If he had the day off, she adjusted her schedule so she could spend it with him. They ate picnics at the beach and went hiking and swimming and strolling on the cobblestone streets of the island they had both grown to love.

Today, only two days before Maggie’s party, she’d cleared the morning so they would have some time together before his next shift the following day. They ate breakfast on the patio at Island Kitchen and were now strolling hand in hand down Main Street, looking in shops and smiling at the tourists taking in the island, maybe for the first time. Louisa was almost jealous of them—to still have so much of Nantucket to explore and discover would be such a gift—and yet, knowing that she knew all the island’s secrets quickly erased any feelings of envy. She vacillated between wanting to share everything she knew about the island and wanting to keep it to herself.

She resisted the urge to tell each person all the things she thought they should do—touristy things like eating ice cream at the Juice Bar or taking a stroll through the Whaling Museum and non-touristy things like renting a bike and exploring off the beaten path.

Cody let go of her hand to look at something in the window of Mitchell’s Book Corner, her favorite bookstore, at the intersection of Main and Orange Streets. She reached in her bag for a bottle of water, uncapped it, and took a drink, but as she scanned the people across the street, she was struck by a woman, standing on the opposite corner, staring right at her.

It had been a dozen years, but she would’ve recognized Marissa Boggs anywhere. The woman was stunningly beautiful then, and she was stunningly beautiful now. It was a wonder her own mother had ever befriended Marissa. JoEllen liked to be the prettiest one in the room.

“Lou, we should go to this,” Cody called from behind her. “The Boston Pops concert—remember we used to listen from down the beach?”

He stood directly behind her now, but she hadn’t moved—couldn’t move. Her eyes were glued to his mother, who was watching them with a broken expression on her face.

“You didn’t tell her about us.” Louisa exhaled the realization.

“What?” Cody followed her gaze across the street, and the second he spotted his mom, he sighed. “She’s early.” He lifted a hand in a wave, but Marissa turned, dragged her suitcase behind her, and walked off in the other direction.

He looked at Louisa, panic on his face, and she gave him a nod that released him to run after his mom.

She should’ve known this cocoon of happiness would soon be cracked open. She’d been living in a fantasy.