Christmas at the Restaurant (The Nantucket Restaurant #2)(27)

“I bought them yesterday and hid them in a drawer.”

She admired his planning, and couldn’t wait to show her sisters the ring. They were going to be thrilled. They’d been waiting for this to happen almost since they all started working together. Emma knew both of her sisters had hoped that she and Paul would find their way back to each other. And they had. After going their separate ways after high school and marrying other people, they were back together and it felt right. Emma sighed with contentment and couldn’t stop staring at her ring. She was glad that Paul hadn’t waited. He was right, this was much more special and unexpected, to get engaged at home, on a Sunday night. It was perfect.

* * *

Mandy and Jill were drinking coffee in the kitchen Monday morning around nine when there was a knock on the door. Mandy glanced out the window and saw Emma’s car parked out front. She often stopped in to visit over coffee on her day off, so Mandy didn’t think anything of it. She opened the door as Emma was walking towards it.

“Perfect timing, I just made a fresh pot of coffee. Jill and I were just gabbing and we have chocolate donuts too, if you’re interested. I know we shouldn’t but I was hungry when I was at the store and couldn’t help myself.” Mandy stopped talking when Emma held up her hand and showed off the sparkly new engagement ring.

“Oh, my gosh! And here I am babbling on about donuts. Come in, let me take a closer look.”

Emma stepped inside, and Mandy took her hand and leaned in to admire the ring. “Em, it’s really lovely. Congratulations.”

“Thank you. It was his grandmother’s.”

They went in the kitchen where Jill was already standing and she came over to see the ring too.

“It’s beautiful. When did he do it? Sit down and tell us everything.”

Mandy poured Emma a cup of coffee and put a donut on a plate. Emma reached for it immediately and broke a piece off and popped it in her mouth. She loved sweets.

“He asked me last night. Made an amazing dinner while I was in the shower and then got down on one knee. It was a total surprise.”

“I thought he might do it on Christmas,” Jill said.

“I wondered about that too,” Emma admitted. “But he said he didn’t want to do it on a holiday. That it was special enough, just getting engaged and Sunday night felt right.”

“That’s so romantic,” Mandy said. “I’m so happy for you, Emma. Paul’s such a great guy.”

Emma smiled. “Thanks. I think so too.”

“What are you guys up to today?” Jill asked.

“We’re actually heading off-island soon, to do some shopping in Hyannis and depending how much time we have, we might see a movie.”

“That sounds like fun.”

“We’re probably stopping at Trader Joe’s too, if you need anything?”

“The cheddar!” Mandy and Jill said at the same time. They both loved a cheddar there that had a unique parmesan flavor.

Emma laughed. “Got it. Oh, by the way, just an FYI, Paul and Jared are going in early tomorrow. We’re going to be adopting some turkeys for a week or so.” She told them about the food pantry’s broken freezer.

“Oh, that’s terrible timing for them.” Mandy smiled. “Now I know what Abby was talking about. She texted me ‘thank you’ this morning. I didn’t know what she was talking about, but now it makes sense.” Abby was one of the main volunteers at the food pantry.

“Paul said there’s plenty of room, so we were happy to help. It was actually Connie’s idea.”

“Is she involved with the food pantry?” Jill asked.

“I think she and a few of her friends help out occasionally, handing out the baskets on holidays like this,” Mandy said.

“She seems to know all the gossip on Nantucket,” Emma said as she reached for her last bit of donut.

“Any idea what a new freezer costs?” Mandy asked.

“The ladies with Connie said they are expensive, thousands of dollars.”

Mandy nodded. “That’s hard to come up with for a charity organization like that. I’m glad we had the room in the walk-in.”

“All right, I’m off. Thanks for the coffee. Tell Billy I said hello. Is he still sleeping?”

Jill laughed. “He’s been up since six and on the phone for the last hour. He got a new search in yesterday.”

“Oh, that’s right. I forgot you’re both doing some work remotely,” Emma said.

“Billy is more than I am. I have a few of the girls handling some of my clients and candidates while I’m out. It’s good experience for them and it gives me a break. There are a few things I am still following up on, but it’s been nice being able to relax and just enjoy working in the restaurant.”

“We’ll miss you guys when you go back. You should do this again over the summer,” Mandy suggested.

“I’d love to. I’ll have to work on Billy, but I think I can get him to come around.”





Chapter 13





Jared came by Gina’s cottage at four o’clock sharp. She heard his Jeep pull in and met him outside and hopped in the passenger seat for the drive out to Bartlett’s Farm to pick out a tree. They had a good selection and it didn’t take long for Gina to choose one that she liked. She went with a Douglas fir and Jared put it in the back of the Jeep and tied it down with a bungee cord to keep it in place.