Page 6 of Sunset on the Solstice

Lily looked stricken. She darkened her phone and sipped her coffee. “Why do you think you’ll wind up alone?”

“I’m awkward with people,” Shelby said. “I’ve never been on a single date. I’ve never even been asked.” She shrugged. “It’s not my purpose.”

“Love should never be anyone’s purpose,” Lily said. “But it brings meaning to your life, Shelby. It really does.”

“I have enough meaning.”

Lily grimaced. “If I find someone to set you up with, will you please go? Just to try it. Once. I swear, if you hate it, I won’t bother you again.”

Maybe because Shelby imagined that Lily wouldn’t find anyone for her, she agreed.

That first day at the Sutton Book Club was dreamy. For hours, Shelby shelved books, wrote book recommendations, chatted with guests about the books they were reading, and generally organized the library and bookstore areas. Sometime in the afternoon, Grandma Esme came in to see how everything was going, but she left shortly afterward, exclaiming, “You’ve already made it ten times better, sweet thing!”

Not long before four, Rebecca came in, as she had to prep for the restaurant upstairs, which was set to open at six. She came over, smelling of warm sunshine and cinnamon, and set a mug of Shelby’s favorite tea on the desk before her. Shelby glanced up from her book—The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt, which she was chewing through quickly—and smiled at her beautiful mother.

“Thank you!” Shelby said.

“Everything going well?”

“It’s brilliant.” Shelby nodded. “I could work here forever, I think.”

Rebecca laughed. “My little bookworm. It was always hard to pull you out of your novels.”

Reluctantly, Shelby closed her book and chatted with her mother for a little while. Rebecca wanted to know if Shelby’s grades had been posted, and Shelby admitted they had. She’d gotten mostly As and a B+ in something science-related. “My brain doesn’t go that way,” she said, feeling vaguely glum.

“That’s fantastic, honey!” Rebecca cried. “Let’s celebrate soon.” She clucked her tongue, then said, “You know, it’s becoming clearer and clearer that you’ll be a professor one day.”

She left Shelby in the warmth of that compliment, blushing.

Maybe it was because of this jolt of confidence that Shelby agreed to meet with one of Lily’s clients. Later that week, Lily set his photograph on her Sutton Book Club desk and leaned back, watching. Shelby knew immediately what her sister was after. And it was true that the guy wasn’t bad-looking. He was pretty cute, actually, with chestnut brown hair and big eyes. Lily explained that he was twenty-five, and a lawyer who planned to live on Nantucket full-time.

“His parents are from here, and he wants to commit to island life,” Lily explained.

Shelby grimaced. “That probably doesn’t work for me long-term.”

“Right, I know. You’re going to be a professor,” Lily said, waving her hand. “But maybe if you two hit it off, he’ll reconsider his plans? Nothing is ever set in stone when you’re twenty-five. I’ve already been through a failed engagement, remember?” Lily reminded her.

Shelby felt her smile fall. “Right. Of course.” She could feel the intensity of Lily’s gaze on her, urging her to go on a single date. “Sure. If he wants to go out with me, I’ll go.”

Lily arranged for Shelby to meet with the handsome lawyer the following evening at the little seaside restaurant ten minutes away from the Sutton Book Club. Shelby fixed her makeup in the bathroom mirror, then asked her mother, Aunt Valerie, and Grandma Esme if she looked all right. They all gushed, “You’re beautiful!” and wished her luck.

Shelby felt floaty with panic. How was she twenty years old and only now going on her first date? During the walk to the restaurant, she tried to tell herself how normal this was, that she’d been busy during her teenage and college years, and hadn’t put love first.

But when she walked into the restaurant and found the lawyer sitting on his own near the sand, Shelby’s stomach flipped over. She knew already in her heart of hearts that she was going to be weird.

“Hi,” Shelby said, reaching out to shake his hand. “I’m Shelby?”

“Shelby, hey. I’m Hank,” the guy said, smiling in a way that told Shelby that he’d never had any trouble with women. Why did he need a matchmaking service? It didn’t make sense.

“So,” Shelby began, sitting across from him and fidgeting with the menu. She knew from books and movies that you were supposed to ask people questions on dates. “You’re a lawyer?”

“Yep,” he said. “Real estate. It sounds lamer than it is. Honestly, the minutiae can get pretty fascinating, but it’s a lot to get through.”

“I’m sure.” Shelby smiled wider, then wondered if she was smiling too big and fixed her face.

The server arrived and took their drink orders: a beer for Hank and a Diet Coke for Shelby, as she wasn’t yet twenty-one and didn’t have a fake ID.

“I don’t think they would card you here if you want something else,” Hank said.