Forever, Plus One - страница 12

“Well, the dream is to open a restaurant,” Harry said. “I’ve been waiting for the right moment, though. In a place like Sunset Harbor a lot of the business can be seasonal. But things are just starting to change. There are more tourists, and I think we could handle another one.”

Emily’s eyes glittered as she glanced over at Daniel. “Competition,” she joked.

Harry was midway through a mouthful of hot dog. His eyebrows rose as he chewed more hurriedly. He swallowed. “You’re opening a restaurant, too?” he asked, surprised.

Emily dipped the end of her hot dog in a mound of ketchup. “We already serve food at the inn for guests, and the speakeasy is open to the public. But we’re planning to further expand over the summer and have a larger restaurant that serves high-end evening meals, open to the public rather than just guests. Our friends the Bradshaws own the fish restaurant in town so they’re going to give us some advice. I could put you in touch with them if you’d like.”

Harry looked thrilled. “That would be amazing. Thanks.” Then he looked over at Amy. “I didn’t realize your friends would be my business rivals.”

Emily laughed. “Nonsense. I was only joking. We all help each other out here! And now is definitely a good time to open more eateries.”

“You think the town can handle more?” Harry asked, looking genuinely interested in Emily’s take on the subject.

She felt proud to be in a position to be offering advice to others now, when not that long ago she’d been the one needing expertise. “I do,” she said. “And we don’t have to compete. We could work together to make the good folk of Sunset Harbor want to eat out more than once a month! The people around here can be quite humble and dining out a lot seems flashy to them. Together we could turn that around.”

Harry looked more and more interested. Emily felt herself warming to him. He seemed to have real spirit, a sparkle in his eye, a hunger to experience more and reach for the stars. She could see what Amy saw in him – other than his film star good looks and the builder’s physique she presumed he had hidden beneath his shirt. Amy was beaming with pride next to him.

“Here’s an idea,” Daniel said, suddenly alight with enthusiasm. “Maybe you could run our restaurant instead of us employing a manager. Get some experience under your belt for when you decide to go it alone.”

“Daniel,” Emily hissed out the corner of her mouth. “That’s a bit forward.”

But Harry looked delighted. “That would be amazing,” he said. “I’ve been stuck in construction for ages not knowing how to break out, or when to time it, or how to even approach it. If there’s a job for me to move into it wouldn’t be so terrifying!”

“Let’s definitely keep that option open then,” Emily agreed.

She didn’t want to rush into anything. They had only just met, after all. And though she felt an immediate friendly connection with Harry she had to keep it at the back of her mind that things might not remain all sunshine and roses between him and Amy forever. What if they had a messy breakup? It would be awful for Amy every time she visited knowing her ex was onsite. Best not to rush into anything, though Emily had a strange feeling in her bones that told her it was a great idea, that Harry had landed in their life at this exact moment for this exact reason.

“Are you looking for investors for your expansion?” Amy asked. “I’m looking to broaden my portfolio and you guys seem like a great bet.”