Page 22 of Willow in the Wind

Stella agreed to meet Logan, Chloe, Matt, and Mandy at the burger restaurant on the opposite end of the Nantucket Historic District. She got there a few minutes before seven, which gave her time to kill with her phone, staring at the book cover of her memoir. The decision to re-title the memoir toThe Athens Affairwas a funny one. But when the publisher had said it would “sell, sell, sell,” she hadn’t been able to fight back. She wanted it to sell, sell, sell, didn’t she?

She heard Chloe before she saw her. She cackled happily, telling her brother something that had happened at swim practice the other day. Logan appeared a second later, bounding around the corner. They were both taller than Stella—Logan was six foot two, and Chloe was five foot eight. Stella, at five-five, found herself peering up at them.

Matt came around the corner after them with his phone against his ear. There was no Mandy in sight.

Stella got up to hug her children and her ex-husband. Matt got off the phone with a quick, “See you later,” then said, “Hey there,” to Stella in a tone that suggested he was disappointed about something.

“You got our normal table!” Chloe said happily.

Stella hadn’t realized it, but she had. This was the same booth they’d sat at as a family for the better part of ten years—even before the divorce. She’d gone to it without thinking.

“Everything okay?” Stella asked Matt as they sat down.

Chloe and Logan were distracted by something. A story about someone from their high school.

“Mandy had to go to the city today,” Matt said. “She got stuck in traffic and missed her meeting.”

Stella winced. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

Matt waved his hand. “I just feel bad for her. She works so hard. I always want everything to work out perfectly.”

“Nothing ever does,” Stella said.

The server came by to take their order. Nobody had to look at the menus to know what they wanted. Stella opted for a burger with blue cheese and a glass of Diet Coke. They got fries for the table because they always did. Matt ordered a light beer.

“What did Esme say?” Matt asked as soon as the server left.

Stella’s heart filled. “She wants to host the book launch!”

Chloe, Logan, and Matt cheered.

For a moment, Stella thought,These are my people. These are the only people in the world who really and truly love me.

And for a soft and sad moment, she thought,Why did Matt and I get divorced? We built a family together! We built a life!

But she tried not to let that sorrow play out across her face.

“How many copies should I buy?” Matt was asking about the memoir.

Stella laughed. “I just want to get on theNew York Timesbestseller list. Can you get me there?”

“Ten thousand? Twenty?” Matt asked.

“Are you going to have to read from the book?” Chloe asked.

Stella’s cheeks were warm. She tried to guess what she might read from the memoir. She hadn’t yet considered that Chloe and Matt would all be in the audience, listening in. Probably Bruce would be, too. Was she really going to read about her first love in front of all the people from her current life? Was she going to die of embarrassment?

“Probably,” Stella said.

Maybe she could just read the beginning. The beginning wasn’t too emotional. It was just about a girl on an adventure.

Chloe was sixteen now. Stella supposed she was about to have adventures of her own.

Stella sipped her Diet Coke and turned her attention to Logan. “How did it go with your roommate?”

Logan looked nervous. “He seems cool, I guess. He lives in Pennsylvania.”

“What’s his major?” Matt asked.

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