“I’ve been reaching out to some contacts to see if I can find anything.”
“I don’t care about what you’re doing. I want results. Don’t give me inputs. I want outputs.”
The corners of my mouth twitch slightly. She sounds a little like me when I’m looking over people’s work and they give me all thebackground—all the research they’ve been doing—when I only want to see the conclusion.
“I want a house!” Her voice is growing louder. People in line are starting to side-eye our little tête-à-tête.
“Shouting at me won’t make real estate listings magically appear.” I look back at my phone to see if the email from Jack says anything that will get Lucy off my back.
Lucy’s still talking at me as I read through Jack’s response. His family house ... blah blah, he’s just bought a place as an investment ... blah blah ... and there’s a hyperlink.
“Are you even listening to me?” Lucy snaps at me.
“No. I’m trying to read an email about a rental for this goddamn prewedding party.” I squint at the screen. The pictures on the website are beautiful, and it’s on Martha’s Vineyard. Not the Cape, but near enough. I flip back to the email from Jack to make sure it’s available. It’s newly refurbished and hasn’t been up for rental until last week, which is why it’s available for the weekend we need. I just hit the goddamn jackpot.
“Sure you are,” Lucy says. “But seriously, get off ESPN or whatever the hell you’re messing with on your phone and problem-solve. We need to figure this out.”
I groan. Why is she still complaining? I’m not going to tell her I just came up with a solution to our house-rental problem. Let her sweat it out a little longer.
I drop my phone and look directly at Lucy. For a moment, I’m stunned. I’d forgotten how completely mesmerizing her eyes are. She’s got a little more makeup on than I saw her in this weekend. She looks kick-ass. I scan her body. She’s in a tightly fitted dress and high heels, her hair pulled back into one of those styles that makes her look like a forties movie star.
Something trips in my chest, and I can feel a blush creeping up my neck. How can looking at a girl make me blush? Especially a woman as annoying as Lucy. Does she give everyone a hard time like this, or doesshe save all her energy for me? For a second, I visualize grabbing her by the wrist, pressing her up against the wall by the sandwich store, and kissing her, just to stop her from talking.
“Hunter!” she says, snapping me out of my thoughts.
“What?” I snap back, irritated by her sniping, irritated by Ed’s email, irritated that I’ve been standing in line for twenty minutes for a goddamn sandwich.
“You are hopeless,” she says. “I’m giving you forty-eight hours to find us the best beach house on the Cape. I don’t care how much you have to pay or who you have to kill. Just get it done.” She turns and heads off, her heels clipping the ground like they’re telling me to get. It. Done. Get. It. Done. Get. It. Done.
Does she understand who she’s talking to? I run a business of thirty employees and invest assets of over three hundred million dollars. I don’t take orders from anyone.
The line starts moving, but I’ve lost my appetite. Everything feels overwhelming. Not only am I now shouldering Ed’s contribution to Portis on top of my own full plate, I’m also party-planning. This isn’t how I saw my year going.
Chapter Five
Lucy
I’m manically chewing the edge of my thumbnail and tapping my toe on the floor of the bar where I’m drowning my sorrows. I just don’t know how I’m going to tell Katherine that we didn’t find a house on the Cape. Of course, Katherine will be entirely understanding—that’s who Katherine is. Understanding. Sweet. Caring. But no matter her reaction, I’m going to feel like the hopeless little sister who can’t do anything right compared to her.
“What about something in the Hamptons?” Charlotte suggests.
Charlotte and I have been friends since we were three years old. She’s seen me through every lost tooth and broken heart. She knew me when I was a ragbag of lost schoolbooks and stained T-shirts. And she knows me now, when I’m all spreadsheets and patent pumps. Charlotte knows all the versions of me, and most importantly, she accepts them all. She knows I’m not the same scruffy teenager I used to be—the one my mother still thinks I am. Just like I know she’s no longer a Belieber.
Times have changed.
“There’s just so much more inventory there.”
“You know I love the Hamptons, but Katherine wants to be on the Cape. I think being in Massachusetts is the most important factor. Apart from being with Ed.” I sigh and tip my head back. “We couldlook at a hotel, I suppose, but none of the fancy ones have enough rooms—I’ve already checked. Even if they did, oceanfront rooms for a party our size would be cost prohibitive.”
“Katherine will understand,” Charlotte says. “It’s all very last minute, considering.”
Considering Ed and Katherine have been together forever. Ed wanted his business to be more established before they tied the knot, because he knows Katherine wants children as soon as they’re married. He wants to be financially stable before they start a family. Once he felt ready, everything started happening in fast-forward. I’m happy for them that they feel ready for this next phase in their lives. I just wish they’d given us all a little more time to plan.
“You’re right,” I say. “Katherine will understand. But that’s not the point. I wanted to be able to give her what she wants. She’s such a good person, who does so much for everyone else. She should have an incredible send-off into her marriage.”
Charlotte raises an eyebrow.
“What?” I ask defensively. “It’s true.”
