“The party was clearly Grace’s idea, and it seemed as if everyone there was happy to see Ford, but it didn’t seem that he really engaged with anyone. He didn’t show much emotion.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean that you’d think that if you’d been away from your friends for a long time, when you finally saw them again, you’d look happy to see them.”
“Well, yeah, if they were really your friends, you would be. Are you saying he seemed unhappy?”
“ ‘Unhappy’ isn’t the right word. I think maybe ‘distant’ is a better term. Or ‘detached.’ ” Ellie appeared to weigh the word. “Yes, detached is the best way to describe him.”
“Funny. I didn’t have that impression of him at all. At least, not at first.” Carly rinsed her glass and sat it on the counter. “In the lobby, he was friendly and talkative. We were going to go out front to look at the porch columns, but—”
“Wait. What?”
“He was talking about the painting, how it was the front of the inn. I mentioned that I hadn’t seen the front, so he said I should probably take a look, that I could go out through the double doors, and we started walking in that direction. That’s when someone came out from the party room and told him that people were looking for him.” Carly paused again. “I suppose it should have occurred to me right then who he was, if people were looking for him.”
“Not necessarily. But go on.”
“There’s not much more to tell. Just that when his friend said that, his demeanor changed from friendly to … I don’t know, disinterested, maybe.” She mulled over Ellie’s words. “Maybe detached, yeah. And then he just went into the room where the party was and I went outside by myself. A little while later the party was over and we came back here. End of story.”
“Too bad.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I could see the two of you—”
“Stop. No. No, you cannot see anything. I’m not here to get fixed up or to find a guy. I’m here because of your great-great-grandmother’s work and that’s all.”
“Not even to visit with your bestie?” Ellie had adopted a faux-injured expression.
“Okay, yes. Of course I wanted to visit with my bestie.” Carly laughed. “I always love to visit with you. I love your company and your house and your town. But I’m not looking for any other kind of love. Just not interested.”
“Pity.” Ellie shook her head. “Well, if not love, then how ’bout ice cream?”
“I’m always interested in ice cream.”
“Last night Stephie said she’s made some new coconut cashew mango something or other and it sounded heavenly.”
“Of course.” Carly could only imagine what Steph’s latest concoction might taste like. Whatever it was, she knew it would be delicious. “What’s a visit to St. Dennis without a stop at Scoop? Just give me a minute to grab my bag …”
“Did you enjoy the party, son?”
Grace had come into the inn’s dining room shortly after Ford arrived. This morning there’d been no tray of coffee and goodies left in his room, so he assumed that meant he was to eat where everyone else ate: in the dining room.
“It was a very nice party, Mom. Thanks for putting it together on such short notice.” He stood as she approached the table and held a chair for her before reseating himself.
“I detect a note of formality that belies your words.” Grace signaled a waiter for coffee. “I don’t think you enjoyed yourself as much as you pretended to. It’s all right. You can be honest.”
“I guess I’m not used to large gatherings,” he said carefully. “And I’m not much for small talk. It was nice to see old friends, though.”
“I realized after the fact that I should have asked you first. I’m just so accustomed to doing my thing and not asking for anyone else’s opinion.” Grace shook her head. “I just thought it would be so nice for you—”
“Mom, it’s fine. Perfectly fine. The party was really nice and I survived in spite of myself.” He tried to make a joke but she barely smiled. “Look, I know that you were only thinking of me and I appreciate it. Really, I do. It was very thoughtful. So no harm, no foul, as you always say.”
“All right, then. It’s done and behind us and you’ve become reacquainted with old friends and neighbors and that’s that.” She shook her napkin and placed it on her lap. “I’m having a crab omelet this morning. How does that sound?”
“Sounds great.”
The waiter served their coffee and Ford gave him their orders.
“So who all did you talk to last night?” Grace asked.
“Mostly people I knew from school. Cam O’Connor, that crowd. Met a lot of new people, too. Two of Curtis Enright’s grandkids …”
Grace nodded. “Jesse and Sophie. Jesse is married to Clay’s sister, Brooke.”
“Right. And Sophie owns a new restaurant out on River Road—I do remember that.”
“A lovely place. Blossoms, it’s called. Who else?”
He mentioned a few other people as he added a swipe of cream to his coffee and savored the flavor. He’d been drinking bad black coffee—bad instant coffee, at that—for so long that every cup now seemed like a tiny miracle.
“Did Cam introduce you to his fiancée? Ellie?” His mother pressed on.
“He did. She seems nice.” Ford figured that was the expected response.
“She’s lovely. Her father is Clifford Chapman, did you know?”
“Who’s Clifford Chapman?” The name meant nothing to him.
“The King of Fraud?”
Ford shook his head. “Sorry.”
“I guess the scandal broke while you were away. He was an investment broker who defrauded his clients of billions of dollars. He was arrested, pled guilty, and is serving a life sentence.” Grace leaned forward to add softly, “Along with Ellie’s former fiancé, can you imagine? Lucky for her that she had to move here and in the process met Cameron.”
“Why did she have to move here?”
“The poor thing had nowhere else to go. The government confiscated everything she owned because she worked for her father, and therefore everything she purchased with money she earned was considered ‘fruit of the poisoned tree,’ as they say.”
“If she worked for her father, why wasn’t she arrested, too?”
“She wasn’t involved in investing. She handled their PR.”
“That doesn’t explain why she had to come here.”
“She inherited a house in St. Dennis from her mother. Do you remember Lilly Cavanaugh?”
“Sure. She lived down at the end of Bay View. Mr. Cavanaugh carved duck decoys and they always had the best Halloween candy.” Ford’s eyebrows knitted together. “Wait, how could Lilly have been her mother? Lilly was ancient.”
“Not Lilly, dear. Lilly’s grandniece, Lynley Sebastian.” Grace tapped him on the arm. “And be careful when throwing around words like ‘ancient.’ ”
“I definitely remember Lynley.” Ford grinned. “Every guy in town was madly in love with Lynley.”
Grace sipped her coffee, then, as if an afterthought, added, “Oh, did you happen to meet Ellie’s friend Carly?”
Ford frowned. “Whose friend?”
“Ellie’s. Carly Summit.”
“Maybe. I don’t know.” He shrugged. “I don’t think so. The name isn’t ringing a bell, but I met a lot of people last night.” He hesitated, then asked, “Should I have?”
“I was just wondering because she came with Cam and Ellie. I invited her because she was staying with them this weekend, and I didn’t want them to decide not to come because she was a houseguest.”
“Here’s breakfast.” Ford dismissed all thoughts of the party and whom he met or didn’t meet. None of that mattered. The party was behind them, he had survived it, and there was no point in rehashing it any further, as far as he was concerned. He was just happy that it was over and that with any luck he wouldn’t have to deal with a crowd like that again. Ever.