Page 21 of Return to Whitmore
Jack pressed his finger to his lips and wagged his eyebrows. “My name is Seth Green,” he told her firmly, before extending his hand. “It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Charlotte Whitmore. You’re really quite a talented documentarian.”
Surprising herself with her own volatility, Charlotte pressed her hands to his shoulders and pushed him against the bar. He laughed, throwing his head back on impact.
“I don’t understand,” Charlotte whispered. Tears fell swiftly, now.
“Sit down. Let me buy you a drink,” Jack-as-Seth-Green said.
Charlotte could do nothing but sit down, her legs shaking so violently that she might have fallen anyway.
Chapter Ten
Summer 2025
It was the afternoon after Addison’s arrival to Nantucket Island, nearly five p.m., and Charlotte, Nina, and Addison were sitting quietly at the edge of a long and beautiful veranda connected to a seaside Nantucket restaurant, sharing a bottle of rosé. They’d all confessed to not being able to sleep last night, their thoughts too twisted up in questions. All morning, Addison had kept to herself in the guest bedroom, presumably resting. The jetlag between Hawaii and the East Coast was a killer, Charlotte guessed.
There were so many things left unsaid between them. The air was thick as smoke.
Addison shifted nervously in her chair, eyeing Nina and Charlotte, her sisters-in-law, neither of whom had given her what she’d come here for: answers about Seth Green.
It was Nina who found the strength to speak first. “Addison,” she began, clearing her throat, “will you tell us the story of how you met Seth?”
Addison’s eyes brightened the slightest bit. Charlotte knew that everyone, regardless of their gender or where they came from, adored talking about the story of how they’d met the one they loved. Charlotte herself had never heard the story and perked up.
“Please, tell us,” Charlotte urged.
“Did you meet in Hawaii?” Nina asked.
“We did,” Addison said. “My family has been there for a few generations. My great-grandparents moved out there and worked in a hotel before opening their own. They were originally from California, with ties to the gold rush. Obviously, most everyone who moved to California for the gold rush didn’t get any gold out of it.”
“You’re tied up in tremendous American history,” Nina said with a soft and coaxing smile.
Charlotte wished she had the softness of her little sister. She filled her mouth with wine and tried to match Nina’s smile, but it felt all wrong.
“I met Seth when I was twenty-eight years old,” Addison said. “It’s embarrassing to admit, but I was married before that and coming off a rocky and awful divorce, one that had broken me in half.”
“What was your ex like?” Nina asked.
“He was a scuba diving instructor,” Addison said. “In Hawaii people who work in the tourism industry are a dime a dozen.”
“Similar to here,” Charlotte said.
“Is it?” Addison’s smile dimmed. “I wish Seth would have told me that. Anyway, my ex, Chris, taught scuba and took me on some incredible adventures. He also took several other women on adventures, tourists who didn’t know anything about me. Horribly, it was my father who told me that Chris was cheating on me. He found out through the tourism-network-grapevine,or whatever you want to call it, because Chris always took his wedding ring off before he took women scuba diving.”
“Fishy,” Nina said, shaking her head.
Suddenly, Addison burst into nervous giggles. “Was that a joke?”
Nina looked initially stricken, then realized what she’d said. “Oh! A scuba diving joke. No, that wasn’t my intention.”
But Addison was still laughing. Her cheeks turned bright red. “I’m sorry,” she said. “It’s been a long time since Chris and I divorced. It feels like it happened to someone else.”
“I’m going through a divorce right now,” Nina said. “My ex was cheating, too. I hope I can laugh about it someday!”
Addison looked stricken and took Nina’s hand. “What a monster. They all are. I’m so sorry.”
Nina raised her shoulders. They glanced at Charlotte, as though hoping she would insert her own cheating story into the mix, but Charlotte had never been cheated on, that she knew of. She’d also hardly gotten close enough to anyone to let them hurt her. Maybe that wasn’t something to brag about.
Addison waved her hand and returned to her story. “So, anyway, I’d just moved back in with my parents at the hotel. We had an apartment attached to the side so we could be available for guests at all times.”
