Page 23 of Waves of Time
Hilary smiled, her head swimming with ridiculous thoughts. She couldn’t believe how wonderful he was and how good his taste was. She couldn’t believe that Frank Wilmington had always been out there in the world.Why couldn’t she have met him sooner?
For an appetizer, Hilary and Frank ordered clam chowder, done up with French flavors. “I don’t know what my mom would think about this. She’s a Nantucketer, through and through.”
“It’s hard to get creative with traditional foods,” Frank agreed. “But I love the innovation. It’s part of why I love your interior design work so much. Everything I’ve seen that you do breaks convention. It’s remarkable.”
Hilary’s heart ballooned. “That’s what I set out to do with almost every project.”
“It’s obvious,” Frank said. “Although I’m sure you’ve made a few of your clients angry over the years.”
“It’s true that not everyone is very comfortable with breaking boundaries,” Hilary said. “But I like to think they find a way to appreciate what I’ve done.”
Frank laughed, and Hilary joined him, unsure of what she’d said that was so funny, but loving the sound of his laughter just the same.
“I knew you’d surprise me, Hilary Coleman,” Frank said. “I look forward to seeing how you surprise me with the redesign of the house. And, I hope, to many more dinners like this.”
And that night, after a luxurious dinner and even dessert— a chocolate tart covered with raspberries— Hilary and Frank floated back to his car, where she gazed into his eyes and allowed herself to dream of a future that had nothing to do with her past. When he put his hand on her lower back and opened the car door for her, she shifted her body against his and gazed into his eyes, overwhelmed at his touch. For a moment, she thought he might kiss her, and she nearly panicked. But when he didn’t, she slid into the passenger seat and buckled her seatbelt, her heart hammering in her throat. Soon, she told herself. Very soon, she would find a way to be brave enough to kiss him first. She wasn’t the kind of woman to wait around for her dreams to come true.
ChapterNine
Aria and Violet closed up the restaurant at ten-thirty that evening and set to work sweeping, wiping down tables, and mopping the floors. Throughout, Violet peppered Aria with questions about her second trip to San Francisco, sighing with jealousy about the beautiful things Aria had done and seen.
“But right now, I’m mopping a floor,” Aria pointed out, laughing, “and I have a huge ketchup stain on my shirt. So, I don’t feel especially glamorous.”
“You have your memories,” Violet teased. “And besides. I guess this Rodrick guy will invite you back out west soon?”
“The work isn’t over,” Aria said, “although, unfortunately, now that the redesign has begun, we don’t have to monitor every step. We have to go out and make sure everything has been done to our satisfaction, and then…” She trailed off, dreading the day the redesign was officially finished.
“Hey. Isn’t that Thaddeus?” Violet pointed out the window toward a group of what looked like tourists gathered around a man with wild, curly hair.
Aria stepped toward the window and peered out, watching as the figure drew his fingers through his hair and nodded at something a tourist said, his mannerisms completely Thaddeus’. “I think so. But why is he with those tourists?”
Violet sidled up alongside Aria, and they studied the scene for a moment, both perplexed.
“I wonder…” Violet began.
“What?”
Violet shook her head. “I don’t know. He was just, you know, involved in some bad stuff before.”
Aria shot Violet a look. “What kind of bad stuff?”
Before Violet could answer, Thaddeus broke off from the group and, to Aria’s surprise, directed himself toward the restaurant. There in the bright light of the restaurant, on display for everyone else to see, Aria sprung back into action to pretend that she hadn’t been spying on him. When he entered the door, the bell above it jangled, and he called out, “Aria! Welcome back!”
Aria’s stomach stirred with confusion. As her eyes lifted toward his, however, she felt overcome with happiness at the sight of his face. It had quickly become one of her very favorite faces in the world.
“Thanks,” she stuttered, then glanced back at Violet, who shook her head ever-so-slightly, as though warning Aria not to ask Thaddeus what he’d been up to with those tourists. But Aria wasn’t the kind of girl to let fear dictate her life. “I saw you out there with those tourists. Why were you talking to them?”
Thaddeus laughed. “Do you never talk to tourists?”
“I mean, here at the restaurant, I have to.”
“Some really cool people come to the island,” Thaddeus said. “Just because they weren’t born here doesn’t mean they’re all pariahs.”
Aria’s cheeks burned with shame. “Of course. I didn’t mean…”
Thaddeus waved his hand. “I know you didn’t. But yeah. Those guys were just looking for a place to hang out tonight, and I told them about the party. Can you make it?”
Thaddeus had texted Aria about the beach party while she’d still been in San Francisco, but Aria had lost track of her days, which wasn’t like her.