Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 94106 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 471(@200wpm)___ 376(@250wpm)___ 314(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94106 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 471(@200wpm)___ 376(@250wpm)___ 314(@300wpm)
I let out the relieved breath I’d been holding. “Oh. I read about that. I didn’t realize it started today.”
“My mom and I used to go every year. They had some pretty cool stuff. If you’re not into art, they also have jewelry and ceramics, too.”
“No, I love art shows. Especially local ones like this. But…”
She smiled. “Ford left me a credit card and said I can get something for my new apartment. I’m moving out of the dorms next semester. We should go do some damage.”
“He left you a credit card…so he’s not going with you?”
She shook her head, seeming unbothered by my asking. For that matter, she didn’t seem to care about finding us dancing on the deck earlier either. “He went to the city for a meeting.”
“Is he coming back?”
She shrugged. “Tomorrow, I think.”
I didn’t have anything to do today, so I told Bella I’d go with her. It would be a good distraction from this morning, anyway.
Since Bella drove a small car, we took my Volkswagen in case either of us found anything big we wanted to haul home. After I got over the anxiousness I felt thinking Bella might say something about Ford and me, I actually had a good time.
We walked the aisles and stopped to look at each exhibit. Our taste in art turned out to be pretty similar. Bella bought a colorful print of a surfer riding a wave at Ditch Plains, a local surf spot. It had the most amazing sunset in the background that looked color enhanced, though it wasn’t.
While we were waiting in line to get a pretzel, a good-looking boy with sun-bleached blond hair struck up a conversation about the photo Bella was holding. They were still talking after we’d paid for our pretzel and waters, so I told Bella I was going to go back to a jewelry display we’d passed where I’d liked a ring.
Really I just wanted to give them some privacy because I thought there might’ve been a spark between her and the surfer dude.
I strolled a few aisles and heard the muffled sound of my cell ringing from inside my purse. Stopping to dig it out, I saw Mark’s name flashed on the screen. Since Bella was busy, I figured I might as well answer.
“Hey, Mark.”
“Hey, Valentina. What’s going on?”
I sipped my water. “Not much. Stuffing my face with a pretzel and walking around an art show at the moment.”
“In Montauk?”
“Yep. It’s a local show in town, but there’re a lot of great artists.”
“Mind if I join you?”
I stopped and looked around. “You’re here? In Montauk?”
“Not yet. But I will be soon. I just passed a town called Amagansett, so I don’t think I’m that far. I had an appointment out in Holbrook today, and as I was parking, it got canceled. Figured what the hell? I’m halfway to Montauk already, and it’s a beautiful day…so why not?”
“Oh. Wow. Amagansett is close.”
He was only about ten miles away, and he’d already passed all of the spots that had heavy traffic. He’d probably be here in fifteen minutes.
I wasn’t sure how I felt about Mark being in Montauk. I’d invited him out, but I’d meant it as an invitation to the study group as a whole. But it felt awkward to say I was too busy now that I’d told him I was strolling around an art show. Besides, Mark was a friend—I shouldn’t feel weird about seeing him.
He must’ve sensed my hesitation. “If you’re busy, that’s okay. I just thought I’d give it a shot.”
I shook my head. “No, no. I’m not busy. Of course you’re welcome to join me. I’ll give you a tour of Montauk, if you’d like.”
“Sweet. That would be great.”
Sure enough, fifteen minutes later, Mark called and asked where he should park. Bella had finished up her chat with the surfer dude, so we walked over to meet him outside of the tents.
“Hey.”
We hugged.
Mark looked around. “This is really nice. I can’t wait to see the whole town.”
I grinned. “You pretty much just did. Well, the shopping and commercial part of it anyway. But that’s not what I love about Montauk.”
I introduced Bella. “This is my neighbor, Annabella. Bella, this is Mark—a friend from school. We were in a study group together, and we both just took our teaching certification exam last week. Mark has never been to Montauk.”
Bella shook Mark’s hand. “Did you just move to the area or something?”
He laughed. “Nope. Just never came this far east on Long Island.”
We made small talk for a few minutes, and then I said, “Well, we still have a few rows of the show we haven’t walked through. Do you want to check them out with us?”
Mark said sure, but Bella bowed out. “Umm…if you don’t mind, I’m going to skip the rest of the show. We saw most of it anyway.”