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Ella seemed momentarily satisfied. “Are you having a good time?” she asked Brooks.
Brooks raised his beer and gave her that gorgeous smile. Aurora’s heart flipped over. “It’s a great wedding, Ella. Thank you for the invitation.”
“Of course. Happy you could make it.” Ella returned her gaze to Aurora’s, then added, “Listen, I was thinking about when you get back. Would you like to maybe record a few things together? Both with the band and the two of us? I think our voices might blend together well. We should try it, at least.”
Aurora’s eyes widened. After a quick pause, she said, “Um. Of course! Of course.” Already, her mind was off to the races with ideas of songs they could write together.
“Don’t start already,” Ella joked, as though she sensed it. “We’ll sit down together sometime in July and experiment. Who knows? Maybe we can come up with a completely new sound.”
This excited Aurora to no end. “Sounds great.”
Ella squeezed Aurora’s hand a final time, then nodded toward Brooks to add, “I better see you both out on the dance floor later.”
Brooks and Aurora promised her they’d be there.
And indeed, after the cake was cut, and after Ella and Will had danced their first dance again to one of the songs they’d written back in the old days of their music careers, the DJ called everyone who was in love out to the dance floor. Aurora and Brooks gazed at one another, both wordless— at least until Aurora sputtered with, “I’m not ready to say that.”
Brooks’ smile was electric.
“I mean, not so soon. I know better than to rush into anything,” Aurora continued.
“Aurora,” Brooks said, his voice sounding delicious when he said her name, “It’s just a dance, okay?”
Aurora laughed, her demeanor loosening up, and allowed him to lead her out onto the dance floor, where he wrapped his arms around her and swayed in time to the music. As she gazed into his eyes, she was reminded of that very first night all those weeks ago when she’d been stuck in the rain after the final ferry, and a mysterious fisherman had come toward her, asking her if she needed help. Boy, she’d needed help. He probably hadn’t reckoned on how much help she’d really needed.
“But I could,” Aurora said mid-dance. “I mean, I could if we try. If we’re good to each other. If we…”
“Aurora,” Brooks interrupted her again, cradling her close. “We’ll be good to each other. Even if this turns out to be a beautiful mistake, I know we’ll be good to each other. Because you’re a good person, you know? You have a wonderful soul. And when you look at me, I get this sense that everything will work out just fine. Is that crazy?”
Aurora shook her head. She’d felt the same the first time they’d locked eyes. And now, maybe, she was becoming healthy enough to fully acknowledge it. It was really something.
ChapterTwenty-Four
The Fourth of July fell on a Tuesday that year, which meant that Nantucketers indulged in a five-day weekend of spectacular fanfare. Ella’s wedding was on Saturday, but the happy, newly married couple, their families, and anyone else who wanted to stuck around for several more days of celebrations mostly held at The Copperfield House.
Sunday, Quentin decided, was meant for sailing. Those who didn’t know how or were nervous were paired with those who did, and an entire armada left the harbor, striking out across the turquoise water as a July sun shimmered magically upon them. Ella and Will just happened to be on a sailboat with Aurora and Brooks, which was lucky since Brooks was a fabulous and intuitive sailor. Will wasn’t from an island and hadn’t grown up with it, and Ella had always been too obsessed with music to care much about outdoor activities.
Brooks was kind in his instructions, asking tasks of the three of them, whipping around the boat to fix the sails with practiced ease. Ella watched Aurora studying his muscles, smiling to herself, then laughing at every single one of his jokes, even the ones that weren’t very good. Ella considered the first time she’d met Will all those years ago and how something in her gut had told him he was her person, “the one.”How had she known? How does anyone know?
She hoped Aurora and Brooks were right about one another.
But, as an outsider, she felt there was nothing as magical as watching two people fall in love, besides, maybe, falling in love yourself.
When they found a cove to drop anchor, all of the boats in their party did. One after another, those who wanted to leap from the boats and into the ocean swam out to meet one another. Ella dove into the water and swam out to meet Alana and Julia. Alana was in her red bikini and Julia in her black one-piece, laughing as Alana whipped her hair back, talking about an old magazine photoshoot she’d done, which had involved getting her hair wet over and over, only to have it redried so she could do it again. “It was a nightmare,” she said.
For once, Ella wasn’t annoyed at Alana’s story of modeling. For once, she laughed, amazed at the strangeness of Alana’s very long and brilliant life.
When Ella turned back toward her sailboat, she noticed that Brooks and Aurora were still dry, their legs hanging over the edge, Brooks’ arm slung over her shoulders.
“They seem cozy,” Alana pointed out softly.
“Aren’t they adorable?” Julia said.
“When does she have to go back to the facility?” Alana asked.
Ella turned back, grimacing. “We were supposed to take her back today, but I didn’t want her to miss this.”
“And her doctor said that was okay?” Julia asked.
