Page 15 of The Lighthouse Sisters
“Um, how are the strawberry daiquiris?” she tried making conversation.
“Decent,” Katrina said, not bothering to meet her eyes.
Sighing, Raelynn said, “Katrina, what’s going on?” She didn’t want to pry but felt she had to, for her friend’s sake. “Is something wrong? Is something going on between you and Dave that you don’t want to tell me?”
“No, everything’s fine.”
“Are you sure? I’ve never seen you like this before.”
Katrina looked down at her drink and took a sip, carefully avoiding eye contact. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m fine. Everything is fine. I’ve just reconsidered that’s all. This place isn’t worth it. I’ll just sell it and offload the dump on someone else.”
“You don’t mean that. It’s not a dump.”
“Well, it sure isn’t a palace.” She sipped the last of her drink and asked the waiter for another.
“You’ve already had two,” Raelynn reminded her.
“They’re non-alcoholic. I could have fifty if I wanted to.”
Not wanting to pick a fight, Raelynn changed the subject. “Can we talk about this, please?”
Katrina gave a weary sigh. “We can talk about it, but my mind is already made up.”
Raelynn, not giving up, pulled out her sketchbook and handed it to Katrina. “Take a look.”
As she began to turn the pages, Raelynn told herself not to be uncomfortable. She hadn’t sketched in ages and felt her skills were rusty. It had taken a lot of nerve to just hand it over, whether she was a friend or not. Like most artists, Raelynn was self-conscious about her own work. As one of her art teachers had told her, she was her own biggest critic.
“Your designs are beautiful, Rae,” she commented after a few minutes.
“Thank you. That means a lot,” Raelynn responded. She wasn’t exaggerating. No one had seen her work in over 20 years.
“Like I was saying at the lighthouse, I have so many ideas for the different groups we could entertain, from aviary enthusiasts to art aficionados. We could continue to use the tiny house as a B&B and use the lighthouse strictly for tours and entertainment. I can picture it, Kat, and it could be wonderful. Just think of how much fun we would have entertaining people from around the world, helping people make their own memories of a place you and I both find magical. We can’t pass up this chance to be part of something great, to create something of our own that connects with others. We just can’t. And not to mention the history that lighthouse represents to so many of us.”
She opened her mouth to continue when she noticed a man at a table near them looking at her. He seemed to be listening. Even in the moonlight, she could tell that he was handsome. She couldn’t help but notice him. In fact, he was almost a little too handsome for her taste.
Not that I’m interested,she thought to herself.
She wasn’t interested at all. It was way too soon to go down that road. She assured herself that she also wasn’t interested in going down “that” road ever again. As far as she was concerned, this new project was her life. Relationships could wait.
Instantly, she felt self-conscious. How long had he been listening? Had he heard her whole pep talk? She didn’t dare meet his eyes. Instead, she looked at Katrina, cleared her throat, and said to her friend, “What do you say? Will you at least think about it?”
“Ok, ok,” Katrina said and then her classic smile reappeared. “You’re right. I haven’t seen you this excited about anything in a long time… I’ll give it one more day, then we can talk about it again.”
With a squeal of excitement, Raelynn reached across the table and squeezed Katrina’s hand. “You won’t regret this.”
As she signaled for the waiter, she shot a quick glance at the man from earlier. He was still there and watching her. She quickly looked away. Did she know him?
TEN
“Oh my gosh, that coffee smells heavenly,” Raelynn said as she reached for the two cups of coffee she had ordered along with two croissants.
She was in the local bakery and had made the tough decision to go with croissants over donuts. She had wanted to order the entire display when she walked in since everything looked and smelled delicious. The bakery was nestled in between a swimsuit shop and a pizza place. The heavenly scents that wafted through the air had beckoned her in. She had been searching for coffee and had found this delightful spot.
Mama Victoria’s Baked Goods and Coffee Bar. There was no doubt in her mind that they were freshly baked. As she took a bite out of one, she wanted to moan.
Her eyes widened in pleasure. “This croissant is wickedly good,” she said to the owner in between bites.
“They’re one of our bestsellers,” the owner beamed proudly.
