An Invincible Summer (Wyndham Beach #1)(47)

“I guess you won’t know for a while if anyone’s interested in her paintings?”

“Oh, no. Several people already have expressed an interest in moving the exhibition to their gallery, doing a showing in the city. I’m taking their information, and I’ll go over everything with Liddy after I know who’s offering to do what.”

“So the show’s successful.”

“More than I could have hoped for,” Emma said softly.

“You’re a good friend to do this for her, Em.”

“You’re a good friend to be here for her, Mags.”

“Friends to the very end, the three of us.”

“And we have the tattoos to prove it.” Emma stretched out her forearm and turned it to show off the three crested waves that rose alongside each other. “Waves of the same sea, rising and falling together.” Emma admired the ink for another second or two. “So what was the other ‘yes’?”

“The other . . . oh.” Maggie nodded, remembering why she’d come into Emma’s office in the first place. “Did you know Brett and Kayla Crawford are separated? Getting divorced?”

“What? No!” Emma’s eyes widened at the news. “Who told you that?”

“She did. Kayla. Just a few minutes ago.”

“Did she say why? And why she told you?” Emma frowned. “Wait, why would she tell you?”

Maggie hadn’t wanted to say it out loud. If she said it out loud, it would be real.

“Maggie? What did she say?”

“She said”—Maggie sighed deeply—“that it was because of me. That he only ever loved me.”

Emma stared at her for a moment. “That’s not news. Everyone’s always known that.” She made a face. “But why is it a problem now?”



Emma’s words rang in Maggie’s ears for the rest of the week. While the news of Brett Crawford’s latest—third!—divorce spread like wildfire, the real talk of the town was the successful showing of Jessica Bryant’s paintings at the art center, the number of bigwigs from the art world who’d attended, how many important galleries in Boston were vying to exhibit the collection, and how much Liddy had been offered for this painting or that. Winter White, as Emma had decided to call the collection of all-white canvases, had become a sensation, and Liddy was still reeling from the news. Maggie was grateful for just about anything that diverted attention from the fact that the gossips were looking to make something out of the fact that Brett and Kayla’s announcement had come while Maggie just happened to be in Wyndham Beach.

Emma popped into Liddy’s for coffee the morning Maggie was set to leave for home. She’d stopped at the bakery and picked up a selection of gorgeous pastries, which she’d plated almost the minute she’d walked into Liddy’s kitchen.

“They’re almost too pretty to eat,” Maggie declared as she looked over the offerings.

“Almost, but not quite.” Liddy poured a cup of coffee for Emma and passed it to her. “Thanks for those. They all look luscious.”

“Madeline is back from vacation,” Emma said as she sat. Addressing Maggie, she added, “Madeline Affonseca is the best baker ever. She left for a well-deserved vacation right after New Year’s, and she just got back.”

“I know that name, Affonseca.” Maggie tried to place it.

“She’s married to Lou Affonseca, the barber.” Emma took a bite of lemony danish and rolled her eyes. “Perfection. Their son Teddy is a good friend of Chris’s. They get together every time Chris gets home.”

Maggie picked up an almond pastry and sniffed. “It even smells delectable.”

“Oh! I almost forgot!” Emma smacked herself in the forehead with an open hand. “I drove up Cottage to drop off the key with my assistant, Marian, so she can open the center this morning. She lives at the other end of Cottage, and she’s only part-time, so she doesn’t have a key, and I knew I’d be late getting there, because I wanted to see you before you left. Anyway—guess what I saw!”

“I give up. What?” Maggie licked sugary white frosting from her fingertips.

“A sale sign on your old house,” Emma announced, then sat back in her chair. “The house you grew up in is for sale.”

“Wait! What?” Liddy took her seat. “When did that happen?”

“Apparently very recently.” Emma took another bite of her danish. “The sign wasn’t there yesterday morning when I picked up Marian.”

“Didn’t they just dump a ton of money into it? Renovated from stem to stern?” Maggie nudged Liddy. “Didn’t you say . . . ?”

Liddy nodded. “Yeah. They redid everything. Even put on a gorgeous addition in the back.”

“Why would they be selling so soon after putting so much money into it?” Maggie wondered.

“Maybe the Wakefield ghosts were more than they could handle.” Liddy wagged her eyebrows.

“The Wakefield ghosts are harmless.” Maggie waved a dismissive hand. “Except for Great-Aunt Ida. I understand she was a beast.”

“Define beast.” Liddy added a little more sugar to her coffee.

“She was a ‘vengeful serpent of a woman.’” Maggie eyed a second danish. It was a long drive back to Pennsylvania. “That was a quote from my great-grandmother. Mom said my great-grandmother didn’t care for Ida, so I have no idea what it really means.”