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Chapters (82)
  1. Cover
  2. ALSO BY JAMIE BRENNER
  3. PART ONE
  4. 1
  5. 2
  6. 3
  7. 4
  8. 5
  9. 6
  10. 7
  11. 8
  12. 9
  13. 10
  14. 11
  15. 12
  16. 13
  17. 14
  18. 15
  19. 16
  20. 17
  21. 18
  22. 19
  23. 20
  24. 21
  25. 22
  26. 23
  27. 24
  28. 25
  29. 26
  30. 27
  31. 28
  32. 29
  33. 30
  34. 31
  35. 32
  36. 33
  37. 34
  38. 35
  39. 36
  40. 37
  41. 38
  42. 39
  43. 40
  44. 41
  45. 42
  46. 43
  47. PART TWO
  48. 44
  49. 45
  50. 46
  51. 47
  52. 48
  53. 49
  54. 50
  55. 51
  56. 52
  57. 53
  58. 54
  59. 55
  60. 56
  61. 57
  62. 58
  63. PART THREE
  64. 59
  65. 60
  66. 61
  67. 62
  68. 63
  69. 64
  70. 65
  71. 66
  72. 67
  73. 68
  74. 69
  75. 70
  76. 71
  77. 72
  78. 73
  79. 74
  80. Acknowledgments
  81. About the Author
  82. What’s next onyour reading list?

But the problem, she knew, was that they couldn’t throw a party every day. It wasn’t just about two bad quarters; Pavlin & Co was losing its allure. Maybe it was time to reinvent the brand, the way her grandfather had in the 1940s, or the way her father had commanded the market in the mid-nineties. But Elodie wasn’t creative; she knew her best bet was to lean into their deep history. It was the one thing the flavor-of-the-month jewelers couldn’t compete with. She also knew the best way to do this was to move forward with the auction of the Pavlin Private Collection.

“You need to do more,” her accountant said.

Yes, she did. That’s why she was headed to Provincetown.

9

Provincetown, Cape Cod

It was the unofficial start of her twenty-fifth summer in Provincetown, and Celeste Pavlin was supposed to be working. She had, in fact, told Jack—her partner in business and in life—that she was running out to look at an estate sale to find things for their antiques shop. Instead, she was sitting in the wild garden behind a historic Victorian on Provincetown’s famed Commercial Street.

Late May was go-time in town, when everyone was in a mad scramble to get their businesses ready for the rush of tourists. Celeste, who had been running her store for two decades, was no exception. There wasn’t any time to waste. But, of course, Celeste would never consider getting her cards read a waste of time. Jack, however, would feel differently.

“Do you have a question for me today?” asked the woman seated across from her. Maud Bigelow was sixty, with salt-and-pepper hair, very thick and straight, chopped in a ragged line just below her ears. Her skin was leathery after decades of beach living, but her eyes were the bright ice blue of a Siberian husky with a deep, soulful intelligence. She was medium height and wiry, and her nails always looked like she’d just been gardening.

Maud was a Provincetown fixture since she “washed ashore” in her late twenties, and had been reading Celeste’s cards for years.

Celeste appreciated having a like-minded person in Provincetown. Whenever she told her friend Lidia that Mercury was in retrograde, all she got in response was an eye roll. When she told Jack that it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world to time their special sales event with the full moon, she got silence. But Maud understood.

That was one of the things she loved about her adopted town; the year-round population was only a few thousand people, but among them, you could always find the support you needed, no matter how quirky or demanding your needs.