“We just got some great wild salmon in.” It was the only thing she ever bought at the seafood market. Jack had a good memory.
“Perfect, I’ll take two pounds, and a couple of lemons, too.” She’d forgotten to get the lemons at Bartlett’s.
Jack rang her up and handed her the salmon. “Here you go. Enjoy!”
“Thank you. Be sure to tell Kate I said ‘hello’.”
“I’ll do that.”
Unlike Lisa, who loved to cook and was good at it, Sue did the bare minimum. She had a handful of things she knew how to cook well and rotated through them or more often, ordered takeout. Curt wasn’t much of a cook, either, but he liked to grill in the summer and he wasn’t picky. He said everything she made was ‘outstanding’, no matter how ordinary it was. She’d always loved that about him.
Tonight, she was making her ‘having company over’ dish, lemon salmon. It was the easiest thing in the world to make, and everyone always raved over it. She’d throw some asparagus and potatoes in the oven to roast, and that would be dinner. Lisa said she was bringing dessert, so Sue didn’t have to worry about that. And she had plenty of wine on hand. Once she put everything away in the kitchen, she headed upstairs to her office and lost herself in her work for a while.
Sue had started the website a few years back, as an off-shoot of the insurance company’s blog. She had taken a course from HubSpot, a company in Cambridge, on content marketing. The idea was to drive traffic to the company website by posting informative articles on the blog on topics people were likely to search online. It worked well, but what had surprised Sue was how many requests she’d received from other insurance brokers looking for more information.
So, she’d put up a basic website with more in-depth content on the different topics. Then she developed a few online courses that related to the content, and that’s when sales took off. Related podcasts and ebooks followed, and there was no shortage of ideas for new content. Curt didn’t understand any of it, that her website was earning them money while they slept as people ordered products and courses. He liked that the money showed up in their account, though, so he didn’t complain when she started working from home more as she could still handle most of the day-to-day operations of the agency. Everyone knew she was always available by phone for any questions, though, and she enjoyed helping and trouble-shooting.
At first, Curt had complained that she wasn’t in the office enough. But when the bank deposits from the website kept increasing, he asked less often. And once Brandi started, he stopped asking entirely. Sue did try to make it in for the weekly meetings, though, and she enjoyed seeing everyone and hearing how their week went. She usually had a good idea anyway, since she always had several calls with questions from different people throughout the week, and it was all Curt ever talked about—especially how well Brandi was doing.
She was glad that Brandi had turned out to be such a good hire. She hadn’t been an inexpensive one. They found most of their people through word of mouth, but when they needed to hire again and that well was dry, they’d worked with a headhunter that specialized in the insurance industry and he found Brandi. The fee was not insignificant, but Brandi quickly paid for herself by bringing in some good new accounts.
Sue thought about what Lisa and Paige had said about Brandi and understood how it may have looked. Brandi was naturally outgoing, and very physical with people. She was an enthusiastic hugger and often touched people’s arms when she talked to them. But if you didn’t know that about her, she could see how maybe it could raise eyebrows. Especially if a married man like Curt appeared to be hanging on her every word. Knowing Curt, she was pretty sure that he just liked the attention. Curt flirted with women of all ages, but it was harmless.
She turned her attention back to her work and at about four thirty, she stopped for the day and jumped in the shower. Once she was all changed and her hair was dry, she made her way downstairs and got busy in the kitchen, putting the potatoes and asparagus in the oven to roast. She decided to make a big salad with the leafy greens and veggies she’d found earlier.
The very last step was to put the salmon on, but she wasn’t even going to do that until Lisa and Rhett arrived. She got everything ready, though—put the fish in the large saute pan and sliced the lemon and butter that she’d add to the pan. It wouldn’t take long to cook, and they could snack on cheese, crackers and wine in the meantime.
But by twenty past five, Curt wasn’t home yet and Sue started feeling annoyed. She texted him.
‘Where are you?’
And he immediately replied back, ‘on my way’.
He flew through the door fifteen minutes later and looked a mess. His tie was undone, his sleeves were rolled up, and his hair was all disheveled.
“What on earth have you been up to?”
“I was at Brandi’s and she had a plumbing issue. I tried to help, but I think I just made things worse.”
“What were you doing at Brandi’s?” Sue thought he’d been at the office.
“She had the committee meeting at her place. She wanted to show us her place and just had a new dining room table delivered.” He wasn’t looking at her, and Sue knew he wasn’t telling her everything.
“Who went?”
“What do you mean?”
“Who went to Brandi’s? Was it the whole committee?”
“No, not the whole committee.” He shifted and reached in the refrigerator for a bottled water. He was evading her question and it was starting to seriously annoy her.
“Who else went besides you and Brandi?” she asked slowly.
There was a long silence. “No one. It was just us.”
“Okay. Why didn’t the others go?”
“Well, everything was covered in the last meeting, except for the project we’re working on. We needed to go over the catering and target list of people to invite.”
Sue raised her eyebrows. “The others didn’t need to be involved with that?”
“They were initially. This was just a fine-tuning and adjusting what we’d already decided on. I think Brandi was just excited to show off her new place. It is very nice.”
“Except for the plumbing issue.”
“Well, yeah. It was a good thing I was there, actually, as she didn’t know how to turn off the water after the toilet overflowed. I found the shutoff valve and tried to fix it, but it was beyond me, so she called a plumber. And then I realized the time and raced out of there.”
“Right. Well, you’d better jump in the shower, and get cleaned up.”
Curt came back downstairs twenty minutes later, dressed in the navy v-neck sweater she’d given him for Christmas with a white t-shirt underneath, his good jeans, and with only slightly damp hair. He was all smiles.
“So, what are we having?”
“What do you think?” As if she ever made anything else.
“Oh, right. Your salmon is great.” He fished a wine opener out of a drawer and opened a cupboard to get a wine glass. “Are you ready for a glass?”
Yes, she was most definitely ready. “Sure. Open the pinot noir, that should go well with the fish.”
Curt looked through their wine rack until he found the one he was looking for, opened the bottle and poured for both of them. Sue reached for one of the glasses and took a sip. It was a good wine, smooth and fruity and not too light like some pinot noirs tended to be.
Two minutes later there was a knock on the door. It was six sharp and Lisa and Rhett were right on time. She welcomed them in and poured a glass of wine for Lisa and an IPA beer for Rhett. Sue set out a dish with a circle of goat cheese in the middle, smothered with olive oil and fresh herbs.
“Oh, that looks good. Did you make it?” Lisa asked.
Sue laughed at the thought. “No, it came this way at the market.” She opened a box of crackers and added them to the plate. Lisa spread a little on a cracker and took a taste.
“That’s delicious. Rhett, try one of these.” She made him a cracker
and he gave it a thumbs up and went back for another.
“Oh, tell me how you do your salmon. I keep meaning to try it myself.”
Sue squeezed a lemon over the salmon and added half a stick of butter to the pan, turned the heat on low and covered it.
“That’s it. Just lemon, butter and salmon. Cook on low for about twenty minutes and flip it halfway. Even I can’t screw it up.” She smiled and reached for a cracker to try the cheese.
A half hour later, they sat down to dinner. The salmon, as usual, was perfect. They all chatted easily as they ate.
“Sue tells me you guys are really busy,” Lisa commented to Curt. He lit up at the question.
“We are. Everyone is doing a great job. Brandi has been especially impressive. She keeps landing new business for us. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“She really has done a great job,” Sue agreed as she reached for more asparagus.
“And wait until you see what she has planned for A Nantucket Affair. It’s going to be the best year yet.”
“She’s on the committee with Curt,” Sue explained.
“Oh, right. That’s coming up in a few months,” Lisa said.
“It will be here before we know it. We still have a lot to do, but Brandi is so organized that it’s all going really smoothly.”
“She really sounds like something,” Rhett said.
“Oh, she is. We’re lucky to have her,” Curt gushed. Sue felt a rush of annoyance. Enough already about Brandi.
“So, on a different note, guess what I splurged on this week? It should be arriving in a few days.” Curt looked around the table, excited to share his news. Sue hadn’t a clue what he was talking about.
“What did you get?” She asked.
“Well, you know how I’ve been talking about getting a new car?” Curt had a perfectly good Honda CRX—a practical, small SUV. It was close to ten years old, but it didn’t have too many miles on it and ran perfectly.
“No, I don’t remember you mentioning wanting a new car, actually.”
“Maybe I mentioned to someone in the office, then.” Brandi, no doubt. “Anyway, I got a sweet deal and a candy apple red Mercedes convertible will soon be mine.”
Sue almost dropped her fork. Curt had never been into cars, especially not showy ones.
Rhett whistled. “That sounds like a beauty.” Sue knew that Rhett appreciated a nice car. He had a vintage Jaguar that he’d brought to the island for Daffodil Day, when he’d first arrived on the island. But a Mercedes! What was Curt thinking?
“That sounds expensive,” she said cautiously.
“Well, it’s not new, of course. If it was, that would be insanely expensive. This one is five years old and well maintained. An older couple owned it. It’s really a creampuff.”
“Whatever made you decide on that car? I thought you loved your Honda?”
“Oh, I do. It’s a great car. This is just for fun. And I figure it will look good for the agency.”
Sue raised an eyebrow. “How do you figure that?”
“Well, if I’m driving around in that car, I’ll look successful. The agency will look successful, I mean and people are attracted to that. New customers, that is.”
Sue stared at him, dumbfounded. Her husband had lost his mind.
“I’m not sure that’s true. Realtors, maybe, as they are driving clients around. We don’t really go anywhere,” she said.
“It will look nice parked right out front,” he insisted.
Lisa caught her eye and shook her head slightly. The corners of her mouth were turned up, and Sue guessed she was trying not to laugh. Sue changed the subject and they chatted about the kids and other things.
The brownies that Lisa brought were too good. Sue was full, but couldn’t resist sharing one with Lisa. The guys didn’t hesitate, and each had a full one. By the time they said their goodbyes and Lisa and Rhett left, Sue was tired and ready to fall into bed. But first, she had a few things to say to Curt.
As soon as they were alone, she turned to him.
“What is going on with you? Are you having a mid-life crisis?”
He looked surprised by the question.
“What? Because of the car?”
“That. And your obsession with Brandi. People have noticed, Curt. You’re spending a lot of time together and you’re obviously fond of each other. She’s a pretty girl and a much younger one. Is there anything you’re not telling me?” She didn’t think there was, but his behavior was frustrating.
He looked offended by the question. “Of course not. Brandi is young enough to be our daughter.” She was, in fact, the same age as Stephanie.
“That doesn’t matter to a lot of people,” she said.
“I’m sorry. I never thought about how it might look. It’s totally innocent, but you know that. I will admit, though, that I like the attention. Brandi is good for my ego.”
For a moment, Sue felt hurt. “I’m not good for your ego?”
He looked at her quite seriously. “Honestly, lately you haven’t wanted to be around me much. You never want to come out with us. Sometimes it seems like I’m bothering you, so yeah, I’ve enjoyed flirting with Brandi a little. It’s harmless. It’s just how I am, you know that.”
She sighed. “I know. It’s just when other people mention it to me that it’s embarrassing. If anyone had seen you going to her house today—well, that’s how rumors get started.”
“I suppose you’re right about that. She was just so excited to show me her place. She said I’m the first person that she’s had over.” That made Sue wonder about Brandi’s intentions. Was she as innocent as Curt seemed to think?
“She needs to make some more friends,” Sue said dryly.
“So, are we okay? What do you think about the car?”
“I think it would have been nice if you’d mentioned it to me before you bought it. Why didn’t you?” He didn’t need to ask her permission, and they had the money for the car. She was just surprised that he didn’t think to ask her opinion before he made the decision to buy.
A sheepish look crossed his face. “I didn’t want you to try to talk me out of it. You know you would have. It’s completely frivolous, and you’re right, my car is fine. It’s just that I wanted to splurge. I test drove it last weekend and it’s so fun to drive.” Sue didn’t doubt that.
“Wait, did you say you test drove it last weekend? You went off-island?”
She knew that he definitely hadn’t mentioned that. Unless she was losing her mind.
“It was a spur-of-the-moment thing. You weren’t home and I just went. I was home by dinner. I just had to go check it out. And I’m glad I did.”
“Well, I’m glad you got it, then, if it made you that happy.” He looked like a little kid, he was so excited about the new car.
“So, you wouldn’t be feeling romantic by any chance, would you? We could go upstairs and celebrate the new car.” He was serious. But there was no way. Sue couldn’t shift gears that quickly. She was still annoyed that he hadn’t told her about the car, and she felt uneasy about the whole Brandi situation. She believed Curt, that there was nothing there. But he was still drawn to Brandi. She gave him something that Sue didn’t right now. He was basking in her attention. It felt like the two of them just weren’t on the same page lately.
“Not tonight. I’m too tired.”
Disappointment flashed across Curt’s face, but he just nodded. “All right. I’m going to head up to bed then.”
“I’m right behind you. I’m going to stop in the office for a minute and just check some emails first.”
Chapter 19
When Beth arrived home the next day, Chase was out but he’d left her a note and a box of her favorite dark chocolate caramels with sea salt. She smiled. Some guys did flowers, but Chase knew she much preferred sweets. His note was short and sweet.
“I’m sorry I was a jerk. Forgive me?” As if there was any doubt. She opened the box and popped a chocolate in her mouth
. They were from Sweet Inspirations, her favorite place for chocolates on Nantucket.
While she waited for Chase to come home, Beth did her laundry for the week and cleaned up a bit. Unlike Angela, Beth hated cleaning, and Chase wasn’t too fond of it, either. They both pitched in and it really wasn’t too bad as their place was small. Someday, when they could justify the expense and were living elsewhere, they’d hire Angela’s company.
Beth finished the laundry and cleaning and had just flopped down on the sofa to watch a little TV when Chase walked in. He saw her and grinned, as she was holding the box of chocolates and had just put one in her mouth. He sat down next to her.
“Does this mean I’m forgiven?” He glanced at the chocolates.
Beth laughed. “Does what mean you’re forgiven? I’m just sitting here eating chocolate. They’re very good. Would you like one?” She held the box out and he grabbed one.
“I really am sorry. I’ve just been a grouch. It was a stressful week and we just have to be so careful now with expenses on the flip house.”
“I know. It’s been stressing me out, too, but I’m just trying to stay positive. And of course you’re forgiven.” She leaned toward him and his lips met hers for a quick kiss.
“Good, because I hated that we fought. You’re the most important person in my life.”
“It was our first real disagreement. I’m sure it won’t be our last. I hated it, too. You’re the last person I want to fight with.”
“So, if you’re interested, I thought maybe we’d grab a bite to eat somewhere? Are you in the mood for anything in particular?”
Beth thought about it for a moment. “How about the Thai place? We haven’t been there in a while and it’s inexpensive.”
“Sounds good to me.”
Later, over dinner, Chase turned the discussion back to the flip house.
“I think if all goes well, we should be finished in just about two weeks. Lauren called yesterday and said she’s already told some of her buyers that she has a great property coming soon. She suggested an open house again, no showings until that day. Maybe we can collect multiple offers.”
A Nantucket Affair Page 10
