Page 57 of A Nantucket Wedding

“Okay, well, first, there aren’t enough women to go around, and second, the women want arelationship,the scariest word in the Green Food guy world.”

“Well, I’m insulted,” Felicity joked. “No guy’s even talked to me and I’m married.”

“You have children, another scary thing. Plus, you’re married to the Big Guy and no one wants to get on his bad side.”

“I wish someone would hit on her,” Felicity whispered, nodding her head toward Ingrid, who was deep in conversation with Noah. “Actually, I wish someone would just hit her.” Immediately, she said, “Oh, I don’t mean that. I’m just jealous of the time she gets to spend with Noah. And how close they are because of work.”

Cynthia gave Felicity a long look. “So you don’t know?”

A frozen shiver of fear slid through Felicity’s heart. “Know what?”

“Well, honey…I think your husband and Ingrid are closeoutsidework. Okay, maybe not technically outside thebuilding,but—”

Felicity clasped Cynthia’s arm. “Cynthia.What are you saying?”

Cynthia patted Felicity’s hand gently. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have told you like this, here at a party, but we never see each other any other time so—”

“Is Noah sleeping with Ingrid?”

“I wouldn’t saysleeping,exactly.”

“Oh, for heaven’s sake, I’m going to explode if you don’t just say it!”

“Well, you have to understand, I wasn’t there, Terry, my husband, told me, and he got it secondhand. Topaz, the redheaded girl over there? She went to the supply closet for some more toner, and it was locked, but she wriggled the handle and the door opened and Ingrid and Noah were in there all over each other. Kissing. And Noah had pulled Ingrid’s skirt up and had his hands on her bum. So that’s not actually having sex and it’s certainly notsleeping—I’ve never understood why we use that term, sleeping, it’s not exactly descriptive of what is actually happening.”

Felicity couldn’t breathe. Sounds around her dimmed, and her sight went wonky. She pressed her hands against her stomach and bent forward.

“Felicity? Are you okay? Oh, damn, I’m sorry I told you.”

“I’m okay. Just shocked. Give me a minute.” Felicity breathed through her nose. She stared at her feet for a few long moments. Sitting erect again, she asked, “Is Topaz a reliable source?” Immediately she burst out laughing, rather hysterically. “Listen to me, I sound like a journalist.”

“Felicity, I’m so sorry. And they were only making out. And yes, Topaz is a truthful person. She’s nice. She’s kind of odd, all about computer stuff, but she wouldn’t make this up. And my husband, well, he’s a straight arrow, drives me crazy sometimes, and he didn’t snicker about what Topaz said. In fact, he was, well, uncomfortable about it. He wondered how this would affect the company.”

“The company,” Felicity snorted. “I’m beginning to hate the company.”

“Mommy! Look!” Alice was waving to her from the pool. She was walking backward in the shallow end, towing Luke with her hands.

“Oh, good girl, Alice!” Felicity called. “Lukey, are you learning to swim?”

“I’m a tanker, Mommy. Alice is a tugboat!”

“Awesome!” Felicity yelled. Looking at Cynthia, she said, “I need to go play with my children. You’ll find, once you have your little one, that you become an ace at being schizophrenic. I’d like to stab Noah and Ingrid or at least throw rocks at them, but instead I’m going to be happy mommy.”

“Is it okay that I told you?” Cynthia asked.

“Yes. It was exactly the right thing to do.” She rose and walked down the steps into the pool. “Oooh,” she said to her children, who came swimming to her as if they’d been born with fins. “It’s cold.”

“Do what I do, Mommy,” Alice advised. “Just get wet all the way to your shoulders. Get it over with in one big shock.”

“Excellent idea, Alice,” Felicity said. She slipped beneath the water, swam down to touch the bottom, and came up dripping wet.

“Are you okay, Mommy?” Alice asked.

“Absolutely,” Felicity responded and dove down again to tickle her son’s foot.

—

Her children were sleeping. Alice had been so tired she’d closed her eyes and drifted off at once, but Luke was overexcited by the day of swimming and had trouble relaxing. Felicity sat on the side of his bed and lightly ran her fingers over his back, singing lullabies very softly. She was in no hurry to leave her children’s room. Because when she did, she had to confront Noah.

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