Alexander groaned and shot away from the car, sensing Charlotte was right about who was just now parking. Sure enough, Belle got out of the third vehicle, whipping her long red hair behind her shoulders and surveying the grounds. It was clear she was looking for him. Alexander had to admit that she was even prettier than she’d been back in high school, that her adorable face had thinned into something more womanly and mature. But when she spotted him and came over, Alexander’s stomach tied itself in knots. He recalled all those anxious nights, sitting in a car with her, waiting for something to happen. But they’d never really had anything to talk about. When Alexander had spent too much time in silence, Belle had burst with all the high school gossip that currently swirled around them, miffed that he hadn’t noticed any of it. But Alexander had been focused in high school, eager to get good grades so that he could run off to flight school one day.I was so naive, he thought.
“Hi,” she said, biting her lip. He wondered if she acted like this in front of guys she liked at the University of Rhode Island. Maybe it was all an act.
“Hey.” Alexander reached for a glass of wine from a passing server, and Belle did the same. “How’s your summer going?”
“Good. Well, I’m doing an internship in Boston,” Belle said, before listing an organization that Alexander had never heard of. It was obvious that he was meant to be impressed by the name. She added, “But I’m back for the weekend.”
“Cool.” Alexander’s chest was inflamed with jealousy. He should be off somewhere with an internship instead of waiting around here for his ex-girlfriend to come over or for his mother to arrange his future.
“And how has it been here?” Belle asked. “I heard from my mother that you have huge responsibilities here. You’re going to take over the Lodge sooner, rather than later, right? That’s what everyone says.”
Alexander felt the burn behind her gaze, her urgent desire to one day work alongside him at the White Oak Lodge, to become a Whitmore and therefore Nantucket royalty. He considered telling her something cruel, like, I broke up with you for a reason. You’re boring and basic and obsessed with gossip! But he knew a comment like that would get back to his mother, and she’d find a way to punish him.
Plus, Belle didn’t deserve that kind of behavior. She was a sweet woman and would make a wonderful wife someday, for somebody else, here in Nantucket or somewhere else. He had to find a way out of this strange dynamic and apologize for being unable to meet her needs yet again.
Suddenly, out of the corner of Alexander’s eye, he spotted Jack and Amos stalking through the party, their eyes watchful. Alexander kept tabs on them, eager to spot something that would clue him into what they were up to. Meanwhile, Belle continued to tell him about her internship, how great it was so far, and her plans for the future. Alexander couldn’t focus.
Just when he thought he’d storm over to Jack and demand answers, Benjamin Whitmore cut through the property, his face marred with panic. Alexander jerked his gaze from Jack and followed his father with his eyes. His feet itched with his desire to go after him physically. When Belle was quiet for ten seconds, waiting for him to answer her, he said, “Yeah, um. I have to go.” And then he added, “Um, it was nice to see you?” But before she could answer, he ducked away, following his father.
He’d begun to suspect that his father was involved in all this Tio Angelo business as well. But it couldn’t be, could it? Benjamin did everything for the White Oak Lodge. He wouldn’tdo anything to endanger its future. And Tio Angelo didn’t care a lick about the future of the White Oak Lodge.
They were two contradictory ideas, and Alexander couldn’t hold them at once.
Alexander shot up to his father, nearly spilling his wine. “Hey, Dad?”
Benjamin stalled and glanced at Alexander, confused to see him.
“Dad, what’s up?” Alexander demanded, his voice wavering.
Benjamin stalled but was unable to look Alexander in the eye, as though he were hiding something. “Um, your mother,” he stuttered. “She requested help with something. You know how she is.”
“What did she ask for help with?” Alexander felt the lie beneath his father’s words, but couldn’t fathom what that lie could be. “Maybe I can figure it out.”
Benjamin took Alexander by the shoulder, took a breath, fixed his face into a fake smile, and said, “Man, you have to enjoy this party, huh? That beautiful girlfriend of yours is here! You should be over there, dancing with her. It’s what your mother wants. Do us a favor and do what your mother wants?”
Alexander knew he was being kicked out of his father's house on purpose. Before he could accuse his father of doing so, however, Benjamin was off again, bucking around the corner and disappearing. Alexander hung back, annoyed. When he turned around, he found Belle in conversation with Allegra and Lorelei. They were laughing about something. Probably, they were laughing about him, about how useless as a boyfriend he’d been and still was.
Alexander groaned and drained the rest of his wine. He hadn’t wanted to come to this stupid party.
Chapter Ten
June 1996
Nantucket Island
At the Solstice Party, after his father brushed him off, Alexander sat on the porch for a little while, watching the party as it grew and morphed into something that most would probably call spectacular. If only he were in a better mood. He drank another glass of wine on his own, searching for some sign of his father and what he was up to. It pleased him to see that Jack and Amos were having fun, drinking soda, and hanging out by the fire. It didn’t look like they were doing anything illicit. Alexander decided to head down and join them, if only to show them they could come to him for help if they ever needed it. If things with Tio Angelo got too strange.
But en route to the fire, Alexander nearly ran headlong into a familiar face.
“Alexander Whitmore! Goodness, you’ve grown up!” The woman was in her early thirties, maybe, with wild dark curly hair and delicate features. Her smile yanked Alexander back aboutten years, if he remembered correctly. The last time he’d seen her, he’d been maybe twelve. He’d definitely had a crush on her, but a preteen crush that had confused him.
“Chloe?” he tried, hoping he’d remembered her name correctly.
Chloe snapped her fingers and turned to the woman standing next to her. “Doesn’t he have a wonderful memory? He was just a little kid the last time I was here.”
The woman beside Chloe was probably about Alexander’s age, with ocean-blue eyes and a little red dress that made her look fabulous and free. Alexander had never seen her before, but he felt himself fall into her beauty and had to force his eyes back to Chloe’s. He didn’t want to seem creepy.
“It all looks the same,” Chloe said wistfully, stretching her arm out toward the glittering view of the Nantucket Sound and the stables and the white sand. “I always felt like Nantucket was frozen in time, and this is proof.”
