She and the older woman had hit it off, since Anthony and Eloise had been eating more than their fair share of meals at the diner since they’d arrived in town a few days ago. The food at Main Street Diner was good, but Anthony was looking forward to arealhome cooked meal again. He’d narrowed down the “where are my pots and pans” question to about four moreboxes, which he planned to tackle the following day… hopefully with minimal self-censure for his inadequate labelling during the packing-up stage.
“Hi there, Miss Eloise,” the server said. “How does tonight’s tomato soup stack up?”
Eloise took a spoonful of soup, assessing it first visually and then taking a thoughtful taste. She’d been watching a lot of cooking competition shows recently; she liked the ones where kids were the cooks. Anthony planned to bring her into the kitchen with him once he finally found those pots and pans.
“Good,” she said definitively. “Super tasty. Very tomato-y.” She gave Amy a very serious look. “Please convey my compliments to the chef.”
It was extremely impressive, in Anthony’s opinion, that the woman managed not to laugh.
“I absolutely will,” she promised.
Eloise broke into a grin. “Thanks!” She dunked her sandwich in her soup and took a bite, humming with happiness.
“Thanks,” Anthony echoed. “We can grab the check whenever you’re ready too, but we’re in no rush.”
“Sure thing,” the waitress confirmed with a smile. She left to tend to another table, where the customers also appeared to know her well.
Anthony took another bite of his sandwich. It all seemed good. But the fear was still there. Maybe it always would be.
He just wanted to do what was best for Eloise. He’d made abigchange in pursuit of this goal.
Now all he could do was hope that it was the right change for his daughter… and for himself.
CHAPTER TWO
When Diana had left her house that morning, she’d thrown the clunky old calculator into her bag on an impulse. She hadn’t really thought she’d need it. It was the modern age, after all. She had a cell phone.
She’d gotten through about three pieces of paper before pulling out the old-school style one, the kind with the roll of paper. She needed to be able to track her work.
And the result was showing… nothing good.
She pressed her brow against her clenched fists.
“Oh, no, that’s not a good face.”
Diana looked up to see her friend, Eleanor Ridley, looking chipper and adorable in a pair of overalls and a t-shirt. This had been a common outfit for Eleanor recently, an easy go-to while she worked on the finishing touches of the bookstore she was set to open very soon. Eleanor had arrived in Magnolia Shore a few months prior, fresh off a divorce. Diana couldn’t help but privately feel that Eleanor’s ex-husband, whom she’d never met, was nothing more than a big old dope for letting Eleanor go.
His bad decision had been Magnolia Shore’s gain… and Eleanor’s too. Diana adored her newest friend and had loved watching Eleanor come into her own, not only due to herupcoming store, but also through her romance with Garrett Wilder, the formerly curmudgeonly hardware store owner.
Eleanor had blossomed, and now she looked as cheerful as a flower, her red hair tied back in an adorable little braid, a jaunty kerchief tied around her neck, probably to protect her from the sun while she worked outside.
Diana might be stressed about her accounts, but the boutique owner in her couldn’t ignore such a cute look.
“This is a great outfit,” Diana said, waving a hand to encompass all of Eleanor. “Love all of it.”
Eleanor gave a happy little shimmy. “Why thank you, my beloved friend! But this isn’t about me. Tell me about the grouchy face. What’s wrong?”
Diana let her smile drop into an exaggerated pout. It was a dramatic expression, to be sure, but it was also how she felt.
“Oh, I’m just looking over my accounts. Are you excited to get into the chaotic world of small business finances soon?”
Eleanor dropped into the seat across from Diana, a sympathetic expression on her face.
“Is everything okay?”
“Ugh, yes, I suppose it is,” she said. “I mean, my bookkeeper hasn’t really been logging expenses properly, and my tax documents will be a total bear to sort out when it comes around to tax time, and I’ve had to run the payroll myself recently…”
“Isn’t that kind of the whole job of a bookkeeper?” Eleanor asked, so gently that Diana knew she must looktrulydistressed.
