then gestured to a waitress. Soon Emma and Jake were seated by
the windows, looking out over the harbor.
Emma glanced around the room. The
restaurant was popular with tourists for the view and with local businesspeople
for the food. She recognized a few faces: Joey Gilbert, the mayor; Mrs.
James—aka Mandy’s mom—who was lunching with art gallery owner Paula Jeffries;
and Bill Monroe, Cynthia’s father. Bill caught Emma’s gaze and gave her a wave
while continuing his conversation with the woman opposite him. Bill was also
the owner of Selkie, a local boat operation.
“What is this, the boatbuilders’
special?” Jake muttered, his eyes on a man Emma didn’t know. “That’s Roger
Fills,” he explained. “A competitor. He runs Seacastle. I don’t mind him
personally, but there’s lots of bad blood between him and my parents.”
Fills looked up, saw Jake, and sent
him a nod. The man appeared to be about sixty, and a nervous energy seemed to
throw sparks off his every gesture. His dining partner looked a little
overwhelmed, perhaps because Fills barely paused for breath between sentences.
Emma said, “I don’t recognize him,
but his name sounds familiar. Maybe I’ve read about him in the paper or
something.”
“Or maybe Mickey mentioned him.”
Jake’s mouth tightened. “Fills made a not-so-secret offer to buy Woodhaven last
week. It wasn’t a great offer, and I turned him down, but it sent my employees
into panic mode. And now with Ginny being killed…Well, Woodhaven isn’t going to
win a ‘Best Company to Work For’ award this month.”
Silence dropped between them.
Emma fiddled with her silverware.
Why, again, had she come here? Because she was a sucker for anyone in need of
her help? Because when Jake settled his dark eyes on her, all the reminders
pounding through her head that this guy was trouble were suddenly muted?
No. Of course not. Coming here was
a business decision. In fact, this was a business lunch, much like the other
lunches around them, if a little less conventional.
“How often do you eat here?” she
asked Jake.
“Twice a week, if not more. Almost
always for lunch. Dinner with Ginny was an exception.” He pointed with his chin
toward an adjacent corner. “We were over there.”
Interesting. That table was set
apart from the others and nestled in a bay window. Dozens of marriage proposals
had been made there, and locals had dubbed it the Engagement Nook. Of course,
you could sit there without getting engaged, but…
“Were you here on a business
dinner, or was it more personal?” No point in beating around the bush.
“It was business.” He hesitated.
“We’d dated before, when we were both going to business school in Boston. Not
long—we went out only a handful of times—but long enough for me to realize that
though we wouldn’t work as a couple, she was a whiz at marketing. I moved up
here to take over Woodhaven about eight years ago. When our ad and marketing
guy left for another job last year, I offered her a spot at Woodhaven.”
“It wasn’t weird to work with an
old girlfriend?”
“She was my employee far longer
than she was my girlfriend. And she had a guy in Boston—in the beginning, at
least. But they broke up recently, and she had been more…flirtatious.” He made
a face. “Frankly, it was getting to be too much. I like to be pursued as much
as the next guy, but not by an employee. Especially not one I wasn’t interested
in.”
“You brought her to Mickey’s
Christmas Eve party,” Emma pointed out. Her belly had curled up in
disappointment when Jake had walked through the door with a tall, gorgeous woman
who appeared to be his date.
“Yeah, she and her guy had just
broken up. I felt sorry for her, so I brought her, hoping to introduce her to
more people.”
“That’s why Mickey insisted I
come,” Emma said. “To meet more people.”
Jake smiled, and the tightness
around his eyes vanished for the first time since they’d
the windows, looking out over the harbor.
Emma glanced around the room. The
restaurant was popular with tourists for the view and with local businesspeople
for the food. She recognized a few faces: Joey Gilbert, the mayor; Mrs.
James—aka Mandy’s mom—who was lunching with art gallery owner Paula Jeffries;
and Bill Monroe, Cynthia’s father. Bill caught Emma’s gaze and gave her a wave
while continuing his conversation with the woman opposite him. Bill was also
the owner of Selkie, a local boat operation.
“What is this, the boatbuilders’
special?” Jake muttered, his eyes on a man Emma didn’t know. “That’s Roger
Fills,” he explained. “A competitor. He runs Seacastle. I don’t mind him
personally, but there’s lots of bad blood between him and my parents.”
Fills looked up, saw Jake, and sent
him a nod. The man appeared to be about sixty, and a nervous energy seemed to
throw sparks off his every gesture. His dining partner looked a little
overwhelmed, perhaps because Fills barely paused for breath between sentences.
Emma said, “I don’t recognize him,
but his name sounds familiar. Maybe I’ve read about him in the paper or
something.”
“Or maybe Mickey mentioned him.”
Jake’s mouth tightened. “Fills made a not-so-secret offer to buy Woodhaven last
week. It wasn’t a great offer, and I turned him down, but it sent my employees
into panic mode. And now with Ginny being killed…Well, Woodhaven isn’t going to
win a ‘Best Company to Work For’ award this month.”
Silence dropped between them.
Emma fiddled with her silverware.
Why, again, had she come here? Because she was a sucker for anyone in need of
her help? Because when Jake settled his dark eyes on her, all the reminders
pounding through her head that this guy was trouble were suddenly muted?
No. Of course not. Coming here was
a business decision. In fact, this was a business lunch, much like the other
lunches around them, if a little less conventional.
“How often do you eat here?” she
asked Jake.
“Twice a week, if not more. Almost
always for lunch. Dinner with Ginny was an exception.” He pointed with his chin
toward an adjacent corner. “We were over there.”
Interesting. That table was set
apart from the others and nestled in a bay window. Dozens of marriage proposals
had been made there, and locals had dubbed it the Engagement Nook. Of course,
you could sit there without getting engaged, but…
“Were you here on a business
dinner, or was it more personal?” No point in beating around the bush.
“It was business.” He hesitated.
“We’d dated before, when we were both going to business school in Boston. Not
long—we went out only a handful of times—but long enough for me to realize that
though we wouldn’t work as a couple, she was a whiz at marketing. I moved up
here to take over Woodhaven about eight years ago. When our ad and marketing
guy left for another job last year, I offered her a spot at Woodhaven.”
“It wasn’t weird to work with an
old girlfriend?”
“She was my employee far longer
than she was my girlfriend. And she had a guy in Boston—in the beginning, at
least. But they broke up recently, and she had been more…flirtatious.” He made
a face. “Frankly, it was getting to be too much. I like to be pursued as much
as the next guy, but not by an employee. Especially not one I wasn’t interested
in.”
“You brought her to Mickey’s
Christmas Eve party,” Emma pointed out. Her belly had curled up in
disappointment when Jake had walked through the door with a tall, gorgeous woman
who appeared to be his date.
“Yeah, she and her guy had just
broken up. I felt sorry for her, so I brought her, hoping to introduce her to
more people.”
“That’s why Mickey insisted I
come,” Emma said. “To meet more people.”
Jake smiled, and the tightness
around his eyes vanished for the first time since they’d
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