Page 96 of A Nantucket Wedding

The three little girls glanced at each other. They were stepping stones: Canny, nine, Daphne, eight, and Alice, seven. Alison’s stomach churned with nervousness for her granddaughter, who sat wide-eyed and tongue-tied. Daphne, of course, had met Canny before and played with her, and Felicity feared that the two older girls would bond into a smug little clique and leave Alice out.

Daphne piped up. “I’ve got an idea. If Canny’s going to spend the day out here, why doesn’t she sleep with me and Alice in our room? Alice and I can squinch up together in one bed and Canny can have the other.”

Canny smiled. She had an adorable smile.

“Cool!” Alice said.

“Right!” Daphne clapped her hands and took charge. “Come on, Alice, let’s show Canny our room!”

Daphne reached out to take Alice’s hand and tug her, and with her other hand she grasped Canny’s wrist. The three girls, hand in hand, flew out of the room and into the hall and up the stairs, and all the way Daphne and Alice and Canny were giggling. Hunter and Luke, realizing they could escape from the adults, too, raced out of the room and up the stairs.

“How sweet,” Esmeralda cooed. She set her sights on Ethan. “That means you can come to my hotel with me, Ethan. That way you won’t have to sleep on a terrible foldout bed.”

Ethan stalled. “Oh, well, I don’t mind the foldout sofa, and…”

“You know you won’t get to spend any time with Canny tonight now that she’s with her two darling friends,” Esmeralda said.

It was like watching a tennis match, Alison thought, every head in the room flashing from Esmeralda to Ethan.

“Yes, well, that’s probably true…”

Alison interrupted. “Esmeralda, are you hungry? Would you like a sandwich? Some fruit?”

Esmeralda kept her eyes on Ethan. “No, thank you, Alison.”

“Tell me, Esmeralda,” David said, and his voice was pleasant but weighted with authority. “What are you working on now?”

The bronze beauty finally broke eye contact with Ethan. She smiled at David. “Ah, it is so exciting. Lima will host the 2019 Pan American games. Forty-one nations will compete. New buildings are underway, and this means jobs for many people. I’m coordinating efforts for the publicity of the games.”

“An enormous undertaking,” David said.

“Yes, that is true.” Esmeralda yawned and stretched slowly and sinuously, like a cat. “Please forgive me, but I’ve been traveling for hours. I need to go to bed.” She lifted one eyebrow at Ethan. “Coming?”

“I’ll just get my toothbrush.” Ethan sprinted up the stairs.

As if entranced, all the men rose and followed Esmeralda to the front door. Alison went with them, leaving Jane, Felicity, and Poppy behind.

Jane said, “Wow.”

“She’s a Venus flytrap,” Poppy muttered. “She eats men for breakfast.”

“She thinks Canny’s going to be the flower girl.” Felicity chewed a fingernail.

“Don’t worry. The three of us can handle her,” Poppy assured the sisters.

They heard Ethan thudding down the stairs. The front door shut. The men and Alison returned to the den.

Alison looked slightly shell-shocked. “It’s late. I think I’ll go to bed, too. Last person up, turn off all the lights, okay?”

“We’ve got to get the kids to bed,” Felicity said.

Jane and Scott lingered in the den, channel surfing, so that the others could get settled upstairs. Jane heard the laughter of the five children and the light thumps of their feet as they ran from bathroom to bed. Then, low adult voices murmured. Then, silence. The children had been really good all day, she thought—she hoped Scott had noticed. They hadn’t discussed getting pregnant since they’d been back on the island. They were so busy, getting Scott to his doctor’s appointment to check on his arm, unpacking from Wales and packing for the island, and then they’d arrived on Nantucket and were immediately caught up in the family activities. It was difficult, Jane thought, not to wince when children fought or screamed. But it was difficult, too, not to smile when the children came down for breakfast with their hair all bedheaded like a chicken’s feathers, and their faces bright and glowing with life. The children laughed so easily, and slipped onto any adult’s lap and cuddled up.

“It seems quiet up there,” Jane said. “Shall we go to bed? We’ve got a busy day tomorrow.”

“Yes,” Scott said. “Let’s head up. Although I’m not sure you’ll be able to be quiet.”

Jane cocked her head. “What? Why not?”

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