Page 6 of A Package Deal

“Next Monday. I’ll be in Savannah for the rest of January and the first week of February. Then here to catch up for a few weeks before heading down to Naples. You should come,” Krista said.

“Me?” Nelie squeaked, surprised.

“Yes, you. Croix can’t come because he’ll be elbow deep in tax returns, but you should. Make it a long weekend or a week. It will give me something to look forward to.”

“I wouldn’t want to be in the way,” Nelie said, tamping down her excitement.

“You wouldn’t.”

Nelie put her hands on the table, as if bracing herself. “Okay, then. I’d love to come.” Krista’s jaw dropped, and Emily laughed. Nelie wished she’d had her phone out when she’d agreed so she could capture their stunned expressions. Little Miss Workaholic, Nelie Peterson, was going to Florida. In March. For a week.I’m going on vacation,she thought as the idea wrapped around her heart like a warm blanket. She didn’t know how she’d make it work, but she would. She needed and deserved this break.

After the server brought their lunches, Krista asked how Chet was getting along with the girls. “How do you know about that?”

“You borrowed winter clothes from my sister-in-law, and she told me.”Ah, the Haven grapevine, faster than the speed of light.

“I think it’s going well,” Nelie said, but she wasn’t sure. She’d had the girls for the first few days until Chet had organized their after-school care.

“And how is it with Chet?” Emily asked, and Nelie didn’t care for the gleam in her friend’s eyes.

“It isn’t and it won’t.” Nelie bit into her chicken salad club sandwich. “I’ve got to find out what your chef puts in here. It’s simply the best,” she said around bites.

“Don’t change the subject,” Emily said. “Why won’t it go anywhere?”

“I can’t risk it.” Nelie didn’t know if it was herself she didn’t trust or Chet. She should have been more careful, more protective of Emily’s secret. The Swans, the nickname Croix had given to the women’s tight-knit circle, had given up alcohol so no one in Haven would suspect Emily was pregnant. And Chet shouldn’t have listened to her personal conversation, even though Nelie put most of her calls on speaker so she could talk and work at the same time. Her bad habit didn’t absolve Chet’s behavior.

Emily squeezed her hand. “You didn’t lose us. Sure, we were pissed, but Nelie you’re part of the glue that holds us all together, especially as we’re all getting so busy. I guess you see the Swans and the Posse at least once a week.”

“So?” Nelie didn’t deny it. She saw the Swans and Posse members, the men’s tight group, weekly. Granted, it was usually at the Galley and superficial, focusing on theWhat’s new?rather thanHow are you, really?

“You keep everyone in the loop,” Emily said, making Nelie feel like the communications director for the Swans and Posse rather than a friend.But something’s better than nothing, right?

“While not saying more than you should, which is aggravating at times,” Krista teased, and the women laughed. Gossip was currency in Haven, and the balance in Nelie’s account would shock her friends.

Emily rubbed her belly and assured her friends she was fine when they asked. “Tired, puffy, hungry, moody. I don’t know how Jackson puts up with me.”

“The man thinks you hung the moon, so I don’t think it’s a hardship,” Nelie said as Lola, the head chef at the Lounge approached their table.

“Nelie, glad you could escape your kitchen for mine. I tried your bread pudding the other night.”

“And?” Nelie asked.

“Four and a half. The sauce needs something.”

“Agree to disagree,” Nelie said, fuming inside. The apple bread pudding recipe had been in her mother’s family for several generations. Stella had adapted it for the restaurant, and Nelie had added a few tweaks, like using vanilla beans instead of vanilla extract. She wanted her desserts to shine. She loved baking and making the homemade desserts for the Galley was her favorite part of the job. Nelie wanted hers to be the best, and she wondered if she should listen to Lola, a trained cordon blue chef.What could be missing?

Nelie stewed on this and chewed as she let Krista and Emily carry the conversation. They sounded happy, and it reminded Nelie of everything she didn’t have. Krista came from a large family, and she married into another large one. Emily’s sister and parents lived in Madison, but she and Jackson had his grandmother, Mrs. Hart, who was a close friend to Gus, and Jackson’s sister, Priscilla or Pris, who had recently moved to Haven to join the hospital as an ER doctor. Jackson’s parents lived in Chicago, and from what Nelie had gleaned, everyone hoped it stayed that way.

She wondered if her friends knew how lucky they were. She’d give anything to have more family. Growing up she’d only had Gus and Stella, and now it was just her and Gus. Her heart pinched when she thought of her mother. She missed Stella every day.

They’d been a close family and Nelie was grateful they’d taken her in and had loved her as their own. She owed them everything. And when the days were long, her feet ached, and a headache throbbed behind her right eye, she reminded herself of this. Buying the Galley from them had been the right thing to do. She’d been their burden, now the Galley was hers.

“So, you’ll give Chet another chance?” Emily asked.

“Why?” Nelie hoped she hadn’t missed anything crucial leading up to Emily’s question.

“Because we want you to be happy, and you seemed happy when you were with him,” Emily said. Nelie had been happy with Chet. She couldn’t explain it, but they fit. Their personalities, commitments, and goals had meshed, and she’d foolishly seen a forever future with him. Nelie shrugged. She wouldn’t admit the depths of her heartache to her friends.

“He’s a great guy. If not for hisno more kidsedict,Iwouldn’t have broken up with him last spring. But that was a dealbreaker for me.” Krista said. It had shocked Nelie how quickly Krista and Chet had moved on from each other. From what she understood, Chet had never pestered Krista to get back together.Lucky her, Nelie thought, wishing Chet would drop his campaign to win her back. He was tempting, and she was weakening.

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