“Let’s see the ring,” Nora said in as close to a squeal as she’d ever get.
Emma held out her hand, fluttering her fingers proudly.
Nora and Maddy leaned dutifully over her hand.
“It’s so big!” Maddy said. “And sparkly!”
“Well done, Romeo,” Nora said, eyeing Jonathan from beneath long lashes.
“Oh, I haven’t even introduced you.” Emma grabbed Jonathan’s hand, tugging him forward. “Jonathan, this is my older sister, Nora. Nora, this is the man I’ve been going on and on about on the phone.” She snuggled proudly into his side.
Jonathan extended a hand to Nora, giving her a warm smile. “It’s a pleasure. I’ve heard so much about you.”
“You too. I’m glad you could join us for the summer.”
“Well, I could hardly turn down a summer by the sea with my girl.”
“We have wedding plans to make,” Emma said. “And it’ll be ever so much easier if we’re together. You can help us, Baby Boo!”
“Sure!” Maddy’s face went warm at the silly childhood nickname. It had never bothered her before, but she was nearly twelve now, and the name suddenly seemed terribly juvenile.
“I’ll help too,” Nora said. “I can keep everything organized.”
“Nora is an absolute wonder.” Emma looked up at Jonathan, popping a stick of chewing gum into her mouth. “You’ll see.”
“I’ll just bet she is.”
“Gum anyone?” Emma asked.
“Still chewing that stuff?” Nora asked when everyone turned down the offer.
“It’s an appetite suppressant,” Emma said.
“She thinks she needs to watch her figure.” Jonathan, clearly disagreeing with the statement, gave Emma an affectionate squeeze.
“I have a wedding dress to fit into. Let’s go find Mama and Daddy!” Emma dragged Jonathan away, leaving Nora and Maddy to tag along behind.
Maddy tucked her windblown hair behind her ears. “He’s very handsome, don’t you think?”
“He’s all right.”
Maddy laughed outright. “Oh, come on! He’s totally hot and you know it.”
“He’s almost old enough to be your father,” Nora said in that chiding tone.
“Those blue eyes and that coal-black hair.” Maddy sighed dreamily and continued, mainly just to annoy Nora. “Not to mention those broad shoulders. I’ll bet he works out in a gym.”
Nora’s chin notched up just a bit. “I can’t say as I noticed.”
But later Maddy would realize that Nora’s words, like so many other things in her life, were just a big fat lie.
Chapter 7
Present day
Connor locked the marina office and headed up the boardwalk, making the turn and continuing on to the restaurant. Sullivan’s Landing was a glorified crab shack located on the harbor adjacent to his marina. It wasn’t much to look at, with its fading red roof and wavy metal siding. The inside was also rustic and casual, but with a large covered deck, the real draw was the waterfront dining.
The restaurant was crowded with locals every night of the week in the summer and bursting at the seams on the weekends. Sunset hour was especially popular, drawing tourists who were willing to overlook the primitive vibe in favor of the magical view.
