Page 70 of A Novel Summer
“Look at you, all dressed up. My girlfriend is a beauty,” he said.
Shelby looked at him in surprise. She hadn’t known what he thought of their relationship. She was still figuring it out herself.
“I didn’t realize you have a girlfriend,” she teased.
He stood and walked over to her, cupping her chin in his hand before kissing her. “I’d like to think I do.”
She waited to feel the rush of happiness the comment should have triggered, but mostly she felt confused. Soon, she was headed back to New York—back to her real life. Anders’s immediate future would be Boston for his teaching gig at Harvard. She hadn’t let herself think that what she had with Anders would last beyond the summer. And now wasn’t the time to start.
“We should get going,” she said. Claudia was meeting her at the arts club. Shelby was anxiously anticipating her thoughts on herBookshop Beachmanuscript.
The Boston Arts Club was housed in a Victorian mansion dating back to the gilded age, originally owned by Mayor Frederick Octavius Prince. Shelby and Anders learned this from their guide, club trustee Margaret Pierce-Able. She was in her seventies, with a white bob and a Chanel suit and a pillbox hat.
With a little less than a half hour before the reading and luncheon, Margaret led them on a tour through a portrait gallery honoring past club honorees like Toni Morrison, Margaret Atwood, and John Updike. They walked through an elegant dining room with a stained-glass domed ceiling on the way to the event space. She could tell Anders was impressed.
The room was full, the air conditioner cranked up high. Shelby greeted a few people she recognized, looking around for Claudia. She didn’t see her until she stood in front of the room to speak, and Claudia slipped into the back row.
Shelby spoke a little too fast at first, but soon fell into a comfortable rhythm. It felt good to do that part of her job again. She thought of the portrait gallery, of all the writers and artists who’d stood in that very room. And for the first time since Hunter’s outburst the night of her Land’s End reading, she felt at peace with her writing again. She’d made a mistake, but she’d learned from it.
She sensed Anders’s adoring gaze, and she returned it.
The luncheon following the reading was in a room straight from the set ofThe Gilded Age, with carved wooden arches, stained-glass windows, and velvet-cushioned settees. The elegant vibe made Shelby feel like she should be wearing white opera-length gloves, or at least some pearls. Anders was seated at her table, and everyone seemed just as eager, if not more so, to talk to him. She didn’t mind; she was proud to have him as her date.
Between the salad and the main course, she whispered to him she wanted to get some air and together they ducked into a wood-paneled corridor. They walked through a hallway decorated with antique sideboards and gilt-framed paintings. There wasn’t any place to sit but on the top step of a wide marble staircase.
“You’re a star,” he said, kissing her.
“Me? We barely reached our table before Margaret hit you up to give a lecture here in the fall,” she said.
“Ah, maybe. But it’s your day.”
“There you are,” Claudia said from behind them. Shelby jumped up.
She was dressed in a white blazer and vintage Chloé pants with a horse print. “I’ve been looking all over for you! You were fabulous, as always.” Claudia gave her an air kiss. Shelby introduced her to Anders, who said they’d met sometime ago at the London Book Fair. Of course they had. Claudia knew everyone. “And I finished readingBookshop Beachlast night.I absolutely love it.”
Shelby pressed her hand to her chest. “I’m so glad you feel that way. And thanks for your patience.”
“My pleasure. Now let’s get things moving. Send the manuscript to your editor.” She leaned over to give her an air kiss. “Congrats. I’ve got to run—catching a flight to Nantucket. Let’s talk next week.” Claudia blew her another kiss and walked down the stairs.
No notes from Claudia? Shelby considered that an accomplishment in itself. She’d revisedSecrets of Summertwice before Claudia submitted it to publishers.
Anders turned to her. “You finished your novel?”
“I did,” she said. She felt a little sheepish for not telling him. But she hadn’t wanted him to think she was angling for him to read it.
“Why didn’t you mention it?”
“Oh... I don’t know.” She knew she was skittish because of the way Noah had reacted to her success. But it was probably time to stop thinking that way. She’d found someone who was an equal partner, someone who wouldn’t hold her back. Not because of geography, not out of insecurity. Not for any reason.
She had, though, shared the final manuscript with one person aside from Claudia, and that was Colleen. She was sure the novel wouldn’t be nearly as good if Colleen hadn’t asked her to come back for the summer. “No pressure to read it,” she’d told her. “I just want you to have it.”
Walking back to the luncheon table, Anders said, “I was just thinking: Why not stay with me an extra night or two? Unless there’s a reason you have to rush back to Manhattan.”
She didn’t have to rush back. All she had to do was email her editor her manuscript and wait for notes. Then, next Tuesday, she had her friend’s book launch at Union Hall—at the same place where Shelby had celebrated the publication day ofSecrets of Summer. Shelby RSVP’d that she’d be there once she decided to leave Provincetown. But now, she didn’t know what to think about rushing back to New York. Why not spend a little more time with Anders before their relationship turned long-distance? They were at a turning point; either they could write it off as a great summer romance, or work towards something that could be truly lasting.
“Sure,” she said, “I’d love to.”
Fifty
