Page 18 of Summer Rush

“She’s lovely,” Janine agreed.

For a long time, Francesca analyzed the list of letters, her eyes twitching as they went back and forth over the notepad. Maggie, Janine, and Alyssa remained very quiet and respectful as Janine stirred in doubt about the quest in the first place. Maybe the cut-out letters had been a coincidence, left over from an original owner of the book?

Finally, Francesca’s smile erupted, and she said, “Ah! Of course. It’s Paradiso Terrestre.”

Alyssa clapped her hands. “Paradiso Terrestre! What is that?”

Francesca placed the notepad back on the kitchen table, her mental energy spent. “It’s a painting. A very famous Italian painting. And it’s housed in a museum in Venice, in fact.”

“Really!” Alyssa turned to stare at Maggie, then Janine. Janine’s heartbeat escalated. This really was beginning to feel like a thriller.

“Yes. It’s in the Gallerie dell’Accademia,” Francesca explained.

“We can’t just take a painting out of a museum,” Maggie said. “So, I don’t know exactly what Teresa means by this?”

“It’s the only clue we have,” Alyssa said. “We have to go to the museum and see what happens next. Teresa’s plan is in place, and we’re just along for the ride.”

ChapterEight

Nancy finished her yoga class at seven in the morning, then headed toward her office, half-floating, her mind elsewhere. When she reached her desk, she found yet another message from Kostos— wishing her good luck during her yoga class that morning.

KOSTOS: I’m about as unflexible as they come. You’d better teach me how to loosen up soon.

Nancy’s cheeks burned, and she pressed her phone against her chest, trying to calm her heartbeat. Suddenly, there was a sharp knock at the door, and she turned to find Elsa in the crack, as Nancy had apparently been too lost in thought to close the door the entire way.

“You look over the moon about something,” Elsa said, her smile mischievous.

Nancy placed her phone back on the table. “It’s nothing. Just a good morning, is all.”

Elsa narrowed her eyes. They’d known one another for too long for Nancy to get away with lying.

“Did you ever meet up with that Greek man we met at the Aquinnah Cliffside?”

Nancy scrunched up her face, giving herself away, as Elsa shrieked.

“Why have you kept that to yourself?”

Nancy leaned against her desk and raised her shoulders. “He’s just a friend, really.” Of course, friends didn’t hold hands the way Kostos and Nancy had, energy burning in the air between them.

“I don’t think that man ever wanted you to be his friend,” Elsa said. “Are you seeing him again?”

Nancy tucked a curl behind her ear, not sure she wanted to say that she’d already seen him again yesterday and that he’d invited her to his vacation home that evening. It was her business, her mess.

But Nancy’s thoughtful silence had given her away. “When!” Elsa demanded.

Nancy sighed. “I’m seeing him tonight. Apparently, he’s a fantastic cook, and he wants to make a Greek dish for me.”

Elsa shrieked into her hands. “Have you told Janine?”

“No! No, no. I don’t want to distract Janine from her Venice adventures,” Nancy said. “Have you heard about the scavenger hunt?”

“Only via text,” Elsa admitted. “Maggie mentioned that Alyssa has completely fallen into the story, hardly coming up for air.”

“That sounds like my Alyssa,” Nancy said. “I’m sure Maggie is a bit at a distance, watching it all play out.”

“All four of you are living out a movie,” Elsa pointed out. “You with your Greek romance, and the three of them with their Venice adventure.”

After work that afternoon, Nancy returned to the Remington House, showered, and changed into a sundress. To calm her nerves, she drank half a glass of wine on the back porch, watching seagulls play, whizzing up and over the waves before landing staunchly on the sands again.

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