Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 89553 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 448(@200wpm)___ 358(@250wpm)___ 299(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89553 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 448(@200wpm)___ 358(@250wpm)___ 299(@300wpm)
I’m carrying a fruit platter to the table when a cab pulls up in front of my parents’ house. Surely Hunter will be passed out all day and the Harbor Inn will have to break down the door to get him out when he sleeps through checkout.
But lo and behold, it’s Hunter who gets out of the cab, wearing sunglasses and a preppy shorts-and-polo combo that shows off his tan legs and a smattering of chest hair. He’s like Ed’s hotter, less reliable brother.
But I can’t hate Ed like I hate Hunter.
“Here he is,” Katherine says excitably as she watches Hunter come up the path. “I’m so pleased you two are getting along.”
I pull my mouth into a wide smile. There’s no way I can let Katherine know that I think Hunter is a dick. He was at his best friend’s engagement party. If he couldn’t handle his alcohol, he shouldn’t have been drinking. But I want Katherine to think Hunter and I are getting on like a house on fire. That way she’ll be reassured the joint party will be flawless . . . unless I can convince her to have the bachelor and bachelorette parties separately. I mean, whoever heard of a joint party?
“I was thinking about the bachelorette party,” I say to Katherine. “You know the best spas are in New York. I can ask Amanda about it, because she’s bound to get us a great deal somewhere amazing. And then we could go to—”
Katherine’s shaking her head before I can even finish the sentence. “Ed wants to fish. There’s no way he’s going to agree to New York.”
I see my opening and dive right in. “Well, he could have his bachelor party here in Massachusetts, and we could go to New York. We could still have them the same weekend and everything, so you’re not spending too much time apart. That way you could get your perfect party, and Ed could get his.”
“My perfect bachelorette is a joint party with Ed in a big house right on the ocean. I can just see us all wrapped up in blankets, toasting marshmallows on the beach before bed . . .” She smiles to herself. “It seems so romantic to be there with all our friends. And so many of our friends are couples. It makes sense to do it together.”
“But you’re going to have your entire lives together.”
Katherine shrugs. “Right. Because we like hanging out together. Marrying Ed isn’t a choice between freedom and drudgery. I’m marrying him because life is better with him. And that includes my party.”
I sigh. I so badly want to throw Katherine a perfect bachelorette party. If that means a joint party, that’s what I’m going to have to give her. I’m locked into preparations with the douche that is Hunter. Well, he owes me from last night. He’s going to have to go along with what I want. It has to be perfect. I add beach bonfire, blankets, and marshmallows to my mental checklist. And that’s just the start.
“Then that’s what you shall have,” I say.
“I know getting a house that big for all of us will be a challenge, especially given how late it is in the season,” Katherine says. “People book Cape houses a year in advance.”
My stomach churns. I’ve made a few inquiries already. The combination of the number of us together, the need to be on the beach, and the fact that it’s a bachelorette party means no one will rent to us.
“I’ll figure it out.” I have to.
Katherine looks at me, her big doe eyes making me feel like I have her heart in my hands. “Thank you, Lucy. I have faith in you.” My mom calls her name, and she disappears into the kitchen.
I don’t know whether I believe her. People say things like “I have faith in you” to Katherine all the time. She’s the reliable one. The pretty one. The one who manages to make things work out. I’m not that sister. And although Katherine has always stuck up for me when my parents make comments about how Katherine is . . . more capable, I sometimes wonder whether she really believes it. I have to repay her faith in me and get the perfect house on the beach. Maybe I need to go to the Cape to scope out a rental in person—something not listed on one of the websites.
I’ve just got to find a place.
I glance over at Hunter. He’s the first to sit at the brunch table, and then my father joins him. Hunter’s sunglasses are glued over his eyes. The sun isn’t even that bright today, and we’re underneath an awning. He’s being rude. Or he’s probably covering his swollen, red eyes after all the booze he had yesterday. Maybe I should make house hunting his problem. We’re just weeks away. We need to get something locked in. But I’ve already looked and come up short.