“Are you implying no one would believe you’d actually dateme?” he asked with a smile. “Because I’ll have you know, I tend to punch well above my weight. Forget about Emerson. I once dated a neurosurgeon-slash–bikini model named… Coleridge. She’s also the president of Scotland. And she’s going to be the next Bond girl.”
Olivia laughed. “Scotland has a first minister, not a president.”
“So what do you say? Should we give it a shot?”
A loud hum filled the room, sending Olivia scrambling to her feet.
“What’s that noise?” Zack asked.
“Someone turned on the generator. I think that means—”
The front door opened and the lights came on, illuminating the shocked faces of Mr. and Mrs. Varick. They looked tired and bedraggled from their long journey to the island and were apparently arriving for the first time this summer. Mrs. Varick held a massive package of toilet paper, while Mr. Varick carried a case of wine. “Who the hell are you?” Mr. Varick bellowed.
His wife dropped the toilet paper and clutched her husband’s arm. “Grab your gun, Gary.”
“I’m so sorry!” Olivia held up her hands, unsure if it was a gesture of apology, or a plea not to shoot. “Mr. and Mrs. Varick, it’s me, Olivia Harding. Bill and Lulu’s daughter. I’m really sorry, it was awful of us to do this, but we had boat issues and couldn’t make it back to Sandpiper. And then the storm came in and we didn’t have any cell service, so we came looking for a landline, but the lines are down. It was an emergency, or else weneverwould’ve trespassed like this, I swear.”
Mrs. Varick seemed to relax slightly. “Olivia… right.” But Mr. Varick looked unconvinced. He was probably one of those gun owners who secretly fantasized about finding an intruder. He turned to Zack with narrow eyes, as if searching forsomeoneit’d be acceptable to shoot.
“This is my friend Zack,” Olivia continued. “We borrowed some towels and lit a fire to dry off. That’s all we touched, I swear. I’ll replace the towels and pay for any cleaning costs.”
“Don’t worry about it, hon,” Mrs. Varick said, finally steppingover the threshold. “I’m glad you were able to get inside. That storm was awful.” She paused. “Howdidyou get inside?”
“The door was unlocked,” Zack lied smoothly. “You might want to get it checked out.”
“Goodness! We could’ve found something much worse than a few wet neighbors. Now, what do you want to do about your boat? The generator’s running, so you can use the Wi-Fi to text someone.”
Olivia checked her watch. Everyone would be gathering at the yacht club for the rehearsal on the far side of the island. It would take ages for anyone to get to the harbor, let alone motor over to this island. “I have to think. They’re all at the club for the wedding rehearsal.”
“Of course, that’s right. This is the big wedding weekend. I’d completely forgotten!” Mrs. Varick said in a tone that suggested she hadn’t forgotten at all. “It sounds like the quite the to-do. Of course, Gary and I completely understand why were weren’t invited. We’re such distant relations, after all. I explained that to all our friends. You know, the ones who assumed we’d be there and wanted to hear all the details. It’s the wedding of the season, after all!” She glanced at her husband. “Normally, we’d be happy to run you over to Sandpiper, but we had such a long drive, and it’s rather late.”
“Right,” Olivia said slowly, feeling her brain click over into corporate negotiator mode. “Yes, I know Marigold wasdevastatedwhen she had to cut some family members from the list. She had no idea the capacity at the club was so small, and she feels awful about it. She particularly wanted you two to be there.” Next to her, she heard Zack snort, but she ignored him and continued. “We’ve had some cancellations because of the weather.Would you…” She paused. “Would you consider coming? You could take us back to Sandpiper and then stay over at the inn. Then you’ll be there for all the activities tomorrow.”
“Oh no, we wouldn’t want to impose.”
“Not at all! Marigold would be so happy and relieved. She feels awful.” Olivia wasn’t sure her sister remembered that the Varicks existed, but she’d deal with that later. Thankfully, there’d been a few last-minute cancellations, which freed up space at the inn.
“Well…” Mrs. Varick exchanged another look with her husband, who looked slightly less grumpy. Perhaps the status boost he’d get from attending the wedding outweighed the disappointment of not getting to stand his ground. “Thatisa lovely offer.”
“Great!” Olivia said brightly. “So should we get going?”
CHAPTER TWELVEMarigold
“Did your lawyer get back to you?” Hugo asked as he steered the truck away from town and headed toward the airport.
Marigold glanced down at the phone in her lap. “Um… I’m not sure. My phone’s dead. Do you have a charger I can use quickly?”
“I don’t have an iPhone charger. Android user, sorry.”
“Typical.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I mean you have ‘green texts’ written all over you.”
“I have no idea what that means.”
“You sweet summer Canadian child.” She knew he’d never get the reference. When she’d met Hugo, he hadn’t had cable or fast enough internet to support streaming. And the few times they’d tried to watch a movie on his semifunctioning DVD player, he’d fallen asleep shortly after the opening credits. Working in the boatyard had left him bone-tired in a way she wasn’t used to.No one she knew worked the hours Hugo did except for Olivia, who Marigold barely saw during the week anyway. And even Jonathan’s hours had become slightly more reasonable since he’d become an attending physician.
