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“I think he’s here to see you. Let’s go say hello together. Okay?”
Aurora frowned at Greta.
“Unless you really don’t want to see him,” Greta said. “And then, I can tell him to leave you alone. I am completely fine with that.”
Aurora chewed her bottom lip as her nerves took over, and she found herself awash with questions and confusion. Never in her life had anyone tried to help her like this. Never had anyone opened their hearts. Well, her mother had, in her own way— when she’d been able to.
“Okay,” Aurora breathed, surprising herself. “Let’s go.”
Feeling like a zombie, Aurora walked behind Greta through the door that divided the houses, then into the living room and foyer, where Alana stood, her head tilted as she talked to Brooks. Aurora seized with jealousy as she saw this beautiful woman speak with Brooks.How dare she!
“Oh, here she is!” Alana smiled at Aurora, looking at her as though she were a normal woman.
“Hi.” Aurora smiled at Brooks and tucked a long strand of auburn hair behind her ear.
“Hi.” Brooks looked nervous, and he raised his bouquet. “Do you have a minute to talk?”
Aurora followed Brooks out onto the porch, then down into the front yard, around the house, and onto the beach. Out there, the sun was hot yet invigorating, the first rays Aurora had felt in many days. She was no longer sure how long it had been since she’d become nocturnal.
“These are for you,” Brooks said, his eyes wounded.
“They’re gorgeous,” Aurora said, her voice breaking.
Brooks passed the flowers over and parted his lips. He looked captivated by her. Aurora wanted to tell him to drop the act, to confess that he didn’t care about her at all.
“Did you call me yesterday?”
Aurora swallowed. “I did.” There was no reason to lie. “But I was scared.”
The corners of Brooks’ lips curved into a smile. “Why were you scared?”
Aurora gazed into the impossible blue of Brooks’ eyes, overwhelmed with the love that echoed from them. Oh, she wanted to fall into those eyes, to remain in his orbit forever. Could she trust him? Could she trust anyone?
And suddenly, just before she chickened out, Aurora rose up on her toes and pressed her lips against his, closing her eyes as his arms wrapped around her. Throughout their first date on Monday, he hadn’t dared kiss her, had only touched her hand or her waist. But now, they fell against one another as the morning light cascaded them in impossible beauty— and Aurora’s heart thudded with the understanding that this was a turning point in her life. Maybe she had to trust it. Maybe she was different than her mother after all. Maybe she could take this chance.
ChapterTen
It was four days before the start of the Nantucket Music Festival, a Tuesday. Tragically, the air conditioner died in the old house, and Greta was hard at work, flying around to open windows and turn on fans. Ella prepared her mother a cocktail with extra ice, which Greta welcomed, collapsing at the kitchen table.
“We’ll eat outside tonight,” Greta said, her face glowing with sweat. “Light things. Salads. Tzatziki. Bread. We’ll dine like the Greeks!”
Ella laughed as Alana and Julia came in, both glistening from the heat.
“Have you called the air conditioner repairman?” Alana asked.
“He can’t come till tomorrow,” Greta explained. “Apparently, this is happening all across the island.”
Ella put on the radio and chopped vegetables for salads as her mother prepared tzatziki, talking about the artists excitedly.
“I just love Barbie’s writing,” she said. “She showed me some of the work she did when she was in her twenties, and it was so different, as though a completely different woman wrote the texts. I asked her why that was, and she said that she went through some serious trauma when she was in her thirties, which completely changed her as a person. After that, she had to write differently.”
“Interesting,” Ella said, slicing through a red onion.
“Which reminds me,” Greta went on. “I finally had the chance to talk to Aurora this morning.”
Ella’s eyes widened. “How did you do that?”
“Well, I made croissants early this morning, and then right before I knew she planned to head to bed, I cornered her in her studio,” Greta explained. “She did not want to talk to me at first, of course.”
