Page 39 of Sunset Tides
They laughed. “Do you know if everyone from Grindstone will come to dinner tonight?”
“I think so. The plan is to get all of the equipment back in the place tomorrow. It’s too much to do in one day.”
“That makes sense.”
Lucy set the dry crust on her plate and stood. She needed water before she could tackle it. “Thanks for inviting Rob, by the way.”
Lillian smiled. “You were being so rude to him! He doesn’t seem that bad.”
“Don’t be fooled. He’s conniving.”
“He didn’t bid on anything,” Lillian said, in her even-toned-Lillian-voice. “What do you have against him now?”
Lucy was sure there were things, but she just didn’t know what they were yet. How was she supposed to explain that to Lillian, who’d rarely met a person she didn’t like or couldn’t defend? “He gives off a bad vibe.”
“A bad vibe?” Lillian paused. “You mean he pushes your buttons?”
“He does not push my buttons!” She didn’t even know what that was supposed to mean. It just seemed like she should disagree with Lillian, and quickly. “He’s an outsider.”
Lillian shrugged. “So are we.”
“It doesn’t matter.” Lucy waved a hand and filled up a glass of water.
“I’m betting he doesn’t have any other friends on the island,” Lillian continued. “It wouldn’t kill you to at least try to be polite.”
Lucy crossed her arms. “Why do you have to be so nice to everyone?”
She smiled, eyes back on her computer. “I’m just a sucker like that, I guess.”
As much as Lucy wanted to ignore Lillian’s comments, they nagged at her. That evening, when she saw Rob walk into The Grand Madrona, she told herself she should try to be nice.
“Were you waiting for me?” he asked when he spotted her.
How presumptive. “No. I think I just have bad timing.”
“Yes, terrible,” he said with a smile.
What was that supposed to mean? She could feel herself bristling, but Lillian’s face floated into her mind’s eye and stopped her from speaking.
Try to benice.
Rob stood in front of The Plum Spoon, looking it up and down from ceiling to floor. “This place looks cool.”
Why was he inspecting it like that? That wasn’t how a normal person looked at a restaurant.
She quieted her thoughts and nodded. “It is cool. Thanks for coming.”
“Thanks for letting me come. I haven’t gotten much human interaction in the last few weeks.”
“Doesn’t me driving around with you count?”
He stopped looking around and turned to her. “Of course. That’s been the highlight of my stay.”
If he meant it, that was quite sad. Perhaps Lillian was right about him not having any friends. “After you.”
They walked in and Lucy was surprised to find nearly everyone from the farm was already there. The restaurant usually had a quiet, sophisticated atmosphere. Now, however, it was filled with raucous laughter and the symphony of voices, each trying to talk over the next. The party had started early.
Lucy would’ve preferred to be in the middle of the action, but it was too late. Fiona and the rest of the farm staff had taken over much of the long table, and their loud conversations were impossible to penetrate. Lucy barely got in a hello as she sat down, stuck at the end of the table with Rob.
