Page 5 of The Restaurant on Plum Island
“Oh, really?” Carly pulled a face, impressed. “Well, I just happened to have a collection of them if you’d like to choose one.”
Shay flicked through the movies. “You own the restaurant at the top of Midpoint, right?”
“I do.” Carly nodded, taking a sip of water.
“I believe you make the best malts around there.” Shay clicked on a movie. “Oh. I love this one.”
“Me too,” Carly agreed, pulling her feet up next to her as she noticed the title of Shay’s book. It was about archeology. “Do you like archeology?”
“Yes, I want to be an archeologist,” Shay told her.
“That’s awesome,” Carly told her. “I wish Reef would decide what he wants to study.”
“Isn’t he going to college next year?” Shay asked.
“He is.” Carly nodded. “But he doesn’t know what he wants to study, though. He’s undecided about doing computer science or engineering.”
“My grandmother was an archeologist,” Shay told her. “Then she met my grandfather, and after they were married, she gave it up. Granhas told me stories about her digs since I was very young. Gran still has contacts in the field and goes on the odd dig. She’s taken me on a few over the years.”
“How wonderful,” Carly said. “You and your grandmother sound close.”
“We are,” Shay confirmed. “Even before my mother passed away, I spent most of my time with my grandparents. They raised me, and I saw my parents on the weekends or during school holidays. After my parents got divorced, my father had full custody of me because my mom—“ She glanced at her hands and fiddled with the remote. “My mom wasn’t well. So I only saw her on weekends on supervised visits.”
“I’m sorry,” Carly’s voice dropped and was filled with compassion. “Where did you live before you moved here?”
“My family’s home is in the Hamptons, but their business is in New York,” Shay told her. “My father has a townhouse in New York where he would spend most of the week if he was on a job.”
Carly was about to ask Shay about her father when there was a knock at the door.
“Excuse me.” Carly smiled at Shay as she got up and walked to the front door.
Carly pulled the front door open and froze when she saw one of the Blackwell brothers standing there. She didn’t know which one, as she could never tell them apart.
“Hello, again,”
“Hi,” Carly greeted him, her eyes narrowing as her brow creased as she tried to figure out which brother he was.I should’ve paid more attention to what they were wearing.
“It’s Ethan,” he said, and her heart dropped.
Great, the brother I didn’t want it to be!Carly forced a smile. “How did you get my address?”
“Harriet told me where you lived.” Ethan frowned at her, craning his neck to see inside her house.
“Oh?” Carly’s brows knitted tighter together. “I thought we were meeting tomorrow morning.”
“I hope we still are,” Ethan told her, his eyes lighting with realization. “She didn’t tell you, did she?” He sighed and shook his head.
“Who didn’t tell me?” Carly was feeling really confused.
“My daughter!” Ethan said as Shay dashed to the front door and said, “Dad!”
Oh, great!Carly gritted her teeth.Not only does Ethan want to use my restaurant as a filming location, but he’s also my next-door neighbor!
CHAPTER 2
“No,” Carly said. “Shay didn’t mention who her father was, but I know Harriet is her godmother.”
“I don’t like mentioning who my dad is because he either intimidates people or they’re adoring fans of his.” Shay rolled her eyes. “So I just call him dad.”
