67
Tito was unusually quiet. Typically, they talked nonstop while the dogs frolicked on the beach at the municipal lot. Today, instead of sitting on one of the benches, they found two egg crates someone left in the sand and they used them as seats.
“Are you upset with me about something?” Elodie said.
“I’m not upset with you,” he said. “But your sister did break Jack’s heart.”
This was about Jack and Celeste?
“What do you mean?”
Tito looked over at her. “You don’t know? Celeste canceled the wedding.”
No, Elodie did not know.
“I’m sorry. I had no idea. To be honest, we had a bit of an argument yesterday morning and we haven’t spoken since.” A small crab scuttled out from the bottom of her crate.
“What’s she mad at you for?”
“A business decision I made,” Elodie said.
Tito shook his head. “I never understood that woman. They would’ve been hitched a long time ago if it were up to Jack. Celeste’s a free spirit and that’s fine. But in a relationship you gotta give a little.”
She looked at him, incredulous. “In a relationship you have to give a little? Says the man who refuses to spend time with me in New York.” Pearl, at the edge of the water, turned at the sound of her raised voice.
Tito looked surprised, then understanding dawned and he rubbed his brow.
“Okay, you got me there.”
“Look,” she said, her voice softening. “It was a lovely gesture for you to ask me to live with you. But I already have a home. If we’re going to be together, I need you to be part of that life, too.”
He looked out at the water. The egg crate underneath her suddenly felt very wobbly. She watched Pearl, trying to pretend she hadn’t just given the man she loved an ultimatum. And really, who was she to push him to compromise when she hadn’t been completely honest with him all summer? He didn’t know that she was the one who lured Gemma to the Cape, or about any of the infighting in their family that might have given Celeste a damn good reason to be afraid of commitment. Tito believed she truly intended to open a Pavlin & Co outpost on Commercial Street!
“Well, Elodie,” he said, turning back to her. “You drive a hard bargain. I’ll think about it. But I warn you: You take this seafaring fella to the big city at your own risk.”
Bart ambled over to them, impatient and needing attention. Tito waved a stick and tossed it, sending him dashing back toward the water.
If she was going to really go for it—change her life, figure out a way to work remotely, travel back and forth so she could have her relationship and her company—she had to know if it was for real. If he was going to stick around. One way to test that was to share the worst part of herself.
And so she told him. About her manipulations all summer. The lie about her intention to open a shop in town. About Liam. About Paulina. About the family infighting and decades of resentment. About how she took it all out on her niece, shutting her out and, maybe worst of all, tainting her memory of her father.
He listened calmly. Silently. When she was done talking, he said simply, “You can fix this.”
“I don’t know,” she said, shaking her head. But she knew she had to try. As long as she was fighting with her sister and her niece, the wounds of the past would never be healed. And they would all suffer because of it.
“Do you think terribly of me?” she said, feeling more vulnerable than she’d ever felt before. Sitting on that spit of sand, surrounded by water and with the taste of salt in her mouth and the wind in her face, it was as if her entire life had led to that moment.
“Of course not. How could I?” he said, his gaze soft. “I love you, Elodie.”
Her heart swelled. He moved his egg crate closer to her, pulling her into his arms. She felt herself losing her balance, but he kept her steady.
“I love you, too,” she said. And then, “Tito, if I do move in with you—or, at the very least, spend a lot more time out here—what would I do about my work?”
“Well,” he said, seeming to ponder this. “A very clever businesswoman I happen to know said recently that this town needs a high-end jewelry shop . . .”
Gemma wiped perspiration from her forehead, climbing the stairs to Lidia’s front deck.
It felt like the entire town had descended on the marina. The line for boat rentals stretched almost to the street and there was a crowded queue of people waiting to board the seal tour boat. Behind the house, Manny and a few other men were repairing a pontoon. Carnival week was just around the corner and the streets and shops were already at maximum capacity.
If Gemma had her way, the argument with Elodie in Manhattan would be the last time they ever spoke. Just thinking about the self-righteous expression on her aunt’s face when she spoke about her father still made her feel sick. But if she wanted to help Celeste, she had to put all of that aside.
She was so anxious about seeing Elodie, she wasn’t prepared to run into Jack. He descended the stairs carrying a large cooler.
“Hi, Jack,” she said, smiling awkwardly. Should she acknowledge what was going on, or just act normal, or what?
“Hey there, Gemma,” he said with a faint smile. The usual twinkle in his eye was gone. He looked tired, pale underneath his tan. She remembered his kindness to her the day she first arrived in town, so uncertain and unmoored.
“We’re having a party here tomorrow night. I know Alvie’s coming, so be sure to stop by.”
With that, he continued on. She swallowed hard. Tomorrow was supposed to be their wedding day. She hoped there was some way to make sure it still was. She needed to see at least one Pavlin woman get her happy ending. She didn’t believe in curses, but she did believe in love, even if she couldn’t find it herself.
She knocked on the screen door before opening it. Lidia sat at the kitchen table, which was covered by long brown fronds of some sort. The room smelled dank and salty.
“Gemma, what a nice surprise. Come on in. Don’t mind the smell—it’s just fresh kelp.”
Gemma had to resist the urge to cover her nose. She leaned against the counter.
“Is Elodie here?”
“She and Tito are out with the dogs. But they should be back anytime now. Have a seat.”
“I saw Jack on my way in,” she said.
Lidia frowned. “Yes. We have a full house here. I’m usually happy to have the whole family under one roof, but not under these circumstances.”
“I know. I’m trying to help Celeste see she’s making a mistake. That’s why I want to talk to Elodie. I need her help.”
Elodie’s pug, Pearl, ambled into the kitchen. Gemma tensed, knowing her owner wouldn’t be far behind. It was hot in the kitchen, the window behind the sink open and a ceiling fan lazily stirring the soupy air. Pearl trotted over to a water bowl.
Elodie, dressed in madras plaid shorts and navy Tory Burch ballerina flats, walked in.
“Why don’t you two go out on the porch and chat? I know you have a lot to discuss,” Lidia said with a wink.
“Oh,” Elodie said, caught off-guard. “Just a minute. I need to get something from upstairs.”