Christmas at the Restaurant (The Nantucket Restaurant #2)(8)

“How is Matt? Are things still good there?” Jill asked.

Mandy smiled. “They are. He’s going to join us tomorrow night too. It should be a good time.”





Chapter 3





“Oh, good! I was hoping you’d be working tonight,” Connie Boyle said as she settled into a seat at the bar. It was exactly four thirty-five. Connie was right on time. Like clockwork, she came in either Tuesday or Wednesday night, almost every week. Depending on the week, Gina usually worked one of the nights. This week it was Wednesday, but it varied from week to week. She smiled when she saw Connie. She was one of Gina’s favorite regulars. The older woman was almost always in an upbeat, cheery mood and tonight was no exception.

“The usual?” Gina asked as she set a glass of water and a placemat in front of her.

Connie nodded. “Yes, please, with an extra cherry if it’s not too much trouble.”

Gina smiled as she shook the Southern Comfort Manhattan in a mixer with crushed ice and then strained the drink into an elegant martini glass. She added two Maraschino cherries and poured the ice with the leftover cocktail into a rocks glass and set it next to the Manhattan.

“You’re the best,” Connie said happily as she reached to take a sip.

Another couple came in and Gina went off to serve them. When she returned to Connie, she was ready to put in her dinner order. She shocked Gina by ordering the swordfish special instead of her usual eggplant parmesan.

“I was here on Monday, so decided to switch it up a bit,” she explained.

“Well, you can’t go wrong with Paul’s swordfish. It’s the best I’ve ever had,” Gina said. Paul had a magic touch when it came to fish. It was easy to overcook, but he always managed to cook it to the perfect point where it was still juicy and melted in your mouth. Gina overcooked fish, every time, so she didn’t even bother to try anymore. She rang Connie’s order in and went into the kitchen to get her garden salad and a basket of hot rolls with butter.

When she returned to the bar, she noticed a new customer had arrived. She didn’t look up to see his face until she set Connie’s food down. And when she did, she blinked twice in surprise. The man before her was familiar but she hadn’t seen him in years. He looked just as good, better maybe than she remembered. Alex Scott was a few years older than her, so maybe thirty-six or thirty-seven now. His hair was thick and blond, and he was as tall and trim as ever. He grinned when he saw her.

“Gina. It’s been a long time. You look great.”

Connie watched their exchange with interest as she began buttering a roll.

“You do too, Alex. What brings you to Nantucket?”

“I just moved here. I’m starting a new job with the Lawson Group. Maybe you know them?” She did. Mandy’s ex-husband, Cory, was one of the owners.

She nodded. “I didn’t realize you worked in finance.” When she knew Alex, he was a very popular bartender at the same Italian restaurant she’d worked at. He was engaged at the time to Cassie, a beautiful blonde waitress, so Gina along with most of the female staff had just crushed on Alex from a distance. Now that she thought about it, he’d been working toward his college degree part-time.

“I finished up a degree in finance a few years ago and got a job as an analyst. Cassie and I broke up. She moved back to California and this opportunity came along. I thought it might be fun to spend a year or two on Nantucket and—well, I couldn’t pass up the chance to work with Cory Lawson.”

“Wow. Congratulations on the new job, and welcome to Nantucket.” Gina was aware that Connie was pretending not to pay attention but kept glancing their way. “Can I get you a drink? Would you like to see a dinner menu?”

“I’d love a drink. A Sam Adams IPA if you have it.”

“We do.” Gina reached into the cooler to get the bottle of beer, opened it, poured half of it into a tall beer glass and set the glass and bottle in front of him.

He reached into his wallet and pulled out a twenty and handed it to her. “I’m meeting some friends here for dinner. There’s five of us and they have a reservation. I got here a little early. Just walked over from the boat.”

Gina noticed a tall, black suitcase against the wall.

“I’ll keep an eye on that while you eat.”

He grinned again. “Thanks. My friend said he’ll give me a ride to my rental house. I don’t think it’s far from here, but with the suitcase…”

“You don’t have a car?”

“Haven’t had one in years. I lived in the Back Bay and just took Ubers everywhere. Or if we went on a road trip, someone always had a car. Do you think I need one here?”

Gina thought about that for a minute. “Probably not, actually. If you’re staying near downtown you can walk everywhere. And there’s Uber here too if you need to get to the airport or want to go elsewhere on the island. Like to Millie’s. That’s a great Mexican restaurant, but it’s on the other side of the island, about a twelve-minute ride by car.”

“Mexican, huh? Maybe we can go sometime.” He grinned. “You can drive.”

She laughed, not sure whether or not he was serious. He took out his phone. “What’s your number?” So he was serious. She told him and heard a ping.