“I know,” Rose said. “He can be kind of amazing sometimes. Makes the other stuff hit harder though.”
“I’m sorry about the pool yesterday,” Boyd said. “I was just trying to help.”
“I know,” Rose said again, because now she felt she did.
“And we’re really not together. I’m sorry you thought that,” Boyd added. His shoulders sagged. “I’m not even sure he likes me.”
Rose wasn’t sure how to be sorry about that, though she felt like she’d be a better person if she did.
“Doyouhave anything that needs to be done?” Boyd asked hopefully. “Tom told me to stay outside. When he was yelling. Even though anyone could see the drywall was rotten and needed to come out and I was just saving him time by pulling it out.”
“I’m not sure,” Rose said. “Tom took my binder of construction plans.”
“There’s a plan?” Boyd asked, perking up.
“It didn’t get that far. It was more of a vision.”
Boyd looked greatly impressed. “Of course,” he rumbled. “Of course you have one. Tell me about your vision.”
Rose hesitated. The man’s face was nothing but sincere, but how could she say she wanted the inn to be charming and beautiful, the kind of place where she’d bring her husband and kids and family, without getting deep into how, actually, she didn’t have a husband or kids, and her family was all AWOL too?
“So, one of the things I meant to do was work on the basement pub,” she told him instead. “The inn had a beer and wine license, but it got so little traffic that it was losing money on the permit fees. I’m not sure what’s a better use for the space though.”
Boyd nodded vigorously. “You are still in the inspiration phase.”
“I…guess I am, yes.”
“We need to nurture your inspiration,” Boyd declared. “Are there other pubs on the island? Vineyards? Wine bars?”
Rose blinked. “I’m sure there are. Yeah.” Nobody actually grew grapes on the Vineyard, but people liked local wine anyway.
“We should visit them. And take notes. And form a complete idea of the character of the pub,” Boyd declared. He stood up, and Rose had to take a tiny step back to absorb his full height.
Big! Big like a desert rock formation! Big like a marine mammal!
Rose swallowed and tried to get herself together. “I don’t know if we should.” She gnawed on the inside of her cheek, because it would be pretty weird to go off for the day with Boyd, regardless of whether he was in love with her ex-husband or just following him around out of some misguided idea of life-debt, the Chewbacca to Tom’s Han Solo.
Wait, Boyd Kellagher wanted to go day-drinking with her. If there was ever a time to stop thinking and go with it, it was now.
“This sure sounds like a legitimate way to plan a basement renovation,” she decided. “But it might take a little while to find a taxi willing to take us anywhere.”
“I can drive,” Boyd offered. Then he frowned. “No, I can’t. Tom said I was under no circumstances to drive you anywhere.” His big gloomy face creased in consternation. “Tom doesn’t think I’m a very safe driver.”
Rose caught herself before she could commiserate on that too. Yeah, almost getting him drowned just once would probably have Tom holding it against Boyd forever.
And then she had an idea. She knew two people with a car and not enough to do who would probably lookveryimpressed if Rose came out with Boyd and a drinking agenda. Tom would probably not approve, but it sounded like he would be very busy with renovations today.
Her brother texted her again.
Davey: Hey think I left a pair of snow boots in the bunk room could you bring them with you next time you’re in Boston?
Rose wrinkled her nose at her phone. Why were her ex andhisex more invested in the success of this project than her own family? Well, she wasn’t going to sulk around feeling abandoned. She was going to get blitzed with a movie star and his groupies.
“Boyd, I’d love to introduce you to a couple of your fans,” Rose said. “They seem really good at research and inspiration.”
15
By the time the bees were collected, contained, and expelled, Rosie had vanished. And although Tom had not found a roofer by lunch, he decided to reward himself for the morning’s effort—which had, after all, included several bee stings and difficult conversations with Boyd and his delusional groupies!—by walking back across the road to parse out exactly where Rosie’s boundaries lay between kissing him and letting him sleep in the big bed. But she wasn’t there.
