by Wendy Wax
Bitsy raised her margarita. Sherlock, who had stretched out across her feet, raised his head. “I have a job,” she announced. “My very first. The Franklins have hired me to help manage the Sunshine and coordinate parties and events for the beach club members.” She smiled broadly. “I think it’ll be a blast. It’ll also fund my search for Bertie. My goal is to put him behind bars—and recover everything I possibly can.”
“To gainful employment!” Nikki held her drink aloft. “And revenge!”
“I’ll drink to that,” Avery said as they clinked glasses and took long sips of the blended drinks. “As a soon-to-be resident of a Sunshine cottage, I’m glad you’ll be running things, Bitsy. When I finish my unit, I’m going to design and build tiny homes. I think they’re going to be the next big thing,” she quipped. “And I like that they’re efficient and compact. Just like me.” She made no mention of Chase, and Maddie didn’t press her as they tipped their glasses and drank under the pinkening sky.
Without planning it, Maddie’s gaze moved to her daughter, who had spent the last weeks in a beehive of unexplained activity. “Kyra?” she asked now. “Anything you’d like to share?”
For a moment Maddie thought she was going to pass, but Kyra sat up and said, “So—good thing/bad thing. Someone’s interested in renting Bella Flora.”
A silence fell as they all imagined a stranger sitting where they were sitting, sleeping in what they’d come to think of as “their” beds. Maddie felt an odd kinship with the three bears. “Who is it?”
Kyra shook her head. “I don’t know. John Franklin said the potential tenant is insisting on anonymity, but is willing to pay the majority of the rental fee up front.”
“That’s so weird,” Avery said. “Kind of like when Daniel bought Bella Flora.”
“Yeah.” Kyra’s eyes narrowed. “I’ll have to think about it. But renting out Bella Flora for the right price will catch me up on the loan payments I wasn’t able to make and give me breathing room. It’ll also allow me to decide whether Dustin and I should do Daniel’s film without it being about the money.”
“But where will you live while Bella Flora is rented?” Nikki asked, eyeing the real margaritas with longing.
“Dustin and I could stay with Dad for a while. Or we could maybe take a two-bedroom at the Sunshine with Mom. If she wanted to.” She looked at Maddie and smiled. “If we moved back into Bella Flora after the tenant leaves, we could rent out the cottage. Or Mom could keep it. We’d have options.”
“And Do Over?” Maddie asked, remembering the night they’d sat in this very spot and believed the show would be their salvation.
“Legally, we’re never going to get the chance to turn it into what we envisioned,” Avery said. “I think it’s time to let go.”
“Yeah,” Kyra said. “There’s really no point. That boat has sailed.”
“But what will you do?” Maddie asked her daughter.
“I loved making the documentary about the Sunshine Hotel. And there’s been a great response to the video segments I’ve been streaming. I think I’d like to make documentaries about strong, impressive women. The kind that rise to the occasion and do what needs to be done. Like my mother,” she said. “And the rest of you.” Kyra raised her glass. “Every one of you inspires me.”
They toasted themselves, the sun, which had grown brighter as it slid toward the water’s surface, and one another.
“God, I’d give anything for a margarita with actual alcohol in it,” Nikki said.
“Is there a good thing in there somewhere?” Avery asked.
“No,” Nikki said. “But my whole life feels like such a good thing that I’m almost afraid to believe it. And I never would have had Joe or Sofia and Gemma or any of the incredible things in my life if it weren’t for Bella Flora and all of you and even Malcolm. If he hadn’t bankrupted everyone, I never would have met you.” Tears spilled from her eyes and dampened her cheeks. “Oh, God. I’m sorry.” She fanned her face as if that might somehow dry up or stop her tears. “It’s these post-pregnancy hormones and lack of sleep,” she sobbed. “The last full night’s sleep I had was my wedding night.”
“That sounds so wrong for so many reasons.” Avery refilled her glass and topped off the others.
“Yesterday, I cried all the way through The Parent Trap, you know the remake with Lindsey Lohan. And then I cried all over again when the original one with Hayley Mills came on.” Nikki smiled crookedly through the tears that continued to fall. “Joe threatened to cancel Turner Classic Movies.”
“Jeez.” Avery refilled everyone’s glasses. “Remind me not to ever get pregnant.” She sighed. “Though I guess I’d have to actually sleep with someone for that to happen.”
Nikki cried harder. “Please don’t use the word ‘sleep’ around me.”
“How about you, Maddie?” Bitsy asked, lifting Sherlock onto her lap and scratching him gently behind the ear. “Do you have any plans?”
“I do,” Maddie said with a far larger smile than she’d intended. “I’m going to spend a few weeks with Will on Mermaid Point.”
“Well, at least someone will be having sex,” Avery said.
“Some of us will have to live vicariously through her,” Bitsy added.
Nikki sighed. “Some of us will be nursing babies and trying to remember when we used to have the energy to have sex.”
Maddie laughed. “I’m pretty sure you’ll have sex again someday, Nikki.”
“Do you really think so?” she asked as if Maddie had just said she might one day live on the moon.
“I do,” Maddie replied. “And while I’m down there, I’m going to think about what I want to do next.” She looked at the women who had become such an integral part of her life. “These last years have been about survival, but I believe the future can be whatever we decide to make of it. Kyra’s right, we can be strong and even impressive on our own. Together we’re pretty close to invincible.”
“Great,” Nikki groaned. “You’re making me cry again.”
“Sorry,” Maddie said, but she wasn’t. In fact, she could feel her lips twisting into a grin.
“To friendship!” Bitsy drained her glass and slammed it on the table.
“To Bella Flora!” Kyra did the same.
“To us!” Nikki said through her tears.
Maddie raised her glass and blinked back tears of her own. “To always being able to come up with at least one good thing.”
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1.When the book opens, Bitsy Baynard is dealing with the fact that her husband stole all of her money and ran away with another woman. Do you think Bitsy should have made Bertrand sign a prenup? Do you believe in prenups?
2.Bitsy and Bertrand were initially introduced by Nicole Grant of Heart Inc., who worked as a matchmaker. Do you think matchmakers can be a successful way to find love? Would you ever hire a matchmaker?
3.William Hightower could have any woman he wants. Why do you think he is attracted to Madeline Singer? Will asks Maddie to go on tour with him, and Maddie is reluctant to do so. Do you understand her reluctance? Why do you think women often have such a hard time putting their needs first?
4.Nicole is terrified that Joe is going to change his mind and leave her and the babies. She doesn’t believe she can have a happy family of her own. Why do you think Nikki feels this way? Have you ever been in a situation where you knew your fear wasn’t warranted, but you were terrified anyway? How did you handle it?
5.Avery Lawford is an architect and licensed contractor who finds the aromas surrounding construction relaxing. She attributes this to spending time on her father’s construction sites as a child. What is your stress buster? When and how did you discover it?
6.Chase and his son Jason are at odds for most of the book, and Avery finds herself caught between them. Do you think she handles the situatio
n well? How do you feel about Chase’s behavior? Why is he so tough on Avery?
7.What do you think Bella Flora symbolizes for Maddie, Nicole, Avery, and Kyra? Is there a family home or a place like Mermaid Point that holds particular significance for you? Why? Would you risk losing it for the chance to achieve a lifelong dream or goal?
8.Kyra has to decide whether or not to let her son, Dustin, star in a move with his father. What do you think she should do? Would you let your child star in a movie? Is that kind of pressure and attention good or bad for a child?
9.What do you think of the tiny house movement? Would you want to live in a tiny house? How many square feet would you need to feel comfortable?
10.At the end of each day, Maddie, Nicole, Avery, and Kyra share one good thing to toast to at sunset. What—or who—is your one good thing today? Wendy Wax would love to know, so feel free to record it on your camera phone and share it on Wendy’s website at authorwendywax.com.
Wendy Wax, a former broadcaster, is the author of thirteen novels, including Sunshine Beach, A Week at the Lake, While We Were Watching Downton Abbey, The House on Mermaid Point, Ocean Beach, and Ten Beach Road. The mother of two grown sons, she lives in Atlanta with her husband and is doing her best to adjust to the quiet of her recently emptied nest.
Visit her online at authorwendywax.com and on Facebook at facebook.com/AuthorWendyWax, and follow her on Twitter @Wendy_Wax.
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