No Secret Like Nantucket (A Sweet Island Inn Book 5) by Grace Palmer

Author:Grace Palmer [Palmer, Grace]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-06-13T18:30:00+00:00

15

Mae

Friday Morning—One Week Later

The Sweet Island Inn would only be closed for a couple weeks, but the overflow of boxes littering the entryway suggested Mae was closing up shop.

The set designer had kindly but firmly requested all personal effects be out of sight.

If only she’d known how hard that would be.

Guests of the inn often smiled at the entryway picture of Grady and Alice running through a sprinkler wearing goggles too large for their face. They’d gesture to the wall and ask, “These all belong to you?” Mae would proudly respond that they did.

The movie, however, didn’t care about sentimentality unless it was fictional.

So into the box went the pictures. Into the box went books and ornaments and Mae’s best cooking spoon.

The boxes were also loaded down with the sun-bleached Sweet Island Inn sign from the front porch and each of the three back-to-back-to-back Best of Nantucket Hospitality Awards Mae had won.

Stripping any trace of herself from the business that had become her home over the last three years made Mae more uncomfortable than she’d expected. How quickly evidence of a life could be erased.

“How much room is left in the storage closet?” Mae called across the spotless kitchen.

“None. Why?” Dominic’s voice wavered, nervous to even ask.

“I have another box of pictures that need to be put away.”

He groaned, the sound echoing off the unusually bare walls. “Shove them under a bed. Or in the oven. No one’s going to be using the oven, anyway.”

“I don’t need another kitchen fire, thank you very much.” Mae shivered at the thought.

The previous fire had been small. An annoyance more than a disaster. But the thought of spending another two weeks washing and scrubbing away the smoke smell had turned her into a real-life Smokey the Mama Bear. Only you can prevent Inn fires.

“Let’s just take it with us to—”

“No!” Dominic cut her off sharply, a raised finger all Mae could see sticking out from the storage room door. “I’ll find room. We can’t possibly take anything more with us to Brent’s house.”

“He won’t mind. Brent cleared out space in Henry’s old workshop for us. It’s really fine.”

Suddenly, Dominic burst out of the room and into the kitchen, arms raised in triumph. “Not necessary. I’ve made space.”

“Let’s hope I don’t find anything else to pack up.”

“God forbid.”

Dominic was fanning himself like he was about to slump over from heat exhaustion. Slightly warm for June, the temperature still hadn’t crested seventy-five degrees. And with the damp breeze off the water and the cottony white clouds offering some protection from the sun, it was a gorgeous day.

But Mae allowed for Dominic’s dramatics. He’d been hard at work all morning.

“I know we’re packing a lot. I’m sorry. This could be a great opportunity for the inn, so I want to make sure I do it right. Everything has to be spotless.”

“Everything was already spotless,” he said over his shoulder. “That’s why the film crew chose this as a filming location. You keep an immaculately clean house.”

“I know, I know.

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