Thinking of Poppy’s online videos, Ivy grinned.
Shelly bustled in holding a bamboo tray with two rose-colored drinks in blue-rimmed, hand-blown Mexican bubble glasses topped with lime wedges. “Specialty of the house—virgin Sea Breeze cocktails.”
“It’s you,” Megan said, delighted to see Shelly. “I love your videos. You make everything seem so easy and fun. And your arrangements are so different.”
Shelly thanked her, and they chatted while Megan and Josh accepted the icy drinks.
“Delicious,” Josh announced.
Ivy led them upstairs to their room. Against antique wicker chairs, she’d placed marine blue-and-white cushions with a pop of pink pillows. A white duvet covered the bed, and with the shutters and windows open, sheer white curtains fluttered in the breeze. In the background, the low roar of the ocean was naturally mesmerizing.
In her storage facility, Ivy had found two small canvases she’d painted years ago of Massachusetts beaches, not long after she’d arrived in Boston. Though the shorelines were rocky, in each one the sea was a majestic, curling marine blue kissed with windblown whitecaps. The artwork seemed at home in this room, and Ivy imagined that Amelia would have approved.
“This is beautiful,” Megan said, easing onto the edge of the fluffy, summer-weight down comforter. “We might never leave.”
Ivy smiled, remembering a time when she was first married and was exploring the east coast with Jeremy. From Maine, Rhode Island, Nantucket, and Martha’s Vineyard to South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. Lobster rolls, Maryland crab cakes, clam chowder… Another unbidden memory, she realized. She shook herself out of it by plumping a pillow on the love seat.
“Where’s a good place for breakfast?” Josh asked.
“All the locals go to Java Beach,” Ivy said. She hadn’t seen Mitch since they’d returned, and Ivy wondered if Shelly was still keeping her distance from him. “Be sure to sit outside on the beach. You’ll have a great view.” She was already speaking like a local.
“We came to get away from the rain in Seattle,” Megan said. “What’s fun to do around here?”
“Besides the beach, you can wander through Antique Times or stroll through the marina. For quick meals, Rosa’s has good fish tacos. And while you’re at Java Beach, ask Mitch about his whale watching trips.”
Megan and Josh were staring at Ivy’s paintings. “We saw the news about the stolen paintings,” Megan said. “Is this one...?”
“Not at all,” Ivy said, laughing. “Those are with the FBI’s Art Crime Team, and they’ll be returned to their rightful owners or their heirs.” Ivy nodded at the seascape. “That’s one of my paintings.”
Megan perked up. “I love to paint, too.”
“I’ll be giving classes here soon.” The prospect of a future here filled Ivy with such joy, but they had to fill the rest of the rooms first. And fast.
After making sure the couple was comfortable, Ivy left them and joined Shelly downstairs on the veranda, where Shelly was sitting on the steps, digging her toes into the silky sand and sipping a Sea Breeze. Ivy sat beside her.
“We’ve done it,” Ivy said. “Our first guests. And the Sea Breezes were a nice touch.”
Shelly offered her a rosy-orange colored juice cocktail. “Brought you one.”
“Virgin or fully loaded?”
“It’s not cocktail hour yet,” Shelly said, staring at the ocean. “I thought we could serve these at the open house.”
“Buttering up the neighbors?”
“Absolutely.”
Ivy lifted her face to the light ocean breeze, letting it cool her skin, while the sun hovered in the midday sky, bathing her in golden sunshine. As she enjoyed the warmth of the spring sun, she remarked, “So this is our life now.”
Shelly nudged her. “Way to land on your feet, sis. You were always the smart one.”
“So are you.”
“Sometimes I wonder,” Shelly said, scrunching her eyes against the sun.
“I have no doubt. When I left Boston on the connecting flight to New York, I was so worried that you wouldn’t get on the flight.” Ivy stretched out her legs. “That you would have stayed with Ezzra. You didn’t tell me what happened when you saw him.”
Shelly turned up a corner of her mouth. “Oh, he tried, but I’d heard all those lines before. I told him he needed a new audience.”
“See?” Ivy smirked. “Smart.” Shelly only shrugged, and Ivy could tell she was still upset. “Do you miss him?”
Shelly clasped her knees and stared ahead at the swelling waves. “It’s funny. He’s not the one I really miss.”
Mitch. Ivy caught her meaning, but what could she say?
Lifting her chin, Shelly slid a gaze toward her sister. She held out her fist. “Rock, paper, scissors to see which of us goes to invite Darla.”
“You’re on,” Ivy said.
Ivy crossed the lawn to Darla’s house. She’d lost the rock, paper, scissors game, so here she was, calling on the local dragon lady. Ivy forced a pleasant look on her face and knocked.
Darla answered. The older woman had yet another rhinestone visor clamped around her dark blue hair. Ivy wondered just how many of those she had.
“Now what is it?” Darla asked with a sneer.
Ivy handed her an invitation flyer that Poppy had composed and printed. “We’re having an open house, and we’d like you to come and join us.”
Darla narrowed her eyes. “You’re not going to have that loud music, are you?”
Ivy suppressed a laugh. “We plan to show everyone the work we’ve done on the property and talk about the future of the Seabreeze house.” Recalling Shelly’s warning, she made a point not to call it an inn just yet. That would only antagonize Darla, and Ivy wanted her—and all the other residents—to hear their entire plan first. And they needed Darla’s approval, even though they ran the risk that she would complain the loudest.
“I saw some people get out of a car earlier. I
