Christmas at the Restaurant (The Nantucket Restaurant #2)(19)

Later that night, as they were getting ready to close, Emma walked to the bar to get Gina’s sales total for the night. Gina was wiping down the counter and Jared was leaning on it and Emma overheard him as she approached.

“Since you hadn’t gone to the Stroll before, I suppose you didn’t check out the Festival of Trees last year either, at the Whaling Museum? It goes all month.”

Gina laughed. “You guessed right. I’ve heard it’s wonderful though.”

“We could check it out this Saturday afternoon before work if you want.”

Gina hesitated. “I can’t do Saturday. But I could do Sunday.”

Jared looked pleased. “Sunday it is. Have a good night, Gina.”

And now Emma knew what it was she’d sensed earlier. Something was brewing between these two.





Chapter 9





“Meow!”

Gina looked up from her painting to see Boots inching closer, wearing an indignant expression. The small cat meowed again, louder and more insistent this time.

“Okay, hold on a minute.” Gina set her paintbrush down and followed Boots and her rapidly twitching tail into the kitchen. The cat stopped short by her food bowl and glared up at Gina. The bowl was totally empty. Gina had been so engrossed in her painting that she’d forgotten to put breakfast out for Boots.

“I’m sorry, honey.” She opened a can of wet food and dumped it in her bowl and Boots began attacking it as if she’d been starved for days. Gina added a small dish with some dry food too, so Boots could snack if she got hungry later. She usually always had some food in that bowl, but it had been bone dry too.

Feeling like a horrible cat mother, Gina scratched behind Boots’ ears and then made her way back to the easel where her half-finished painting sat. She’d started right after she had her coffee and had lost all track of time, she’d been so into her work. It felt good to paint again. She needed to pick up some new paints and brushes though as hers were not in the best shape. They’d been neglected for too long.

She painted for a little while longer, then jumped in the shower to get ready to meet Alex at the movie theater. The Dreamland was the only option for movies on Nantucket and they usually had one big movie and two more artsy ones at any given time. Gina had checked the listings and was hoping that Alex might be interested in one of the smaller movies, as they both sounded great to her. The main film was an action thriller starring Tom Cruise.

Gina dressed casually in jeans and a big, warm sweater and turtleneck because it was bitterly cold out. She pulled on her mittens, hat and coat and made her way over to the Dreamland, which was just off Main Street. One thing she loved about Nantucket was that just about everything was an easy walk downtown. She still liked having her car though if she felt like going to the bigger supermarket, Stop and Shop, or over to Millie’s or Barrett’s Farm.

Alex was waiting outside by the front door. He held up two tickets.

“I went ahead and got the tickets for us.”

“Oh, great. Which movie did you get?”

“The Tom Cruise one. I figured that’s the one you’d want to see. Is that okay?”

She smiled. “Of course. I’ll get the popcorn.”

She was a little irritated that Alex didn’t wait to ask which movie she wanted to see, but she got over it quickly as she waited in line for the popcorn. She got a bag for each of them, and two waters.

The movie was actually pretty good. Alex laughed every time she jumped in her seat. She couldn’t help it—she always got so into the movie that she was on edge and jumpy with any suspense thriller. It was fun though and the popcorn as usual, was excellent. When the movie finished, they walked down to the Corner Table to share a coffee. Alex got a giant sugar cookie too and Gina agreed to help him eat it.

“Are you going home for the holidays?” he asked as he broke off a piece of cookie and popped it in his mouth.

“No. My parents are actually on a cruise. They invited me to fly to Spain to join them, but that’s too complicated. And I usually work Christmas Eve—a lot of the regulars come in and it’s a fun time. What are you doing?”

“Our office shuts down early on Christmas Eve and I’ll be taking a ferry to Hyannis and then renting a car to go to my parent’s place in Concord. My brother will be there and my grandparents. It should be a good time. I’ll be back the following Monday.”

“That sounds like fun. Hopefully the weather will cooperate. It’s not fun when the boats stop running. But usually, unless it’s really bad, you should be able to get a flight out.”

Alex made a face. “I’m actually not a fan of flying, especially those small planes that come here.”

“You’ll probably be fine. Just keep an eye on the weather. How are you settling in? Have you had a chance to see much of the island yet?”

He laughed. “Yes. I’ve been going out with a few of the guys in the office almost every night. We’ve closed a few of the bars downtown. That makes it rough the next morning, but it’s been fun.”

“Ugh, I don’t know how you can get up so early after being out late. I would have a hard time with that.”

He grinned. “I’m used to it now. Work hard, play hard is our motto in the office.”

Gina glanced at the time. “Well, this has been fun. I should probably start walking over to the restaurant. It’s getting late.”