Nancy Thayer returns to beautiful Nantucket Island in THE GUEST COTTAGE, a
delicious summer romance. Sophie has been married to
Zack for 16 years. They have two children - Lacey and Jonah. Sophie is
waiting supper with her husband but he is later than
usual, with no phone call to tell her why. Thinking she must
have forgotten something he mentioned about tonight, she looks
at the calendar on his computer: Today: remember L.
bthday. For tomorrow: Discuss Div with S. When he arrives
home and she questions what the notation for tomorrow means,
Zack calmly tells her he wants a divorce and is in love with
his co-worker, Lila. Blindsided by this news, Sophie takes
her children to Nantucket where she rents a lovely, large
island home, thinking perhaps absence from his family will
change Zack's mind about divorce.
Trevor Black, a handsome recent widower, is having
problems with his 4-year-old fragile son Leo, who is
struggling with his his mother's passing. Renting a home on
Nantucket Island may just be the ticket to easing his son's
pain, becoming closer as they deal with their loss together.
What a surprise when he arrives at the rental home to find
Sophie and her two children already ensconced. It seems the
two co-owners of the home did not communicate about the
summer rental to each other and neither signed a contract.
The decision is made to trade references, then to try
sharing the large, six bedroom home for a week. It works
and they continue on.
Was it fate? A miracle? Serendipity? Starting over for
these two families is sweet, funny and an enjoyable journey
to watch. Trevor is a perfect delight you will fall in
love with. Leo is cute and creeps into your heart. Sophie
returns to her long forgotten passion of music and playing
the piano. She spends time with her children, confiding in
them about the marital problems she is having with their
dad.
Slowly but surely she begins to heal and discovers the
delights of Nantucket Island and her fellow house mates. The
blending of the two families in THE GUEST COTTAGE is lovely. A sweet summer
read
that asks the question, do Sophie and Trevor want more than
a summer cottage vacation together? Nancy
Thayer scores again
New York Times bestselling author Nancy Thayer whisks readers back to the beloved island of Nantucket in this delightful novel about two single parents who accidentally rent the same summer house—and must soon decide where their hearts truly lie.
Sensible thirty-six-year-old Sophie Anderson has always known what to do. She knows her role in life: the supportive wife of a successful architect and calm, capable mother of two. But on a warm summer night, as the house grows quiet around her and her children fall asleep, she wonders what’s missing from her life. When her husband echoes that lonely question, announcing that he’s leaving her for another woman, Sophie realizes she has no idea what’s next. Impulsively renting a guest cottage on Nantucket from her friend Susie Swenson, Sophie rounds up her kids, Jonah and Lacey, and leaves Boston for a quiet family vacation, minus one.
Also minus one is single parent Trevor Black, a software entrepreneur who has recently lost his wife. Trevor is the last person he would think could raise a little boy like Leo by himself at any age, much less at thirty. Leo’s a sweet, smart boy, but he grapples constantly with his mother’s death, growing more and more closed off. Hoping a quiet summer on the Nantucket coast will help him reconnect with Leo, Trevor rents a guest house on the beautiful island from his friend Ivan Swenson.
But best-laid plans run awry when Sophie and Trevor realize they’ve accidentally rented the same house. Determined to make this a summer their kids will always remember, the two agree to share the Swensons’ Nantucket house. But as the summer unfolds and the families grow close, Sophie and Trevor must ask themselves if the guest cottage is all they want to share.
Inspiring and true to life, The Guest Cottage is Nancy Thayer at her finest, inscribing matters of the heart and the meaning of family in graceful, knowing prose.
Excerpt
Sophie had always been a cautious person, a good girl. The idea of spending her inheritance to rent a house, sight unseen, on Nantucket, a resort island she had only visited on day trips, was downright epic for her. The house looked British, like something out of an old black-and-white mystery involving butlers and Bentleys, except shingled with gray wood instead of built with brick or stone. An ancient, thick wisteria vine drooped its violet blooms over the front door. Trellises covered with climbing pink roses framed the doors of the two wings. What a perfect summer house! It wouldn’t matter if Sophie never dusted, if the kids tracked sand in, if it rained for days in a row. Sophie rose, turning to see her son and daughter standing in the doorway of the music room, both her children staring at her as if she’d turned into green cheese. A man stood there, too, holding the hand of a little boy. What? For one frightening moment, Sophie thought she was hallucinating. “Hello?” the man greeted her, tentatively, carefully, as if she might start foaming at the mouth. “Sorry,” Sophie said, wiping the tears away. “Sorry. Got carried away. How can I help you?” The man smiled quizzically. “Um, well, not to be rude, but, uh, you can tell me what you’re doing in my house.” He was tall and incredibly good-looking, with thick black hair and green eyes with such dark lashes it looked as if he’d used eyeliner. “Your house? This is our house.” The man was young, younger than Sophie, and his clothes gave him an adolescent air, especially his rumpled T- shirt printed with the slogan Geeks Do It with More Ram. Politely, he inquired, “This house is the old Swenson guest cottage, right?” “It is. I’m renting it from Susie Swenson.” “Ah. Now we’re getting somewhere. I’m renting it from Ivan Swenson. Susie and Ivan are cousins. And not particularly communicative with each other, it seems.” Sophie stared speechlessly. Her unexpected piano tsunami had flushed away her usual, Capable Mommy persona. It didn’t help that the young man was jaw-droppingly handsome. She had to turn her eyes away from him in order to think. Her children frowned at her. She rose from the bench. “Maybe I’d better join you in the living room. We need to sort this out.” “Good idea.” The man approached Sophie with his hand held out, his small son clinging to his leg and gawking wide- eyed at Sophie as if she might explode at any moment. “I’m Trevor Black. From Boston. This is my son, Leo.” Trevor Black was relaxed, easy in his body, present but not pressing. Zack always came on strong—the blazing smile, the hearty greeting. Trevor’s hand was a bridge, not a rope to jerk her into Zack’s realm. She lightly touched his palm, and her heart leapt in her chest. Oh, good. She was physically attracted to some random young guy right in front of her children. Nice. She knew her cheeks were scarlet. She withdrew her hand and summoned up any dignity she could find. “Sophie Anderson, also from Boston. This is Jonah and Lacey. Come on, kids. Let’s all sit down and talk.” She gestured toward the living room like Vanna White, feeling silly. They sat on facing sofas. Lacey was almost on top of Sophie while Jonah, obviously embarrassed by his mother, sat at the end. Across from them, Trevor sat with his son squeezed next to him, leg to leg. “Where should we start?” Sophie asked.
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