Page 54 of An Island Summer
“Apparently.” Meghan couldn’t help the fizzle of excitement over the whole thing. It was such a relief to know that, while Rupert struggled with what year it was, most of what he was saying was true. It made her feel like he’d been granted some dignity in all this. “I hope the heat doesn’t ruin the wood or anything,” Meghan worried aloud as she touched the painted pink flowers on the front of the table.
“It should be fine,” Tess said. “After all, it’s been at The Memory Box this whole time.”
“You have a point.” Meghan walked over to the closet and pulled out her suitcase. “So, I guess we should pack. Our rental is ready whenever we are. Toby told me it has a pool…” She wiggled her eyebrows at her friend.
“Then we’d better get packing right now!” Tess took Meghan by the hands and spun her around, making her giggle.
Meghan and Tess stood, dumbfounded, in the large half-circle of a drive, staring up at the massive mansion in front of them, with a curving staircase leading to a sprawling two-tiered porch that wrapped all the way around the house and its forty front windows. They were hot and sweaty from moving Pappy’s furniture into the center of each of the cottage’s rooms and covering it all with plastic to get it ready for the central air guys and the electricians. Then they’d packed up all their valuables and put them back in the car.
“Are you sure this is the place?” Tess asked, wide-eyed.
Meghan looked back down at the text on her phone. “This is 62 Starfish Way, right? The Seabreeze.”
“That’s what it says.” Tess bounded up the immense staircase, Charlie following, and put her hands on her hips when she got to the top. “You can see the entire sound from up here.” She put her hand to her forehead to shield her eyes from the sun as Meghan made her way to the top to view the glistening body of water, tranquil, reaching out to the edge of the world, it seemed.
Meghan punched the code on the lock and opened the front door to the marbled tile, two-story entryway, the ice-cold air from inside cooling her. Charlie’s claws clicked along the shiny floors, past the enormous iron fish sculpture in the center, to the back where the living area stretched along the entire house, with a wall of windows showing off the bright blue pool and surrounding Atlantic.
They left the bags they’d grabbed for the first trip up in the front entryway, and Meghan walked over to the champagne-colored stone kitchen counter and dialed Toby’s number. “There’s no way I’ll be able to pay him back for this. I can’t imagine what a house like this costs to rent.”
“I’ve never been in anything this nice before in my life.” Tess twirled around, opening kitchen cabinets and dancing from room to room as Toby answered Meghan’s call.
“Did you find the house okay?” he asked.
“Uh, yeah. But, Toby, it’s enormous. How much will I owe you for rent?”
“Don’t worry about it. I traded the owner for a prime holiday spot on the calendar at the inn. We’re letting him have his annual Christmas party there free of charge.”
A swell of happiness floated up inside her at the gesture he’d made to ensure she had somewhere to stay. “I’ll work it for free as well,” Meghan said, relief flooding her.
“Of course,” he said. She could almost feel him smiling on the other end of the line.
Tess tugged on her elbow to show her the massive windows at the back of the room. “I will. Thank you so much,” she said, feeling like the words weren’t even scratching the surface of her gratitude.
“Go. Unpack. Enjoy the house.”
Meghan smiled. “All right.”
When she ended the call, she stared wide-eyed at the stunning space.
“Toby has to have a thing for you if he got you this place,” Tess said, grabbing both Meghan’s arms and shaking them playfully.
“Why are you excited by this? You said he has issues,” Meghan teased back.
Tess ran over and dove onto the white, oversized sofa. “I think I could look past his issues if my crush could get me this.”
“It’s not about the money, Tess,” she said with a laugh. “Although, I cannotbelievewe get to stay here,” she said.
Tess hit a button and suddenly, all the glass on the back of the house began to fold in on itself, opening the entire wall to the pool. Charlie walked out to one of the navy-and-white striped loungers under one of the large umbrellas and hopped up on it. “This house has everything!”
Meghan looked up at the vaulted ceiling and its huge chandelier of driftwood and glass before turning to peer down the hallway. “What else does this house have?” she asked, walking into the master bedroom, Tess following. Meghan ran her hand along the pearl-colored duvet on the king-sized bed.
“There’s even a brass safe in the wall,” Tess said. “Look. ‘Proudly secured by Pinetop Securities.’ You could put your grandmother’s earrings in there, just because you can.” She opened the safe’s heavy door, revealing a blank velvet interior.
Meghan laughed. “Right now, I need to call the electrician and discuss the repairs for Pappy’s cottage.” She reached over and shut it.
“All right, but then you’re going to sit by the pool and drink cocktails with me. That’s an order.”
“Maybe it’s this lavish house, or Toby’s generosity, but I was wondering,” Meghan said as she rolled over on the lounger outside, beads of water still on her skin from her evening swim, and sipped her piña colada made at the house’s complimentary wet bar, “would you be okay if we have Toby and Rupert over for dinner? I could cook something.”
