Jamie came in, wearing the clothes he’d worn when they went out to dinner. “You don’t need to do that to your hair. You look great with it pulled back flat.”
“Nice to hear but not really true,” she answered. “Oh, no!” Her cell phone was ringing.
Jamie took it off her nightstand and looked at the ID but said nothing.
“Who is it?”
Silently, he handed her the phone. In big letters it said BRADEN. “It’s probably his mom.” She put down the iron, took the phone, and stepped into the sitting room. “Hello?” she said tentatively.
“Hallie?”
“Braden! How are you? And how is your mother?”
“Everyone is fine. Do you have a moment?”
“Of course. My time is yours.”
Jamie was standing in the doorway. “We need to go down and greet our guests,” he said rather loudly.
“You’re not alone,” Braden said. “And you have guests? Is that someone I know?”
“No, you’ve not met him,” Hallie said while frowning at Jamie and motioning for him to go away.
But he sat down in a chair, his hands on his lap, looking as though he meant to stay there.
Hallie turned her back on him. “I was told that you’re coming here to visit.”
“Yes,” Braden said, “I am. Hallie, I have to tell you something and I hope it won’t upset you. I wanted to hear both sides of what went on between you and Shelly so I spent some time with her. I even took her to the office with me.”
“Oh,” Hallie said and sat down heavily on the window seat. “Let me guess. You think she went about it the wrong way, but she has a valid reason for what she did.”
Braden gave a laugh. “No, I haven’t changed.”
Hallie’s smile deepened. “Has she put my house up for sale?”
“No, and she’s not going to!” Braden’s voice was firm. “But she made a pass at my boss.”
“She didn’t!”
“Oh, yes,” Braden said. “She most certainly did. Anyway, Hallie, I have some paperwork to clear up at the office, then I’ll fly out to Nantucket and we can talk. But honestly, is it all right for Shelly to continue living in your house for another week or so? She got a job at a restaurant so she can feed herself, but she can’t pay the mortgage. Once this is settled, I’ll get
her out.”
“Let her stay. I’ll make the payments from here. Whenever you can come, let me know. I have a guest bedroom and—” She broke off as she looked at Jamie, who was glaring at her. “I’ll be here,” she finished.
“Hallie, I so look forward to seeing you again. Maybe when I’m there it won’t all be work. Maybe we can play some.”
“I’d like that,” she said. “I’d like that very much.”
They said goodbye and hung up. Hallie sat there for a few moments, holding the phone in her hands and thinking about what had just been said. Maybe they could play some?
She came back to the present when Jamie got up and started to leave—and she realized she’d just given his bedroom away. “I didn’t mean to—”
“That’s all right,” he said. “He’s your friend and you want him to be more. You think I should wear a tie tonight?”
“No,” she said. “Jamie, I—”
When he turned to her, his face was cold, withdrawn. “Hallie, we all have pasts full of secrets. When your friend arrives, I’ll get out and he can have the bedroom next to you. And oh, yeah, this morning when you and I…you know, don’t think about it. It would have happened with anyone.” He went to his bedroom and shut the door behind him.