Christmas at the Restaurant (The Nantucket Restaurant #2)(29)

“Are you sure? We can just split it,” she protested. She hoped he didn’t think she expected him to pay for both of them.

He handed her the gift card. “Hold on to this and we’ll use it next time.”

Gina tucked it in her wallet, and once Jared signed the slip, they left, along with most of the restaurant that was there for trivia.

“You were right by the way—your cookies were great with coffee. I polished off the last one this morning,” Jared said when he pulled into her driveway.

“I love them for breakfast. I have tons more. Come on up and I’ll give you some to take home.”

“Sure. If you have plenty, I’ll gladly take some off your hands.”

They went inside and Gina wrapped up a stack of cookies for Jared. She brought them over to where he was standing, admiring the tree. It looked beautiful, all decorated with the shimmering white lights.

“It really does look nice,” she said.

“Beautiful,” Jared said, but he wasn’t looking at the tree anymore. His eyes met Gina’s and something shifted in the air between them. He leaned toward her and she sucked in her breath, and then there was a loud crash and a howl as Boots toppled off the table beside the tree, taking the ornament that she was batting at with her.

They both laughed. “Well, I should probably get going,” Jared said.

“Here’s your cookies.” She handed them to him.

“Thanks. I’m off this Friday. We could do something if you’re off too, if you don’t have plans?”

She hesitated. There was no doubt this time that Jared was asking her on a date, and she wanted to go, but she couldn’t. Not this Friday.

“I’d love to. But I already have plans.”

His face fell, the disappointment clear. “Oh, okay. Maybe another time soon then. I’ll see you tomorrow at work.”

“Good night, Jared.”





Chapter 14





“Mom, are you going to get married to Matt?”

Mandy set her coffee cup down and looked at her daughter Brooke, who had a very serious and not happy expression. Blake chimed in with, “Are you going to have a baby, too?”

Jill sat at the kitchen table with them, watching the scene unfold with interest. It was Wednesday morning, and Mandy and Jill were having coffee and making plans to head off-island to do some Christmas shopping. When Cory dropped the kids off the night before, it had been late as they’d gone out to dinner and watched a movie, so they were half-asleep and ready for bed. He’d simply smiled and waved from the car before driving off. She wanted to shake him. He’d blindsided her by news she suspected was coming, but it would have been nice to hear it first from Cory so they could have discussed how to share both the engagement and pregnancy with the kids.

“Matt is a really nice guy and I’m enjoying his company. We haven’t talked about getting married. If we do decide to do that, it won’t be for a long time. And I don’t have any intention of having another baby.” She smiled. “I have my hands full with you two. Come here and give me a hug.”

They did and she hugged them both hard, then asked, “So, what exactly did your father say to you last night?”

“He was acting weird all day, weirder than usual,” Brooke began. “He hired a horse and carriage to come to the house and take us downtown to some fancy restaurant. And then at dinner, he had a bottle of champagne delivered and after the waiter opened it with a big pop, he got down on his knees! In the restaurant, with everyone looking. It was so embarrassing, Mom.”

“And then he asked Hannah to marry him. And she said yes, and started to cry,” Blake said.

“And after all that, she didn’t even have any champagne,” Brooke added. “That’s when Dad explained that she’s having a baby. So, he drank almost the whole bottle of champagne himself. And then the carriage drove us home. Don’t you think that’s weird, Mom? I mean, she’s really young and Dad seems kind of old to have another baby.”

Mandy tried not to laugh, because she agreed with her daughter. But, she was always careful not to be negative about Cory in front of them. “Your father seems very happy with Hannah, and it’s not unusual for older men to marry younger women and start a new family. It doesn’t mean he’ll love you any less.”

“Mom, we’re not worried about that. We just think it’s weird.”

“Yeah,” Blake agreed.

“Well, it is what it is. So, just make the best of it and be glad that your father is happy. On a different subject, I need your Christmas lists. Your aunt Jill and I are taking the ferry to Hyannis to do some shopping today.”

They ran off to get their lists and Jill shook her head. “Well, I suppose we knew that was coming. I didn’t really see him getting married again so soon.”

“I don’t think he was planning on it,” Mandy said dryly.

“Maybe he’ll do a better job this time? Learn from his mistakes and all?”

Mandy wondered if he would. “I hope so, for her sake.”





After they dropped the kids at school, Mandy and Jill took the fast ferry to Hyannis. She was surprised by how crowded the boat was for the time of year, but guessed there were a lot of people out doing Christmas shopping too. They called for an Uber as the boat entered Hyannis Harbor and slowed the engines. As they disembarked, they saw their Uber vehicle pull up and a few minutes later, were dropped at the Cape Cod Mall.