie’s funeral and never thought I’d wear it again. Then I saw all those girls decked out in black last night, and I decided my daughter would be pissed if she knew I’d only worn this dress that one time.”

“I don’t know if she’d be pissed, but I do know she’d agree that you look really lovely.” Maggie peered closer. “Are you wearing . . . did you . . . ?”

“Yes. Mascara. I’ve decided to walk on the wild side.” Liddy laughed. “I found an old tube in the bathroom and figured what the heck. And before you ask, no, I didn’t do it to attract Rick. Though I wouldn’t mind if he . . . never mind.” She brushed past Maggie and went down the back steps. “Close the door behind you, please.”

“How old is the tube?” Maggie asked.

“A couple of years.”

“At the risk of sounding critical, old cosmetics can carry bacteria. You could get an infection in your eye from using old makeup.”

“You’re the one who told me I should use it. So I use it, and you tell me I’m probably going to go blind?” Liddy opened the driver’s-side door and slid behind the wheel. When Maggie got into the passenger seat, Liddy said, “Make up your mind.”

Liddy started the car and had her hand on the shift. They sat in silence, then they both began to laugh.

“Sorry. For a minute there, it was almost like having Ruthie back. Even after all these years, I miss my sister. I miss arguing with her. Damn, but that girl could argue about anything, anytime. Sometimes I still miss that, you know?”

“I do know. I miss Sarah a lot, especially when I’m in Wyndham Beach. We didn’t fight much, though.” Maggie bit the inside of her lip. Except for the day she died.

“It wasn’t your fault.”

“If she hadn’t been so mad at me, she wouldn’t have left the house in a snit. She would have been more cautious.”

“Come on, Maggie. You were twelve. Sisters argue all the time.” Liddy raised her hand to stop whatever it was Maggie was about to say. “Okay, so you borrowed something of hers without asking, and it pissed her off.”

“Something she’d told me not to touch. Ever.”

In her mind’s eye, Maggie could still see the pretty blue sweater their grandmother had sent Sarah for her birthday. Maggie’d been so jealous. What had her grandmother sent her? A doll. Granted, it was a Madame Alexander doll, but it was a doll all the same. As if Maggie were still a child and played with dolls. Then five weeks later, Sarah’s birthday gift had arrived: a cashmere sweater in the most glorious shade of pale blue. Sarah was only three years older than Maggie. It wasn’t fair that she got something so grown-up and Maggie got a little girl’s toy.

Maggie had wanted only to try on the sweater, but Sarah had come home early from the library. She’d thrown an absolute fit when she walked into her room and found her little sister with the beautiful sweater pulled over her head. She’d screamed at Maggie, wrenched the sweater away, and bodily thrown Maggie out of her room. She’d landed in the hallway, her pride and her feelings more injured than her butt. Sarah had returned the sweater to the box, put the box on the top shelf of her closet, slammed her bedroom door, and stomped down the stairs, yelling, “Stay out of my room! Don’t you ever touch any of my things again!” She’d run out the front door, jumped on her bike, and taken off, pedaling furiously.