Sweet Salt Air Read Online Free PDF Page A

And Brandy ?”
    Charlotte laughed. “Bizarre Brandy. To this day, I’ve never seen so many piercings. What’s she up to now?”
    “She’s a hairdresser on the mainland. Crystal’s still here. She married Aaron Deegan, who lobsters with his dad. They have five kids.”
    “Five? Whoa. And Beth Malcolm? She was smart. I was always afraid you two would be friends, so you wouldn’t need me here.”
    “Are you kidding? I was too shy to do much with her. I didn’t mix with locals until you showed up. You were bolder than I was. You got me out. My parents loved that.”
    “Beth was a reader, too,” Charlotte recalled, then thought. “What are you reading right now?”
    “ Salt. It’s about—”
    “Maine!” she broke in, delighted. “So am I! It was on sale at JFK when I flew in from Australia, and when I saw the island on the cover, how could I not buy it?”
    “It’s not our island—”
    “No, but you can feel it, smell it, almost taste it. Are you loving it?”
    Nicole grinned. “Loving it. Loving the setting, the characters, the magic.”
    Charlotte dittoed each point, which on one hand wasn’t surprising. She and Nicole had always liked the same books. They used to spend hours on the beach, passing them back and forth while the surf pounded the shore.
    On the other hand, ten years had passed. While Charlotte was building houses in post-earthquake San Salvador or post-tornado La Plata, Nicole had been decorating a plush Philadelphia home. While Charlotte was in remote towns writing about doctors, farmers, and artists, Nicole had been in Center City blogging about food. Granted, Salt was on every bestseller list. But that they would both be reading it right now was evidence of ways in which they were still the same.
    “At first I thought the author was a woman,” Nicole offered. “Chris Mauldin—it could go either way. There’s no photo, and the bio is vague.”
    Charlotte had wondered it, too. The sex was powerful but exquisitely tender. She didn’t know guys who made love that way—which was probably part of the wide appeal of the book. Chris Mauldin was serving up dream stuff to an audience that craved it. At least, Charlotte did. She wasn’t sure about Nicole and certainly couldn’t ask. “Well, if he was trying to hide being male, he’s given up. I googled the name, and a ‘he’ came right up. Does anyone know his real identity?”
    “Not on the forums. I swear that’s part of the phenomenon. Think about it. He’s self-published—”
    “Only in e,” Charlotte cautioned, sucking cornbread crumbs from her finger. “My hardcover copy has a big-time logo.”
    “Right, but Salt was an e-bestseller for weeks and weeks before he sold the print rights. Can you imagine his marketing genius? He knows how to work the Web and does it in total anonymity from wherever.”
    “Anonymity is part of what makes the success of the book such a phenomenon. It’s the big tease. Here’s this mystery guy serving up our dream, and we don’t know who he is, where he lives, or what he looks like.”
    “Like it matters who he is?” Nicole asked. “He had me hooked on page one. I mean, what a great first line. Every man wants love, if he can get past the fear of exposure. We like him because he’s honest. At least, I do.” Scrambling up, she added a log to the fire. “I like him because he’s willing to put himself out there and be vulnerable and maybe end up being hurt. Let me tell you, though, I would never hurt this man. I’d buy anything he writes—and I say that though I’m only halfway through Salt .”
    Charlotte wasn’t even that far. “Is he working on a second book?”
    “I hope so, but he’s being vague about that, too. One thing’s for sure. He’s blown away the competition. I’d love to do that with a book.” She jumped up. “Stay. I’m getting dessert.” She was off.
    “Where am I supposed to put dessert?” Charlotte called after her. Nicole hadn’t finished the