Read Moon Shell Beach: A Novel for Free Online

knowledgeable.
    She really needed to talk to Clare.
             

    Are you nuts?”
Clare yelled.
    It was a hot July afternoon. They were sitting in an alley behind the gourmet shop. Lexi had convinced Clare to spend her precious few lunchtime minutes here so they could talk.
    “Clare, let me explain. Ed treats me—”
    “There is nothing to explain!” Clare was so upset, she tossed her sandwich aside and stood up, pacing in her frustration. “Lexi, first, Ed Hardin is a terrible, terrible man. How can you even let yourself get sucked in by talk about all this
art
—this man has single-handedly ruined acres and acres of the island!”
    Lexi nodded, miserable. “I know—”
    “And second, which, actually, ought to be first, because I love you and don’t want to see you used and tossed aside like a piece of soiled tissue: all this man wants to do is seduce you.”
    “Maybe not,” Lexi objected quietly.
    “Really? You think he likes you for your
mind
? You think you’re
interesting
? Lexi, Ed Hardin is a carnivore! To him, you’re just one more pretty young gazelle in a herd of thousands!”
    Lexi folded her arms over her chest stubbornly. “I don’t think that’s true.”
    “Then you’re kidding yourself.” Tears flew from Clare’s eyes as she paced in a circle. “Lexi, Lexi, come
on
! Don’t do this to yourself.” She glared at Lexi as if she were repellent. “Honey, if you date that man, you might as well hang a sign on your back saying ‘If you have money, you can do me.’”
    “Clare, don’t be so mean!” Lexi begged.
    “Lexi, don’t be so stupid,” Clare shot back.
    Lexi opened her mouth to retort—
and Jesse’s sign says “if you’re female, you can do me!”
She wanted to be just as vulgar and demeaning as Clare had been. But she bit her tongue. She wasn’t with Ed Hardin the way Clare was with Jesse.
             

    Ed phoned her
to ask her out again. She politely refused, saying she was busy.
    He said, “Well, what night are you free?”
    She hesitated. “Look. I can’t—I’m not—”
    “It’s just dinner, Lexi. And conversation. I enjoy your company.”
    He seemed so mild, so reasonable. He didn’t seem like a monster at all. He wasn’t a monster, really.
    “Well…”
             

    On their next
date, over dinner at Toppers, Ed told her about his life. He’d grown up in a suburb of Kansas City, he’d had a happy life with a loving family, he’d gone to college in the Midwest, married young, and had three children who were now teenagers. He was divorced. He seldom saw his ex-wife, but their relationship was amicable.
    “I like what I do,” he told her. “I’m proud of what I do.”
    “But how can you be?” she countered. “You…you ruin the earth. You’re like a scourge on the island.”
    He smiled gently, not in the least offended. “It all depends on your perspective, Lexi. I provide luxurious residences for people who work hard at important jobs—a transplant surgeon bought one of my houses, and a civil rights lawyer bought one. They need a place to escape to, a place to catch their breath, away from the harsh realities of the world. Where they can unwind. Even dream again. Where better than in one of my homes among the dazzling, sheltering scenery? They go back to work recharged.”
    He was like a word wizard, an enchanter. She could see his point of view.
    He continued mildly, “And there are other places as spectacular as Nantucket Island. If you could see the big picture—I’ve built my estates outside Vail and Palm Springs and Miami. People can trust me to provide them with homes that nurture them.”
    She nodded, thinking that what he said was true. There were other places as spectacular as Nantucket. She just had never seen any. She wished she could.
             

    What do you
think?” Clare leaned forward, eager to hear Lexi’s verdict. She wore an apron over her sundress, and the apron was covered with chocolate