Chapter Eleven
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Sean arrived at ten minutes past eight the next morning. He’d told Riley’s mother that he usually began work around eight thirty but that he’d stop by a little earlier for coffee first. Franny was the only other guest in the dining room. Aidan and Luke had breakfast in their room during the week as Luke had to be at school by eight and Aidan headed into his office after that.
Franny was eating light, just some buttered toast and sliced melon. Riley was about to slice into the quiche for herself and her mother. She’d tried her hand at making the spinach, onion, red pepper, and goat cheese quiche the night before, following her mother’s recipe carefully. She hoped that it tasted as good as it looked. She handed one of the plates to her mother and set her own down on the table.
“Sean, help yourself to whatever you’d like. Riley made that quiche. I’m sure it’s delicious,” her mother said.
Riley laughed. “It’s her recipe so it should be.”
Sean raised his eyebrows as he reached for a coffee cup. “I was just going to have coffee, but a homemade quiche is tempting. I might have to try a slice.”
Franny agreed. “That does sound good. Please cut me a small slice if you don’t mind.”
Sean cut two pieces, one generously sized for himself and a smaller one for Franny. He brought them both to the table, along with his coffee, and settled in.
Franny took the first bite and announced that it was delicious. “Well done, Riley.”
“Thank you.” She took a bite and happily agreed. The flavors reminded her a bit of spanakopita, with the red pepper adding a bit of sweetness.
“Do you have any kids?” Riley asked Sean. She figured it was a roundabout way to see if he was single. She was curious as he seemed about her mother’s age, so his children, if he had them, would probably be close to Riley’s and Amy’s ages.
He nodded. “Two girls. Anna is twenty-eight and Becky is thirty-one. They both live in the Boston area near my ex-wife.”
So, he was divorced. He might have a girlfriend, though. If not, Riley couldn’t help but wonder if he might be a good potential date for her mother. Her mother was so cute and nice. Both Riley and Amy wanted her to meet someone, but she never wanted to discuss it when they brought it up. Riley supposed she didn’t blame her. When she was ready, she would do it, or not. And maybe she wasn’t Sean’s type. But she could tell her mother was at least a little bit interested. Riley had noticed that her mother was wearing her favorite sweater and she’d taken a little more time with her hair. Maybe it was just lip moisturizer, but it looked like she had a little color on her lips, too.
“That’s nice that they are nearby,” her mother said. “Do they come to the Cape often?”
“Not a lot. They usually get down a few times over the summer and I see them on Thanksgiving or Christmas, depending on the year. They have their own lives. Both have serious boyfriends.” Sean polished off his last bite of quiche and finished his coffee, then stood. “Well, I should get started. Thanks for breakfast.”
“Let us know if you need anything. Just call my cell if we aren’t here. We usually head to my home after breakfast is done. But I’m right down the road, so we can be back quickly if you need us,” her mother said.
“Will do. I think I have everything I need. But I will holler if I have any questions.” He smiled and his whole face lit up. Riley noticed her mother’s eyes widen at the sight of that smile. “Enjoy the rest of your day, ladies.”
Riley dropped her mother at home after breakfast and grabbed her laptop and walked up Main Street. She planned to get a caramel macchiato at the coffee shop next to the bookstore and to spend some time online focusing on her job search. She’d read that not all jobs were posted and if she did a little research on LinkedIn she could reach out to newly hired marketing directors that might need to hire staff. She knew that often happened when new leadership arrived.
She had a stop to make first. She needed to stock up on chocolates for the turndown service that weekend. Her mother had given her the inn’s credit card to buy an assortment. They figured two nice pieces of chocolate per person would be ideal.
Riley stepped into the store and inhaled the sweet scent of rich chocolate. She wasn’t hungry in the slightest but it made her want something sweet. She picked out a bunch of chocolates, both dark and milk, some truffles and raspberry filled. No nuts, though. Too many people had allergies so they decided it was best to avoid them. Riley had no issues with nuts, and splurged on a dark chocolate pecan turtle for herself, to enjoy with her coffee.
She brought her bag of chocolates with her to the coffee shop and the manager, Caitlin, recognized her as she’d stopped in several times since she’d been back in town.
“Hi, Riley. Your usual—caramel macchiato with almond milk, extra foam?” Caitlin asked.
Riley nodded. “Yes, please.” The coffee shop was warm and cozy and decorated for the holidays with a big Christmas tree in the corner and stockings with all the employees’ names pinned to the wall behind the register. There were twinkling candle lights in the windows and the overall feeling was festive and welcoming. Most of the tables were taken with people enjoying coffee and muffins or bagels but Riley found one in the back corner that was free and set her laptop on it, while she waited for her coffee. It didn’t take long and a few minutes later, she was sipping her sweet foamy drink and surfing the internet.
She checked the job listings first and there were a few new ones that looked interesting. She hadn’t heard back yet from any of the jobs she’d applied for but she knew things moved slowly this time of year. She spent an hour or so on LinkedIn and did find a few newly hired marketing directors at interesting tech companies. She went ahead and sent them a note and attached her resume, asking them to keep her in mind as they considered growing their teams.
She grew tired of that, and switched over to Facebook to see what her friends were up to. To her surprise, she saw that Jack had posted a picture of himself out with some work colleagues. They were at a bar around the corner from his office. It was a fun place and she’d gone there a few times with Jack when they’d first started dating.
They rarely went to places like that now, though. Usually it was out to dinner, which was fine with her, or takeout and an early night at home, as he was often too tired to stay out late. She was glad to see he was getting out more while she was gone. He’d been so heads-down focused on work lately.
She noticed there were lots of comments on his post, other coworkers chiming in on what a fun night it had been. She guessed it had been the night they’d finished the big case they’d been working on for so long. She glanced at the comments and was about to scroll down to the next post when one comment caught her eye. It was from a very pretty young woman, Brittany. Riley wasn’t the jealous type but she picked up a flirtatious tone. It was so great hanging out with you. We need to do this more often!
But then she told herself she was being silly and it was likely nothing of any significance, just normal coworker banter. She scrolled down and looked at pictures from other friends, nights out, pictures of food at restaurants, new outfits, all the things one posted on Facebook. She liked her neighbor Phoebe’s picture of her new cat. She and Phoebe were about the same age and had bonded over the misery of schlepping to the basement to do laundry. Both of them dreamed of having an apartment with a washer and dryer in the unit. But that was so rare and Manhattan apartments were ridiculously expensive to begin with. That was the one thing Riley didn’t love about living in the city.
She did love her apartment, though. It was small, but it was cute and had high ceilings, which gave the illusion of more space. If she and Jack eventually married, they could pool their resources and get a bigger, better apartment. But that felt like it was far off. Neither one of them had mentioned marriage. Riley knew it wasn’t on Jack’s radar until he was closer to making partner. So realistically at least another year or two before they had the discussion, she imagined. Which was fine with her. She’d never been one of those girls that obsessed about getting married. And truthfully, sometimes she wondered if Jack was the one. She loved spending time with him. They had a good time and they shared a lot of the same values, and he was handsome.
But she hadn’t missed him that much since she’d been in Chatham, and part of her wondered if that was normal. Maybe she should miss him more? Or maybe she was just being practical. She knew this was just a temporary visit and Jack was so busy these days that she didn’t see him much anyway. And she’d be seeing him this weekend. She was looking forward to showing him around Chatham and experiencing the magical Christmas festivities with him. She was also eager to introduce him to her family and curious to hear what their impressions of him were. It was really an ideal time for him to visit.