Graham carried the ice chest, trying to ignore the thwapping that came from inside. For the tenth time, she reminded herself that lobsters don’t have a central nervous system. Short of being a full vegetarian, cooking and eating lobster was about as humane as it got.
The next thwap caused the cooler to shift in her hand. She swallowed the squeal that bubbled up. Barely.
She let herself in the side gate that led to Aunt Nora’s garden and the back door of the inn. She set the cooler at the bottom of the porch steps and headed into the house. She found Tisha in the kitchen, singing and arranging cheese on a large wooden board. She spotted Graham and smiled. “Hey, girl. I haven’t seen you in forever.”
Graham crossed the room and gave her a hug. “It feels that way, doesn’t it? How’s it going?”
“Well, other than living in the middle of a honeymoon, I’m great.” Tisha rolled her eyes, but laughed.
Graham smiled at the description. If someone had told her a year ago that her aunt would be blissfully happy with a live-in girlfriend—who happened to be Graham’s friend—she’d have scoffed. And yet, here they were. Her unrequited crush on Will felt like a distant memory. “That bad, huh?”
Tisha shook her head. “It’s adorable. I just feel it’s my right to tease Nora about it.”
Tisha was the summer manager at Failte, and one of Aunt Nora’s closest friends. When Will and Nora had temporarily split, Tisha was Graham’s biggest ally in nudging them to get back together. Graham put an arm around Tisha and gave her a squeeze. “It’s your right and your responsibility. Aunt Nora needs to remember it’s not good to be so damn stubborn.”
“Who’s stubborn?”
At the sound of Nora’s voice, both Graham and Tisha turned. Nora stood in the doorway to the dining room, a look of mild curiosity on her face. Without missing a beat, Tisha said, “You.”
Nora nodded and shrugged, making Graham snicker. “We were discussing how blissfully happy you are now that Will has moved in.”
Rather than protest, Nora’s face softened and she smiled. “It’s so much more practical, not to mention economical.”
“Economical?” Tisha stuck her tongue in her cheek. “Is that what the kids are calling it these days?”
Graham couldn’t suppress another snicker. Nora gave Tisha a bland look. “Really?”
Tisha picked up the board she’d been arranging when Graham arrived. “This is ready to go out.”
Nora accepted it and turned to leave. Before she pushed through the swinging door back into the dining room, she said, “I wonder sometimes why I like you.”
Unfazed by the insult, Tisha laughed and called after her, “You and me both, woman.”
When she’d gone, Graham turned her attention back to Tisha. “Are you joining us for dinner? I brought four lobsters in case.”
Tisha offered her a warm smile. “It’s sweet you thought of me, but I got plans of my own.”
“Hot date?”
Tisha raised a brow. “I might have met one of the new cooks at the Lobster Pot.”
“Is he good looking or did he offer to make you dinner?”
Tisha’s eyes gleamed. “Girl, what makes you think it’s not both?”
“I should have expected nothing less. We’ll miss you, but I’m glad it’s for such a good reason.” Graham looked around the kitchen. “Is there anything I can help with?”
“No, you take a drink and go relax.”
Graham eyed the pitcher of sangria that had yet to be put out for happy hour. “You don’t have to tell me twice.”
She poured herself a glass and headed to the backyard, figuring most of the inn’s guests would congregate on the front porch and in the sitting room. She picked one of the benches in the shade and made herself comfortable. The garden was in full bloom. Graham inhaled deeply, appreciating the fragrance as much as the flash of color. She closed her eyes and let out a contented sigh.
It took less than ten seconds for the image of the lobsterwoman to fill her brain. For the last few days, Graham had made a point of wandering the pier before and after her shifts. A couple of times, she even used her lunch hour to try and catch a glimpse of the Paquette and its sexy captain. She’d succeeded three times. Two of those times, the woman had looked her way. Both times, she offered the same easy, knowing smile.
Graham opened her eyes and huffed out a breath. Her worst fear was to spend the rest of the season half admiring, half stalking this woman, and never even learning her name. But it seemed unlikely the woman would leave her boat to talk to Graham. If only she could run into her somewhere else. Neutral territory, ideally with Graham wearing something nicer than her Dolphin Fleet polo shirt and a pair of khakis.
“Why do you look so perturbed?” Will stood near the side gate, a look of concern on her face.
“I’m not perturbed.” She wasn’t. Mildly frustrated, maybe.
“Could have fooled me.” Will, dressed in her own Dolphin Fleet uniform, angled her head and met Graham’s gaze.
“Do you know that I’ve lived in Provincetown for over a year, not to mention the whole summer before that, and I haven’t hooked up with a single woman that whole time?”
“Do you want a hookup?”
Graham sighed. “I don’t know. Maybe? I want to do something. I’ve had exactly two dates. No girlfriend. No action. None.”
Without waiting for an invitation, Will sat next to her on the bench. “I hear you.”
“It just feels a bit pathetic, to be in a town teeming with lesbians, completely celibate.”
Will nodded. “I felt the same when I first moved here, even knowing I was just out of a relationship and needed to regroup.”
“Yeah, I’m grouped. I’d like someone to come and,” she waved her hands back and forth, “muss me up.”
Will chuckled at the description. “Is this a general feeling you’re having or has someone stirred your pot?”
It seemed ridiculous to confess her pseudo-obsession with a woman she’d never actually spoken to. And, really, this woman only stirred up feelings that had been there all along. “General, I’d say.”
Will narrowed her eyes. “Really?”
She appreciated that Will knew her well enough not to take everything she said at face value. “I happened upon an exceptionally hot woman the other day. She may have brought things to the surface.”
“Who is she? Do I know her?”
“I doubt it. She works on one of the lobster boats that moor at MacMillan Pier.”
Will folded her arms and leaned forward. “Oh, a townie. Intriguing. Tell me more.”
“There’s not much to tell. I saw her. She’s hot. That’s about it.”
“Have you spoken to her? Do you know if she’s local? Is it her boat or does she just work on it?”
“We’ve not spoken, so I know nothing. I’m not even sure how I’d initiate a conversation.” Graham thought about Jess’s many and varied ideas for doing so.
Will looked at the sky. “How about, ‘Hi, I was admiring your boat. Do you come here often?’”
Graham snorted. “Okay, that is truly terrible.”
Will shrugged. “Do you have something better?”
Graham let her shoulders slump. “No.”
“Well, maybe beggars shouldn’t be choosers.”
“Maybe we could not use the term beggar to talk about my love life.”
Will leaned over, bumping her shoulder against Graham’s. “Sorry.”
“It’s okay. I’m feeling pretty awkward and pathetic already. Beggar isn’t much of a leap.”
“I was kidding. You’re lovely.” Will looked at her earnestly.
“And single.”
“And beautiful and smart and a total catch.”
“And single.” She paused between each word for extra emphasis.
“Oh, Graham.”
Will frowned and Graham could see that she was truly worried. Graham made a point of smiling. She squeezed Will’s leg. “It’s okay. I’m being dramatic.”
Will sighed heavily. “No, I understand how you feel. It’s hard.”
Graham shook her head. She did not want to wallow. “It’s not that bad. I’m not looking to get married or anything. I’m twenty-five. I’ve got time for that. Maybe you’re right and I should just put myself out there a little more.”
Will perked up. “That’s the spirit. Talk to your lobsterwoman.”
“Maybe.”
“You could also—” Will’s suggestion was interrupted by Nora calling to them. Will said, “We’re out here.”
Before Nora had a chance to join them, Graham placed a hand on Will’s arm. “Can we keep this between us?”
Will offered a knowing nod. “Of course.”
“How’s the party?” Graham asked as Nora approached.
“In full swing. Six of them are teacher friends. Who knew teachers were such party animals?”
“I’m not surprised.” Will stood and gave Nora a kiss. “I bet teachers are excellent at relaxing.”
Graham laughed at the idea. “They’d have to be, right?”
“Can I help with anything?” Will asked, sliding an arm around Nora’s waist.
“Not a thing. The food is under control and my guests are so chatty with each other, I didn’t even hesitate to sneak away to come search for you two.”
“Aunt Nora, are you playing hooky?” Graham opened her eyes wide and used her most scandalized voice.
Nora straightened her shoulders and tossed her hair. “I am exploring a more relaxed management style.”
“I see.” Graham bit the inside of her cheek and tried to decide if it was okay to laugh. A peek at Will and the serious look on her face told her maybe not. “Well, I think it’s great. And everything about a stay at Failte is so perfect, I can’t imagine your guests will mind one bit, if they even notice.”
Nora folded her arms. “You can say it. I have a tendency to overdo.”
Graham shook her head. She knew better. “Nope. I know no such thing.”
Nora’s expression turned to one of playful exasperation. “You didn’t hesitate to make your feelings known when I broke my arm last year, or when you decided to meddle in my love life.”
Now it was Graham’s turn to be exasperated. “You’re really going to complain about that?”
Nora turned her head and planted a kiss on Will’s cheek. “Not one bit.”
“Okay, then. Did you two decide who’s going to cook the lobsters I bought us?”
Will raised a hand. “Nora made dessert, so it’s all me.”
Graham smiled. “I love teamwork.”
It was just after seven when the last of Nora’s guests cleared out for dinners or shows or walks along the beach. Tisha was long gone. Will took charge in the kitchen, insisting she had everything under control. She wasn’t squeamish, but Graham had no problem at all being far, far away when the lobsters went into the pot. She helped Nora set the table out in the garden, in part because it was a lovely night and in part because it would make cleanup a lot easier.
Will came out with potatoes, corn, and three small bowls of drawn butter. She made a second trip for the main course. Nora opened a sauvignon blanc. Before long, they were seated together, each with a huge lobster tail in front of them. They took turns with the kitchen shears, snipping the shell up one side and down the other. Graham pitched her shell into the bucket at her feet and smiled at the plump, succulent meat in front of her. “Thanks for cooking.”
“I think we’re the ones thanking you,” Will said, raising her glass.
“Agreed.” Nora dipped a forkful into the butter. “This is lovely and indulgent.”
Graham thought about the lobsterwoman, wondered if she regularly enjoyed her catch like this. For the first time since the woman had taken up residence in her mind, Graham considered that she might have a wife. Or girlfriend. Or husband. Good God, please don’t let her have a husband. That would make her unattainable and mean Graham’s instincts were way off. She shook her head, forcing the thoughts away. “I’m glad we get to be lovely and indulgent together.”
After dinner, Nora brought out a perfect looking lemon tart. Despite being beyond full, Graham had a slice. She knew how much butter went into it. Even with that knowledge, she convinced herself it was a refreshing, if not light, way to end the meal.
They lingered outside until the sun began to set. The air took on a chill and Graham wished she’d brought a sweater. As if sensing her thoughts, Nora offered her one. She accepted it with thanks and a promise to return it in the next couple of days. After hugs and numerous promises to do it again soon, with or without lobster, Graham wished them good night.
As she walked along Bradford Street, Graham thought about Will and Nora, tidying the kitchen, deciding on a movie to watch before bed. She was happy for them, truly. But the mild desire she’d mentioned to Will earlier had grown into a persistent longing. She needed to break out of the rut she’d inadvertently found herself in, whether it was with the striking woman from the lobster boat or not.