Chapter Nineteen
Victoria had cleaned up after her long walk with Miles on the beach that included handholding. She felt like a teenager, but it was a nice feeling and she didn’t want it to end.
They had gone down to eat breakfast together and Aunt Lily, of course, had seen them coming back from their walk hand in hand. She didn’t comment, only smiled knowingly.
It pleased Victoria to see that Aunt Lily seemed very happy and looked better after getting some extra rest yesterday after the reading of the will. She hoped her aunt had a good sleep last night on top of the nap.
After they finished eating breakfast, and out of earshot of Aunt Lily, Miles asked, “Would you go to dinner with me tonight?”
Victoria nodded. “I would be delighted to go to dinner with you. Where shall we go?”
He looked up into the air as if thinking about it, then said, “There are really two choices if you want to have a fancy meal on Valentine Key and you don’t belong to the club at the marina, which I don’t. First, there’s the tried-and-true Venetian of Valentine Key. Our second choice is the Mediterranean place that opened up last year. Since I’m guessing you’ve eaten at The Venetian more than once over the years, what do you think of having a fancy Mediterranean dinner?”
Victoria shrugged. “That sounds great to me. It’s a date.”
He nodded, a mischievous smile dancing around his lips. She could tell there was some ulterior motive for him wanting to go to the Mediterranean restaurant. She would figure it out.
After sharing breakfast with Miles, she returned to her room to open her envelope, which she hadn’t been able to do after the seemingly endless day of the will reading.
She’d been so tired last night she’d barely gotten changed into her nightgown and brushed her teeth before crawling into bed, snuggling deep into her sheets and sleeping sound and solid all night long.
Imagine her surprise when she opened her packet and read that The Olive Tree Taverna was going to be her responsibility for the next year.
Miles had the inside track on that knowledge, because he’d created all of the paperwork. That sneaky man. His request for a dinner date at the Mediterranean place tonight made her smile.
In fact, Victoria grinned the whole time she read about the details of her soon-to-be business challenge, knowing Miles had figured her out. Of course she’d want to visit the place as soon as possible to discover firsthand what she was about to get into.
The fact that she’d never even worked in a restaurant was only one of the many daunting things she faced. Was managing a restaurant different than cooking for one? She hoped so, as she’d never been much of a cook. She knew enough to keep her daughter from starving, but once Angelica was old enough to take over the task, she was the one who kept them fed on more than just the basics.
The paperwork indicated her father had acquired The Olive Tree Taverna a couple of years ago and so far, even with the healthy competition of The Venetian, it seemed to be doing pretty well. That was good news. The bad news was that she had no earthly idea of what it took to run a successful restaurant.
Even so, she was excited by the challenge. Could she run an upscale restaurant for a year and be successful? Could she do it while keeping her translation business going? She hoped so. Could she run it and have a new boyfriend in her life? She really hoped so.
Victoria scooped the papers back into her envelope, tucked it under her arm and headed down to the parlor for the meeting with Miles and her sisters. She couldn’t wait to find out what businesses they’d been tasked with running.
When Victoria walked into the parlor a few minutes before the meeting was to start, she’d hoped to find Miles alone. He was, but she could hear Darby’s voice out in the hallway, coming closer.
“You think you’re very clever don’t you?” she asked Miles as she seated herself in the row in front of the desk that seemed to have become his.
He grinned. “I have moments. I was trying to figure out a way to ask if you’d opened your envelope. You didn’t mention anything on our walk or over breakfast, so I was trying to be wily and learn if you’d read about your business.”
“And now you know that I hadn’t until after breakfast. I was just so tired from yesterday, I crashed hard last night.”
“Understandable. It was a long, eventful day.” He might have said more, but Darby and Colleen entered the parlor, Evaline close on their heels. “Ladies,” he said, nodding at them.
“Our mother doesn’t need to be here for this, does she?” Darby asked.
Miles shook his head. “She is allowed to be here if she wants, but it’s really for all of Horatio’s daughters to discuss the businesses you’ve been assigned to manage for the next year. I wanted to be available to answer any general questions you might have.”
“That’s what I thought,” she said with a smile and a nod.
Kelly’s three daughters seated themselves in the front row with Victoria.
Not even five seconds later, Mari entered. She sat beside Victoria, in the last front-row seat, and greeted everyone who’d arrived.
Miles asked, “Have you all had a chance to look at your packets?”
Everyone nodded as Jessica and Jacklyn came in. Miles welcomed them, then left his desk to close the doors for their private meeting.
“I don’t have anyone to guard the door today,” he said. “So we’ll have to rely on the note I taped on one of the door panels to keep things private. If anyone dares intrude, we’ll shoo them out.”
He made his way back to the desk as Jessica and Jacklyn sat in the second row, directly behind Victoria and Darby.
“I’ll read the list of the businesses and who is assigned to each, to clarify where you’ll all be should you choose to accept this challenge,” he said, settling comfortably in his chair.
“From eldest daughter to youngest, the following businesses will be involved in the competition. Victoria will be managing The Olive Tree Taverna, the Mediterranean restaurant in downtown Valentine Key. Colleen will be in charge of Buy The Book, a bookstore, obviously. Darby will be handling Valentine Key’s mobile vehicle rentals at Racing Hearts Rentals. Evaline will be managing Follow Your Heart Tours. Jessica will be at Hearts And Flowers, the flower and gift shop, while Jacklyn has been assigned The Sweet Heart Bakery. Last but not least, Mari will be managing Down To A Fine Heart, an art gallery and studio.”
Miles looked up from his papers and Victoria was struck again by how attractive he was, in an understated way that she found quite appealing. It was a good thing that staring at him wouldn’t out her feelings for him, since her sisters were doing the same thing as they listened intently. She had no doubt her budding relationship with Miles was no secret to anyone, so whether she stared at him or not had to be a moot point.
“I’m certain you’ll have lots of questions, if not today, then sometime in the future. I also expect many questions from you in the coming year,” he said, breaking Victoria’s train of thought.
“Before we proceed, I want to let you all know that I will be moving to Valentine Key in a couple of months so I can monitor your progress once this competition begins. My first question is, how many of you will be participating? And if you haven’t decided yet, that’s okay. I won’t need an official answer until the actual competition begins. For today, we can just do an informal show of hands for anyone who has made their decision.”
Victoria raised her hand. Beside her, Mari lifted her hand tentatively in the air. On Victoria’s other side, Darby also raised her hand and so did Colleen and Evaline. When she looked at the row behind her, she saw that Jessica and Jacklyn had raised their hands as well.
They wore grins that she was sure held as much excitement and nervous energy as her own. She was surprised—and heartened—to see that all the Lovelock sisters would be participating.
“That’s amazing,” Miles said as the women lowered their hands. “I didn’t expect all of you to join the competition or to have decided so soon, but I’m happy that you are going to give it a go. Excellent.”
He glanced at Victoria briefly with a smile on his face, seeming to be genuinely glad that the Lovelock sisters were not going to thumb their noses at their father’s odd request.
“Does anyone have any questions for the group before we break up into individual meetings?”
Darby raised her hand. “I figure we all have to start at the same time, so my question is, when will that be? I’ve put up my hand, but while it’s my intention to join the competition, there will be lots of changes I’ll have to make in my life to accommodate it. If I change my mind about being part of this because I won’t be able to make it happen, how much time do I have?”
“Great question. We can all decide that right now. I won’t be down here in Valentine Key officially for a couple of months. Shall we say two and a half months to give everyone time to move?” They all nodded, except for Colleen, whose brows had furrowed over the gray eyes she’d inherited from her mother.
“I will be getting married in two months, with our honeymoon to follow directly after, but Alex and I should be here in time to start,” she explained. “That said, what if I get a late start on my business?”
Miles’s eyebrows went north. “Well, if everyone else starts on a decided date, you’d have to do your best to be here in the time you have allowed for yourself.” He looked around at the other sisters as if encouraging them to share their thoughts on that.
“Why don’t we move the start date out to three months instead of two and a half, so everyone has enough time to move to Valentine Key and get settled?” Mari said. “I should be able to be here in two and a half months, but three would be better for me, as well.”
“Is everyone else okay with three months?” This time, every woman nodded. Miles said, “Three months it is. And again, you don’t have to commit to joining the competition until we start in three months. I’ll have you all sign papers at that time and then we’ll be off to the races, so to speak. I want you ladies to have plenty of time to think about it and make plans. Don’t feel like you can’t change your mind.”
Victoria was relieved. Two months would have been tight for her to manage. Two-and-a-half was better but three months was a much less stressful timeframe for her to upend her whole life. Hearing Miles confirm he was moving down to the key in a couple of months made her heart go pitty-pat.
Darby raised her hand again and Miles pointed to her. She asked, “Is Victoria going to get special treatment? It’s okay by me, but I was just wondering.” She added a wink.
Miles seemed to freeze in place. Slowly, in an uncertain tone that sounded quite unlike his usual way of speaking, he said, “Uh, no one’s getting any special treatment.”
Victoria shot Darby a mock glare and said, “Do not pick on my guy. He’s nice and I like him. All of you please do me this one favor.”
The sisters laughed and agreed not to deliberately embarrass Miles.
At least not today. No promises were made for later on.
∞∞∞
Later that evening, Miles knocked on the door to Victoria’s room to take her to dinner at the new place she’d be managing in three months. She’d taken extra care in choosing her outfit and used a light hand with her makeup. From the way his eyes glowed in appreciation when she opened her door, Miles noticed.
The thought of the challenge made her heart flip over in her chest. Thinking about Miles being around while she was managing her new endeavor made her heart do a little dance as well.
It didn’t take long to reach their destination—nothing in Valentine Key did. They probably could have walked it. Instead, Miles drove them to The Olive Tree Taverna in his ten-year-old Jeep Cherokee. She’d expected him to drive some sort of expensive foreign car. He was a lawyer who primarily worked out of Philadelphia; maybe his fancy car was there.
“Is this your car or what you got stuck with at the rental office when you flew down here?” She didn’t think it could be a rental, which tended to be newer models.
He laughed. “This is my car. It’s the first one I ever purchased for cash without leasing or making monthly payments. And I’m attached to it.”
“Interesting. I will admit I expected you to drive some sort of expensive German-made vehicle.”
“I might be more down to earth than you’ve been led to believe.”
“I guess I have a lot to learn about you. I have to tell you that I’m excited at the prospect.”
He glanced in her direction meaningfully, then turned his eyes back to the road. “I am also excited at the prospect of learning everything there is to know about you, Victoria.”
She sure did like the way he said her name and the soft, warm feeling it gave her.
Smitten. That was the word. Victoria was smitten with Miles.
He turned down a street in downtown Valentine Key and they soon arrived at their destination. Miles took advantage of the valet parking. She doubted his Jeep was the fanciest car there and likely didn’t need special handling. That was okay. She appreciated the sentiment he held for the first car he’d bought outright with his own money.
When they entered the restaurant, Victoria paid attention to her first impression of the place. Miles had looped his arm through hers as they climbed a few steps to the front door, which he opened for her to enter ahead of him.
She closed her eyes as she did, so that when she was inside she could take it all in at a glance.
Victoria opened her eyes and came to stop. She absolutely loved what she saw.
The foyer was lined with travertine. Low, cushioned seating on either side of the small lobby for guests while they waited to be seated was opulent and beautiful. The color palette of the décor was mostly cream and tan and gold with hints of emerald green.
What she could see of the restaurant beyond the host stand featured lots of dark wood and a really beautiful bar that had to be fifteen feet long, with a mirrored back that managed to look elegant and not like she was in some backwater dive on the wrong side of town.
“What do you think?” Miles asked as she stood stock still about five feet past the door.
“I think it’s lovely. The colors, the textures and the feeling they imbue are simple elegance personified. What do you think? Is the food as good as the way this restaurant looks?”
“The truth is, I’ve never eaten here, but I did see pictures when your father bought the place. I like the way it looks, too, which is even better than the pictures. Let’s hope the food is just as good.”
Miles guided her to the host stand and gave the man there his name for the reservations. Smiling, the host led them directly to their booth. He was friendly and it didn’t seem like he had any earthly idea who Victoria was.
That was a good thing.
Victoria didn’t want to scare anybody before she got to come in and meet the staff and crew as their new managing officer or whatever her title turned out to be.
She wasn’t certain exactly what she was supposed to do once she was in charge. Hopefully, it wouldn’t be too taxing or terrible. She would still have her translation business to take care of and she was going to be helping Aunt Lily once she moved to Valentine Key.
Her chores were stacking up and she hadn’t even started yet.
“It’s going to be okay, you know,” Miles said in a low, reassuring tone, evidently correctly chalking up her woolgathering to her trying to figure out how to fit everything into her new life.
“I hope so. If I think about it too much, I start getting worried I’ve bitten off more than I can chew.” Victoria thought of how adding Miles as her love interest would affect the new and exciting changes she was making. He would be an important part that she definitely wanted to fit into her life.
Miles put his hand on her arm. “I think you’re going to do great.”
“Thank you. I can only do my best.” Victoria put her hand on top of Miles’s fingers. She was so grateful for the promise their budding relationship had already added to her life. She looked forward to moving to Valentine Key full-time, knowing he’d be here, too.
The waiter arrived to take their orders. When he left and they resumed their conversation, it wasn’t about the business. It was about getting to know each
She told him about her business and some anecdotes of a few of the more odd things she’d been asked to translate over the years.
He told her about his dog, and how he’d be looking for a place in Valentine Key with beach access, because his dog loved the water.
She talked about the interesting places she’d been to overseas, both while she was in boarding school and as part of her work as an interpreter.
He explained he hadn’t traveled nearly as much as he’d have liked, and would love to see the places she’d described.
For Victoria’s first date in decades, she considered it a glorious success.
And it was very reassuring that The Olive Tree Taverna’s food did indeed match the impressive décor.
She tried to play it cool but she couldn’t stop glancing at Miles’s profile as he drove them back to the Lovelock Inn. He was so easy to talk to. She found herself laughing with him just as easily.
Miles parked the Jeep and offered his arm as they crossed the lot to the inn’s impressive double doors. Her heels weren’t that high but she accepted the excuse to touch him. They said a quiet hello to the young woman on duty as they entered the dimly lit lobby. Like the gentleman he was, Miles walked Victoria to her door and waited while she unlocked it, opened it and flipped the lights on. The safety precaution was more of one for a big city than Valentine Key but she appreciated it.
They lingered in the doorway talking, as though neither of them was ready to say goodnight. She wouldn’t have minded at all if Miles had dipped his head for a kiss, but he didn’t. She got the sense he didn’t want to push things too far or go too fast. She could appreciate that.
They said their goodbyes and she watched for a few breaths as he headed to his own room before she closed and locked her door.
Miles was the kind of man who was worth the wait.