Christmas at the Restaurant (The Nantucket Restaurant #2)(6)
They decided to close the office early and gave everyone the afternoon off, which was unexpected and much appreciated by the staff. It felt like the right thing to do, since they were ducking out early and wouldn’t be there for over a month. They’d still be working part-time remotely though from Nantucket, so they could keep up with their current activity and hopefully close a few more searches. Thanks to technology, like Zoom group calls, they’d be able to still meet with the team for update meetings.
They’d brought their luggage with them to the office, so they could head right to the airport when they left. It was a clear day, cold but sunny. They had a smooth flight to Nantucket and landed a little before four. Mandy was there to pick them up and had the kids with her. Jill loved that Brooke and Blake were so excited to see her. She’d grown close to her niece and nephew during the year that she’d spent on Nantucket, when she and her sisters worked together at the restaurant. She’d been happy to go home to Manhattan when the year was up, but it had been a very good year and a wonderful chance to spend time with her family—they’d all grown closer and it had been a hard year in some ways for Emma and Mandy. Both were going through divorces and it helped to be there and support each other.
Jill was glad that Emma was so happy with Paul now and it sounded like Mandy and Matt were doing well. Both Jill and Emma wondered about that though. Mandy had married Cory soon after college and really hadn’t dated much at all. Jill had hoped that once Mandy’s divorce was final that she’d get out there and date lots of different men and enjoy herself. Instead, she and Matt found each other and her sister didn’t seem to have any interest in dating anyone else. Which Jill was pretty sure was a mistake.
* * *
Emma was looking forward to seeing her sister, Jill, and her husband, Billy. Mandy was picking them up at the airport and had invited her and Paul to join them for dinner. Paul couldn’t make it as he had to work, but it was Emma’s night off and she’d made Jill’s favorite appetizer, a creamy, hot artichoke and spinach dip. When Jill had lived with her at Grams’ house for a year, they’d often had the dip as their dinner, along with a glass or two of good chardonnay.
Emma had enjoyed living with Jill. They’d grown closer after years of living on opposite sides of the country. Jill had started the year very much single, while Emma had been trying to mentally process the news that her husband of many years preferred men. She hadn’t seen it coming at all, though in retrospect the signs were there. She’d just missed them all because she hadn’t ever been looking for them.
But as their grandmother had often said, ‘everything happens for a reason’ and seeing Paul again was unexpected yet familiar. They’d been childhood sweethearts and had grown apart as young people often do. The years fell away once they began working together, and she suspected her grandmother knew exactly what she was doing when she left Mimi’s Place equally to her three granddaughters and her executive chef, Paul. Emma resisted revisiting the idea of a relationship with Paul until it was inevitable. Now she couldn’t imagine her life without him in it.
Emma parked in Mandy’s circular driveway, grabbed the dip and bottle of chardonnay from the backseat and started toward the front door. She paused for a moment to admire Mandy’s holiday lighting. The outside of the house and the tall bushes on either side of the front farmer’s porch were all decorated with soft white lights. In the distance, just beyond Mandy’s house, Emma could see a boat on the water that was also lit up with holiday lights. Through the big bay window that looked into the kitchen, she could see Mandy stirring something on the stove, while Jill and Billy sat at the kitchen island laughing.
She knocked on the door to let them know she’d arrived and walked in. Jill and Billy came over to greet her when she stepped into the kitchen.
“I’m so glad you didn’t have to work tonight,” Jill said as she gave her a big hug. Billy did the same and asked if she wanted a glass of the wine they’d just opened.
“I’d love one, thanks.” Emma set her casserole dish with the dip on the stove.
“Is that hot? Or should we pop it into the oven to heat up?” Mandy asked.
“Is that our dip?” Jill said excitedly.
“It is.” Emma turned to Mandy. “I think a few minutes in the oven might be good. It’s warm, but it could be a little hotter.” Mandy popped it in the already-hot oven, next to a bigger pan. “Are those—” Emma didn’t even have to finish the sentence before Mandy nodded.
“Yes, the Cape scallops. I haven’t had them yet this year and Jack was just putting them out at Trattel’s Seafood when I stopped in.”
“Yum,” Emma said. Cape scallops were only available for a few months every year and they were smaller than the usual sea scallops and so much sweeter. They were also much more expensive because there was such a limited supply of them.
Billy handed her a glass of wine as she slid into the third open chair at the island, next to Jill. “What’s in the pot?” Emma asked as Mandy added some liquid and gave it another stir.
“I’m trying Paul’s recipe for lobster and corn risotto. Thought it would go well with the scallops.”
“That sounds perfect. Can I do anything to help?” Emma offered.
“No, I’m good. Actually, I think I’m ready for a glass of wine now too. I was drinking tea earlier.” She poured herself a glass, gave the risotto a stir and then checked on the dip, which Emma could see was starting to bubble when Mandy opened the door. Emma jumped up to get a platter to put the hot dish on and Mandy carefully took it out of the oven, set it on the platter and put it right in front of Jill, who laughed and immediately reached for a toasted pita chip to scoop up the dip.