Chapter 1
I’m dying, and that’s all there is to it.
How had such a beautiful morning ended so devastatingly?
*
The early morning sunlight reflecting off the water always made Sylvie Sweet smile. Growing up at a beachside inn, she always loved getting up early to enjoy the world around her before anyone else was awake. But now, as she sipped her coffee and leaned on the wooden porch railing admiring the view that attracted many of their guests, a nagging feeling of unrest settled in her stomach.
“Stop it,” she whispered to herself. “You’re worrying for worry’s sake.”
Sylvie always felt a little restless at this time of year.
With Christmas gone weeks ago, she had to face the hard reality that until mid-April, there would be very little to distract her.
“Sylv!”
The sudden voice from behind made her jump, and she clasped her coffee mug to her chest. Luckily it was empty enough that it didn’t spill everywhere.
“Juliette Marina Whitstone! Don’t you scare me like that.”
Her best friend was wrestling with an armful of groceries in brown paper bags. “Don’t use my full name when talking to me.Only my mom gets to do that. Or should I break out your middle name, too?”
“No way! You’re the one who scared me. What have I done to deserve that?”
“Oh, I think you know, Miss Sweet.” She raised a judgmental brow and pointed to the cup in Sylvie’s hand. “Coffee? I thought one of your New Year’s resolutions was to give that up.”
With a guilty expression, Sylvie peered over her shoulder before pressing a finger to her lips and shushing Juliette. “Pretend you didn’t see!” She quickly drank the rest of the coffee and set the cup on a nearby table, holding out her hands. “See? No coffee! Come on in. Let me carry one of those bags for you. They look heavy.”
Juliette nodded. “They are, but I’m all right. There’s another one by the door for you. You must really have been off in la-la land. I rang the bell twice.”
“Sorry.” Sylvie stepped past her and headed for the front door. “I must’ve been. I was just planning things for the season.”
“The season?” Juliette echoed with a laugh. “You’ve got a couple of months of grace before you need to think about that. Just relax and breathe for a minute!”
Sylvie shrugged. “You know me. I don’t like being idle.”
She found the Whitstone General Store bag resting against the doorframe and winced as she bent down to pick it up. She really needed to do more of those stretches the doctor had given her.
“I don’t think you’ve been idle a day in your life.” Juliette followed Sylvie through the front door and down the hallway toward the kitchen. “Maybe that’s why you never get sick of this place…even when you’ve been asked for the millionth time what’s good to eat in town.”
Sylvie waved her off dismissively. “I’m just looking forward to being busy again. You know I love meeting folks. They come from all over—it’s almost like traveling myself. I’ve met people from over thirty countries! How many people can say that?”
Juliette looked at her sympathetically. Or condescendingly. She wasn’t quite sure.
“What?” She asked hesitantly. “What is it?”
Juliette’s eyes grew large. “Nothing!”
Sylvie matched her stare until Juliette sighed and put the groceries down.
“Meeting people from different countries is not the same thing as traveling yourself.” Juliette exhaled. “You’ve been practically running this place since the divorce. When are you going to do something for yourself again?”
This was not where she was expecting this conversation to go. If it had been anyone else, she would’ve shrugged them off. But she had known Juliette for nearly thirty years.
“I like it here!” she exclaimed. “Besides, what was I going to do? Turn around and say,Thanks, Mom and Dad, but I feel better now. I appreciate all your help picking up the pieces. I’m out? No, I don’t think so.”
Juliette sighed. “That wasn’t what I was suggesting. I just mean—”
