Page 108 of Beach Reads and Deadly Deeds

I called the spa to see if I could get in before my date with Jason tonight. They were completely full, but the receptionist said if I wanted a mani-pedi, I could come in at five, when they usually closed. I thanked her but declined—I didn’t want to be late meeting Jason. Instead, I signed up for a yoga class that started in an hour, then went to the gift shop and bought presents for my friends, Grams, and my cat-sitter. Trina promised to ship them the next morning.

I rounded the corner toward the yoga studio, figuring I’d go early to stretch and relax, and nearly ran into an upset Doug.

“Hey,” I said. “Are you okay?”

He blinked and sighed. “It’s been a long day.”

It was not even eleven in the morning.

I didn’t forget how kind Doug had been when I first arrived. I hated seeing anyone so sad, especially in such a beautiful place.

Putting aside my yoga plans, I linked my arm in Doug’s and said, “Coffee?”

He glanced at me like a sad puppy. “Maybe a Bloody Mary?”

“Sure.”

We walked to the poolside bar. This early it wasn’t crowded, mostly young families with kids enjoying the pool. We walkedacross the bridge that led to the bar—at this bar you could sit out on a platform in the middle of the pool, or swim up and drink. We were the only ones at the bar.

The bartender—older, brown skin, close-cropped white hair and a neatly trimmed mustache—came over with a smile.

“Hi, Charlie,” Doug said. “Two Bloody Marys, please?”

“Coming up, Mr. Butcher.”

“Doug. I told you,Doug.”

Doug smiled and turned to me as Charlie made the drinks. “I absolutelydo notwant to come back here.”

“What happened?”

“Whathasn’thappened? Five years we’ve been coming here, and now David gets his nose out of joint because we’re hanging around with our friendstoo much.Literallythat’s why we come, and he’s never had a problem with it before.”

“Have you talked to David about it? Does he have a specific reason it’s bothering him this time?”

“No, because David doesn’t like to discuss. He likes to direct. Inform. Explain. Assume.”

“What exactly did he say, Doug?”

“Nothing!”

I waited until Charlie put the Bloody Marys in front of us. I wasn’t a big tomato juice girl. I picked the celery out of the large plastic cup and bit it, sampling the mix. Okay, not bad. I took a small sip.

Doug drained a third of his before putting his cup down.

I said, “I’m not married, and I haven’t been in a serious relationship in a while, but are you sure David didn’t say something? Maybe he didn’t explain in detail, but he must have saidsomethingfor you to think he’s not happy.”

“Literally, he said, ‘Why are we spending all our time with Jim and Josh?’ And we’re not.”

“Name three things you’ve done with just David.”

“I don’t understand what you mean.” He sounded snippy.

“Maybe he wants more alone time.”

“We’re social animals. Welikepeople.”

“Maybe you’re more social than David?”

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