Girls of Summer(48)
Juliet rolled her eyes. “Men are so easy.”
Theo concentrated on eating before Beth returned. He didn’t want her to see him masticating away on the damned broccoli like a horse.
Theo had taken the bench side and Juliet was in a chair across from him. Beth pulled out a chair next to Juliet and sat down, arranging her bowl of salad and couscous, her knife and fork, and her glass of water on the table, and her napkin in her lap.
“Theo, it’s wonderful to see you!” Beth said. “Are you back for good?”
“No, I kind of came home to recover. I wiped out when I was surfing. A bad fracture. I was in the hospital for a while. Then in a brace. For a while, a sling.”
“Oh, too bad. Does it hurt?”
“Not so much now,” Theo said bravely.
“You were in California, right?”
“Right. I got my degree at UCSD. Since then, I’ve been surfing and working near San Diego. I don’t know how long I’ll be here.”
Beth looked disappointed. “Yes, the surfing here can’t compete with the Pacific.”
“What about you, Beth? What are you doing?” Theo asked.
She told him about her degree in museum studies. “I was going to apply at some of the museums, but after Saturday, when Ryder Hastings spoke here, I’ve agreed to work for the Nantucket chapter of Ocean Matters.”
“What’s that?” Theo asked.
Juliet interrupted. “You’re working for Ocean Matters? What are you doing?”
“I’m their operations manager, and probably general gofer. We’ve set up office on Easy Street. I’ve got it furnished enough to work in, and I’m going to design a website. I need someone to build it for me. Oh, Juliet, you build websites, don’t you?”
Warily, Juliet admitted she did. “But I don’t know how long I’ll be on-island, or how much more work I can take on.”
“Oh, please help me build the website. I already have an amazing video to put on. Ryder and I went out to Cisco this morning to rescue a seal that was choked with plastic around its neck. It was very emotional. I’ve posted on Instagram and Facebook, but I really need to build a website for Ocean Matters.”
“You and Ryder?” Theo asked, not daring to look at her. “That sounds very chummy.”
Juliet held her breath.
“Don’t be weird,” Beth said. “I work for Ryder. For Ocean Matters. It’s about our oceans, Theo, which you of all people should care about since you’re such a big surfer.”
“Yeah, sorry,” Theo said. “Just checking to see if you were, um, going with Ryder.”
Beth leaned across the table, close to him. “No, Theo. I’m not going with Ryder. Not with anyone.”
Theo smiled. He couldn’t stop gazing into her eyes.
Juliet broke in. “How did you get your job, Beth?”
Beth sat back in her chair. “Prudence Starbuck, you know, the bossy old heiress on Main Street. Prudence has agreed to be the head of the Nantucket branch of Ocean Matters. I’m their employee.”
“With pay?” Juliet asked.
“Yes. And I’ve got a lot of work to do.” Beth blushed as she turned to Theo. “Could you help me unpack the computers and printers? They’re so heavy. Oh, but your arm…”
Quickly, Theo said, “It’s okay, mostly healed. I’ll use my other arm. We’ll work together.” He had never been more self-sacrificing.
“Our office is near the Steamship Authority,” Beth told him.
“Cool. I’m ready whenever you are.”
“Let’s go!” Beth said. “I’ll take my lunch with me to eat later.”
Theo nearly knocked over the table as he rose to follow Beth to the door.
* * *
—
“Men,” Juliet whispered as her brother followed Beth out of the café. Theo had been in love with Beth since high school. He’d broken many hearts. Juliet hoped Beth didn’t break his.
“Hello, there.”
Juliet looked up. Ryder Hastings was standing next to her table.
“Hello,” she answered warily.
“I’ve been trying to reach you,” he said.
“Yes,” Juliet replied coolly. “I know. I heard about your adventure with the seal at Cisco today.”
Ryder slid onto the bench where Theo had been sitting only moments before. He was Theo’s height, but much slimmer than muscular Theo. He had a mug of coffee in his hand, and a muffin on a plate.
“It was a moving experience.” He laughed. “In all meanings of the word. Once we got the plastic off, that seal scooted into the water faster than I thought seals could go on land.”
Juliet toyed with her food. The man was frustratingly handsome. Dark hair, thick and shaggy, as if he was too busy to visit the barbershop. Blue eyes full of curiosity and what looked like a whole lot of mischief. His nose and cheeks were red from the sun. Didn’t the man own sunblock, or was he too busy to apply it?
Aware of how she looked in her black yoga pants and sleeveless black tee, aware that her brown hair was rumpled and almost the same careless length as Ryder’s, aware that she wore no mascara or lipstick but only her naked, natural face, Juliet raised her chin and said, “That’s a wonderful thing you did. Beth told me about it. She’s posting on social media, but, um, she asked me to help build a website.”