“You got it. Erin decided Tommy was the one for her and set out to win him over with a campaign of such ruthless determination that even though she’d tortured us boys for years, we felt sorry for Tommy. They were married within six months and had five children in five years, much to Mum’s delight.”

“I love it,” Clare said, chuckling. “Where are they now?”

“They’re all still in Chatham. My brothers and Tommy work with Da. The business became downright profitable once we were old enough to work. The year I was fifteen, Da proudly renamed the business O’Malley & Sons Construction. Everything I know about construction and restoration, I learned working summers with him during high school and college.”

“He taught you well. So why don’t you work with them?”

“That’s another whole story,” he said as he drove through the town of Chatham. “I’m almost there.”

“What’s Chatham like? I’ve never spent much time on the Cape. There wasn’t much reason to leave Newport in the summertime.”

Relieved that she hadn’t chosen to pursue the “other” story, he said, “It’s a lot like Stowe, actually. Sometimes I think that’s why I feel so at home there. The seasons are opposite, though. Stowe’s population swells during ski season, and Chatham’s a madhouse in the summer when the roads are clogged with cars and the beaches overrun with tourists.”

“Sounds like Newport.”

“Thanks for keeping me company,” Aidan said, reluctant to let her go. He’d talked more to her in the short time he’d known her than he’d talked to anyone in years. He had a feeling he’d never get tired of talking to her, a thought that should’ve terrified him but didn’t for some reason.

“It was definitely my pleasure. That was the best story I’ve heard in a long time. The jury’s still out on how much is fact and how much is fiction.”

“All fact, baby,” he said with a laugh. Aidan hadn’t told that story in years and had enjoyed sharing it with her. “I’ll talk to you soon.” He clicked off the phone and pulled into the driveway at his parents’ three-story Victorian. The house had started out as a ranch but became one of O’Malley Construction’s pet projects over the years, expanding along with the family it housed.

Dennis nearly had a stroke over the fanciful, gingerbread paint job Colleen commissioned two summers earlier, and the boys knew better than to tease him about giving in yet again to their mother. Instead, when he thought Colleen wasn’t listening, Dennis grumbled about living in a house that looked like a big, pink cake. A Christmas tree lit the front window, and the house was outlined with white lights that illuminated the ridiculous color.