“Eww,” she says. “Better you on their list than me.”
“No! Anyway, I gotta go be Carter’s personal shopper.”
“Have fun,” she offers just as a few more customers walk in. “I want all the deets.”
With a wave and a thank-you, I leave Sunshine Surf and walk two blocks up Main Street to the liquor store. The place is packed with tourists stocking up because the Grand Palm charges twenty dollars for a watered-down cocktail that you need five of to feel anything. On the top shelf, behind the Don Julio 1942, sits a gold-and-black bottle of Clase Azul Gold. I pull it forward and smile, knowing it’s one of my personal favorites. Three hundred dollars, and it won’t disappoint.
I walk around the corner to the end cap that has the expensive imported chocolates and choose my favorite ones.They are twenty bucks each, and I grab five. The total comes to four hundred twenty-three dollars and some change with tax. I put what’s left of his five hundred dollars into the bag.
The walk back is the best part of my day. Main Street shops are painted in bright neon colors with chalkboard signs out front, advertising daily specials. A teenager arranges wind chimes outside a gift shop while two younger kids split a snow cone on a wooden bench. I hear them arguing over who took a bigger bite. The Rusty Anchor bar has its doors propped open, and music spills onto the sidewalk, where a couple dances badly but doesn’t care. It’s five o’clock somewhere. Tourists carry shopping bags and wear sunburns, but nobody is in a hurry.
Time moves differently in Coconut Beach, like the island runs on its own clock, and the rest of the world just hasn’t caught up yet. It comes with living the sweet life.
Roaming these streets reminds me of being a teenager. After surfing lessons, Fallon and I would spend our allowance on homemade taffy and cheap silver bracelets that turned our skin green.
Back at the B&B, Gran is playing rummy with Lucille at the dining table.
“Did anything happen while I was gone?” I ask, pushing my sunglasses up onto my head.
“Nothing other than me beating Lucille three times in a row.” Gran doesn’t look up from her cards. “She’s been pouting for ten minutes.”
“I am not pouting. I’m aggravated that you keep rubbing it in.” Lucille rolls her eyes. “If the tables were turned, Gale would be accusing me of cheating.”
“Fun,” I tell them.
They look at the bag in my hand, and I walk away before they start asking questions. I set his provisions inside my bedroom door. I’ll deliver it to him later.
The afternoon passes in small tasks. The Simmons check in for the weekend, and I walk them to the Conch Room. I rotate laundry and restock bathrooms, then replace the air filters because Gran can’t remember the last time it was changed. Each time the front door opens, I glance up, expecting Carter, but it never is.
Gran leaves with Lucille around five. I eat cold pizza at the kitchen counter and stare out the window at the beach. The water is glittering, and families are packing up their chairs for the day. I wipe down the counter when the front door opens, and my heart races when I think it’s Carter. Seconds later, I hear Josie. I walk out and greet her. She’s wearing a pink shell necklace over a crop top.
“I want to talk,” she announces, dropping the bag on the counter with a loud thud. “Pick your poison.”
She pulls out two bottles of wine; both are my favorite.
“Rosé.”
She grabs two plastic cups from the cabinet and fills them. She removes the canvas messenger bag from her shoulder and dumps a mesh sack full of shells she collected. The two of us sort them like we used to do decades ago.
“Mia showed me the gorgeous photos she took of the book van at sunrise,” Josie says, separating the keepers from the broken ones. “The Salty Pages Insta is growing so fast. Juniper said they sold out of three different titles by noon.”
“Wow. That’s great.” I take several gulps of wine. “How were sales for you today?”
“Not too bad. I set up my pop-up booth and made jewelry. Do I look approachable?” My sister sounds defeated.
“Yes, of course. I’d speak to you,” I say. “Maybe it was your location. It’s one of the most important things. You should set up somewhere close to Fallon’s. There was a ton of traffic on the boardwalk today when I went and visited her.”
“Thanks, sis. I’ll try that tomorrow.” She holds up a tiny pink shell and squints at it, then moves it to the keep pile before downing her entire glass of wine. “So, how’s the grumpy stranger upstairs?”
“Not sure.”
“Interesting.” She smiles. “Mia and I both want to know more about him. Does he have younger brothers? Friends?”
“Tell Mia I don’t know anything about him and I’m going to keep it that way.”
“Uh-huh.” Josie picks up another shell. “I talked to Mom today. She said Dad’s taking her to some cabin in Banff for their anniversary. She asked about the B&B, and I told her everything is great.”
“Is it?”
