Epilogue
Valentine Key Public Library
Three months after the reading of the will
Victoria stood up at the front of the small room she’d reserved at the library for this inaugural meeting of the seven Lovelock sisters. She’d agreed, as the eldest Lovelock sister, to be the primary hostess and kick off each gathering, regardless of who needed the most help at any given time.
They’d decided to meet at a neutral location on Valentine Key. That way no one would feel pressured to play hostess in any personal space that might possibly be occupied by other family members. They wanted a quiet, private place where they could just get together for an hour or so to discuss their shared challenge with the businesses they had to manage.
Darby recommended the public library.
Victoria handled reserving the room where they planned to hold their monthly meetings for the next year on the first Tuesday of each month. They’d decided to call themselves the Seven Sisters Council. The librarian had been amused when Victoria put that name in the reservation book.
“Show of hands—who has already had a major crisis on Day One of taking over your business?” Victoria raised her arm high in the air. No one else did. She pouted. “So I’m alone. I guess that figures.”
Victoria had been left rattled by her visit to The Olive Tree Taverna. What had seemed like a simple plan to start things off on the right foot had quickly devolved into a key employee having a meltdown in front of her and the entire staff.
She was angry, appalled and unsure if she wanted to continue with this year-long challenge. And it was only the first day. She pushed out a very long sigh of resignation.
“What on Earth happened?” Darby asked.
Victoria put her arm down. “Well, on my first day to introduce myself at The Olive Tree Taverna, I mentioned to the staff and chef that I’d be their new manager going forward for the next year.”
“What’s wrong with that?” Mari asked.
“Oh, not much. Just that the volatile and emotional chef Horatio hired to put the restaurant on the map had a huge hissy fit in front of everyone, threw his chef’s hat on the ground, stomped on it and promptly quit on the spot.
“And since I’m the shiny new manager of the restaurant, it’s my problem to solve. My first question for the night is, do any of you have any Mediterranean recipes you’d like to share? Asking for a friend.”
Next up in the series:
Discovery at the Lovelock Inn, Book 2, Valentine Key series
The only experience Marigold Roselli has had with art galleries is being on the other side of the velvet ropes, looking at the artwork. And now she has to manage one?
With the help of her six newfound sisters, Mari hopes she can learn how to manage a temperamental art acquisition snob, the equally temperamental artists who rent space in her gallery and the hot new artist who makes Mari’s breath catch in appreciation every time she sees him around town.
And while Mari’s doing that, will Victoria have to learn how to cook? ?