That interest in her—that ability he had to make her feel like what she had to say mattered—was something she’d been missing in her last two relationships. She’d always made a point to care about what other people said and felt and wanted—but she’d rarely found the favor returned when it came time to talk about her goals, her galleries, her wants. Especially with Todd. Todd, who became so enamored of his own success that after a while, he couldn’t talk about anything else. She’d actually been relieved when he told her he’d found someone else. Two years of her life down the tubes with that one, and she’d been glad to wave good-bye.
Well, that’s how it went with relationships sometimes, she thought. You pay your money and you take your chances, as her grandmother used to say. There just weren’t any guarantees. Carly knew that, but why was it so hard to find the right one? And why had the one who seemed like the one turned out to be a dud, and why did you have to invest two years of your life before you realized that he wasn’t the one after all?
She was still pondering these weighty matters when Ellie called.
“What are you doing?” Ellie asked.
“Staring at the mess on my dining room table and wondering why it’s so hard for me to toss out all my notes.”
“How ’bout we get together for pancakes?”
“What, you’re making pancakes? Seriously? You’re going to cook?”
“Well, no. Actually, Gabi and I were hoping you were. Cam’s sailing this morning, so we thought it was a good time for a girls’ breakfast.”
Carly laughed. “Sure. Come on over and we’ll christen my frying pan. Bring eggs. Oh, and maple syrup.”
“You got it. See you in fifteen.”
So, there goes the morning, Carly mused, and headed toward the bedroom to change, then back into the kitchen, where she made a second cup of coffee and began to get out the ingredients she needed for pancakes. Despite the fact that her family had always had a cook, she had learned early on that she had a talent for cooking. Ellie—not so much, although her family also had had the luxury of wealth and a professional cook.
“We’re here, Carly!” Gabi announced from the side door.
“Come on in.” Carly had just finished setting the table for three. “Oh, you brought Dune! Hi, pup!” Carly knelt to pet the little dog, who gleefully danced around her feet.
“We picked up blueberries.” Ellie held up a bag. “And syrup.”
“Thanks. You can put it all right on the counter.” Carly stood.
“Your house is so cute, Carly.” Gabi wandered into the living room. “What’s upstairs?”
“Two rooms and a bath. You can go look, if you’d like,” Carly told her, and the teenager took off up the steps, the dog at her heels.
“I hope you don’t mind that we brought Dune,” Ellie said. “As soon as she heard your name, she went right to the door, wagging her tail. Gabi swears she understood ‘Carly,’ ‘pancakes,’ and ‘girls’ breakfast,’ and she assumed she was included.”
“Of course I don’t mind. If I could, I’d have a dog.”
“Why can’t you have a dog, Carly?” Gabi came back down the steps and into the kitchen.
“Because I don’t have time to take care of one when I’m home. I travel a lot, I’m gone sometimes days at a time.”
“You could leave it with us. We could take care of it when you go away.”
“That would be a pain, driving the dog from Connecticut to St. Dennis every time I had a trip,” Carly told her.
“Oh. I thought this was your house. That you were living here.” Gabi frowned.
“Only till the exhibit is over, honey. Then I’ll go back to my old life.”
“I like this life better,” Gabi said. “I like it when you’re here.”
“I like being here,” Carly admitted.
“I love your little house.” Gabi went to the back door. “Oh, your yard is fenced in. Can Dune and I go out and look around?”
“Of course.”
Gabi opened the door and Dune shot out. “Hey, wait for me …”
“Make sure you clean up after her if she makes a mess,” Ellie called to her sister as the girl ran out after the dog.
“Is there something I can do?” Ellie asked.
“No, I’m good, thanks.” Carly rinsed the berries and set them aside to drain while she made the batter.
“So how’s the book?”
“Done and on its way to being formatted. It actually came together quite nicely.”
“Why do you sound surprised?”
“Because I’ve never written a book before.”
“You’ve been writing about art and artists for years, Car.”
“But not a book. I wanted to do Carolina justice.”
“So do you have a copy of it that I could read?”
“Help yourself. She’s your great-great-grandmother. See what you think. It’s that stack of papers on the left side of the dining room table.”
Ellie left the room and Carly began making pancakes, pouring the batter into the hot pan and watching for just the right moment to flip them over.
Ellie came into the room holding Ford’s jacket. “Whose jacket is this?”
Carly turned to look. “Oh. That.” She turned back to the frying pan. “That’s Ford’s.”
“Ford was here? Wearing a nice sport jacket?” Ellie grinned. “A nice sport jacket that he apparently then removed?”
“We went to dinner last night.”
“Do tell.” Ellie leaned against the doorway.
“Not much to tell. We went to Lola’s. Have you had their scallops? They’re—”
“Yeah, yeah, I’ve had the scallops. I don’t care what you ate. I want to know about your date and why you didn’t tell me you were going out with him.”
“I meant to as soon as I had an opportunity.”
Ellie took her phone from her bag and held it up. “Hello? Phone? Text? Email?”
“Okay, I know. I should have called but I’ve been so immersed in trying to get the gallery ready to open. We finally got the HVAC straightened out, and the interior drywalled and painted …”
Ellie wiggled her left hand so Carly could see the ring on her third finger. “Engaged to the contractor, so you can skip all that. Go straight to the good stuff.”
“Oh. The good stuff.” Carly nodded. “That was pretty good.”
“Hold that thought.” Ellie returned the jacket to the dining room and was back in the kitchen in a blink.
“Spill.”
Carly leaned against the counter, spatula in hand.
“Best date I’ve had in … damn, I can’t remember when. The night was beautiful, the restaurant was beautiful, the food was perfect.” She sighed.
“What did you wear?” Ellie leaned forward and rested her arms on the table.
“Only the most perfect dress I ever owned. I got it at Bling on Friday.”
“Vanessa has the most uncanny knack for picking out the most fabulous things, but we digress.” Ellie gestured for Carly to get on with it.
“So we walked down to the Bay after dinner, and we talked. We talked a lot, did I mention it?”
“No, you did not.” Ellie made a face. “I hope that’s not the ‘good stuff’ you were referring to.”
Carly laughed. “Well, it was really nice to talk to a guy who listened, who conversed.”
“That’s important, of course it is, but right now what I’m interested in is what came after all the chatting.”
“Best kisser on the planet. Hands down,” Carly told her solemnly.
“Do tell.”
“I hated to see him leave.”