Southern Charm & Second Chances (The Savannah Sisters Book 2)

by Nancy Robards Thompson

  The restaurant was closed on Sundays and Mondays, and during the time he and Charles had been trying to decide if they would work as partners, he’d met Charles at Wila on those days.

  He’d come in for dinner, of course, and Charles had done his best to ensure the kitchen hadn’t known he was testing the place. Judging from the looks on their faces this morning, the entire staff had had no idea he’d been there before.

  It wasn’t a surprise that he had slipped by the front-of-the-house staff unnoticed. While it had served his purpose for due diligence, the oversight made him wonder just how aware the kitchen staff was of what was happening in the dining room on a nightly basis. He made a mental note to figure that out by asking a few pointed questions during the interviews, but first, he wanted to see the kitchen through Jane’s eyes.

  Chapter Two

  Jane stayed at the restaurant later than usual to make sure everything was on point before she clocked out. When she arrived home at the Forsyth Galloway Inn, the bed-and-breakfast that had been in their family for six generations and where she’d been living since she’d returned to Savannah, she was happy to find her sister Ellie was there.

  Ellie had just finished with one of her art journaling classes that she was teaching, a new amenity they offered to guests of the Forsyth. The classes were also open to the community if space permitted.

  Ellie had been an elementary school art teacher in Atlanta before she’d moved back to Savannah permanently after marrying the love of her life. Since returning, she’d given up teaching to help their mom and grandmother at the Forsyth Galloway Inn. As Savannah was such an artistic and picturesque city, the three women had come up with the idea of offering art and architecture tours and art classes at the inn. It was a way to entice new guests to choose the Forsythe Galloway Inn over the plethora of B and B options in the area. So far it was working. So well, in fact, that now, her mother and grandmother, Gigi, wanted to move on to phase two of their plan: opening a tearoom.

  Jane was staying in one of the guest houses on the grounds of the inn until she decided what she wanted to do. It was her mom and grandmother’s way of compensating her for the tearoom consulting. Jane suspected that the other, less-talked-about part of their plan was that if Jane stayed close and became invested enough in the progress of the tearoom, she might eventually take over its management in a similar way that Ellie had taken over the art tours and classes.

  Dedicating herself full-time to an uncharted venture wasn’t in the cards for Jane right now. She needed a steady income to pay back the student loan for culinary school and other debt that had racked up when she was in New York.

  Living in the city had been the fulfillment of a lifelong dream. It had also been expensive and her salary certainly hadn’t made her rich. In fact, it had been just enough to get by living with a roommate in a tiny two-bedroom apartment in the West Village. After she’d been fired, she’d been determined to find another position, but after three months of unemployment depleted her savings and ran up her credit cards, she’d had no choice but to come home.

  Her thirtieth birthday was right around the corner. It was humbling to find herself back in the place she’d sworn she’d left behind forever. After a lot of soul-searching, she’d come to realize she could view the glass as half-empty: she was a failure who couldn’t make it work and had no choice but to return home, her tail between her legs. Or half-full: her family had welcomed her home with open arms; Charles had given her a good job with a good salary. She was not only living within her means, she had rebuilt her savings and was paying off her debt at a pace she never thought would be possible. At least, not in New York. When she counted her blessings, she was truly fortunate.

  And now there was Liam. With one sweep of his hand, he could wreak havoc in her life—again. However, this time he wouldn’t have the power to devastate her.

  She’d had other offers. Of course, accepting another offer at a salary commensurate to what she was now making would probably mean moving again. Charles had created the position for her and, after swearing she wouldn’t return to New York, she was just starting to figure things out. She had just decided she was happy here.

  Sure, she would survive if she had to move again, but damn it, this was starting to feel like a pattern. Just when she got comfortable, Liam Wright showed up and knocked down everything she’d worked so hard to build.

  She blinked away the thought. She wasn’t going think about him now. Why would she let Liam Wright darken this otherwise happy moment when she was preparing to have tea with her sister and talk about happy things? Being surrounded by family was one of the many blessings of being back in Savannah.

  What her family lacked in financial resources, they made up for in love and emotional support. That was something money couldn’t buy. One of the things she wouldn’t be able to recreate if she had to move again.

  She took the kettle off the stove and poured the water into the white teapot that held loose leaf chamomile tea in its round belly. Jane placed it on the trestle table, next to the pretty, floral china cups and saucers Ellie had already gathered and placed there. She also noted the two silver tea strainers and the hourglass tea timer that would silently alert them to the moment the tea had steeped to perfection.

  Jane took a seat at the big table in the kitchen and noticed her sister had a certain look on her face.

  For a fleeting moment, she wondered if Ellie had heard about Liam’s unexpected arrival. Maybe Charles had told Gigi and Gigi had told Ellie? News traveled fast in this family.

  “What’s that look about?” Jane placed the strainers across the cups and did her best to look blasé despite the way her heart hammered against her breastbone. Talking about the changes at Wila would make it too real. Even though the changes Liam wanted to make would hit eventually, it would be nice if she could live in denial one more night.

  “Daniel and I have been talking about baby names,” Ellie said.

  Jane sloshed the tea that she was pouring into Ellie’s cup. “Wait a minute. What?” She set down the pot and focused on her sister. “Are you...?” Jane pointed to Ellie’s stomach. Okay, so, clearly not everything was about her and her job. Thank God.

  When Ellie covered her mouth as if to contain her glee and nodded, Jane jumped up and hugged her.

  “We just found out. You’re the first person we’ve told. So don’t say anything to mom and Gigi. Or Kate.”

  “Especially not Kate,” Jane seconded. Kate was their youngest sister. She couldn’t keep a secret if her life depended on it. “I am so happy for you, and I’m beyond thrilled that you told me first. I feel pretty special.”

  Ellie and Daniel were having a baby.

  Jane was a jumble of feelings. Mostly good... No. It was all good. Ellie was her sister—the middle sister. Last summer, she’d tied the knot with the love of her life, Daniel Quindlen. It had been a hard-won happily-ever-after because they’d started out as sworn enemies before they’d realized the strong feelings they had for each other was really love. Ellie liked to say that it proved that there was a thin line between love and hate. And love had triumphed. Now their fairy tale had gotten even better with this delicious morsel of news.

  Even if Ellie’s marriage and pending motherhood underscored exactly how Jane was hopelessly married to her job—and her job wasn’t faithful all the time—it didn’t mean she wasn’t happy for her sister. Despite the scratchy feel of envy that rubbed her like a too small wool sweater.

  Ellie sipped her tea and looked dreamy in that way that only a newlywed expectant mother could look. “It was a surprise, but we are so happy.”

  “Of course. What’s not to love about it?” said Jane. “I can’t wait to be an auntie. At least one of us will make Gigi happy. Better you than me.”

  Gigi, whose real name was Wiladean Boudreaux, was their grandmother and the matriarch of the family. She and Jane shared a birth
day. On the same day, Jane would turn thirty and Gigi would turn eighty-five. Gigi kept telling her three granddaughters all she wanted for this milestone birthday was for all three of them to be happily married and for at least one of them to make her a great-Gigi. It looked as if she might have to settle for part of her wish.

  Gigi liked to brag that she was responsible for bringing the stubborn couple of Ellie and Daniel together, through some strategic matchmaking.

  Jane and her youngest sister, Kathryn, had realized that if they let Gigi bask in that glory, she would forgive them for being persistently single. Neither one of them had any prospects on the horizon. Even though both would love to find their soul mate, neither was desperate to make it happen. Not even for Gigi, whom they both loved dearly.

  Since their grandmother was fresh off the Ellie and Daniel success, she had been sporadic about turning her penchant for matchmaking on Jane. Of course, Gigi had tried to set her up a couple of times since she’d been back in Savannah, but it hadn’t worked out. Jane’s full focus had been on getting settled and advancing her career. Now, with things up in the air at Wila for the next month, Jane didn’t need any distractions.

  She’d learned the hard way that restaurant work wasn’t conducive to building healthy romantic relationships. Shoot, it wasn’t even conducive for meeting anyone. She was stuck in the kitchen all day, working when most people were playing. On her days off—Sunday and Monday—she was exhausted and all she wanted to do was recharge. The last thing she needed was the pressure of nurturing a brand-new romance. After the first two disastrous setups, Jane had asked Gigi to stop, reminding her that any time she spent dating would be time away from planning the tearoom.

  It worked like magic because Gigi had stopped. Just like that.

  Even though Jane was grateful for this rare instance when her grandmother listened, Jane had to admit that seeing how happy Ellie and Daniel were made her a wee bit wistful.

  She was happy for her sister, but she couldn’t deny there was an emptiness inside her that not even all the accolades in the restaurant world could fill.

  “Names! Tell me the names you’re considering,” Jane insisted.

  “If we have a girl, we want to name her Willow, as a nod to Gigi, of course. Don’t you think she’d love that?”

  “You’re gunning for granddaughter of the year, aren’t you?”

  Jane raised her teacup to Ellie. Her sister rolled her eyes and smiled. “Maybe. And if we have a boy, we were thinking of the name Liam.”

  Jane choked on her tea.

  Ellie frowned as Jane dragged the cloth napkin across her mouth in the pretense of wiping away drips of tea, but, really, she was trying to hide her utter horror.

  “What’s wrong?” Ellie asked. “Why don’t you like the name Liam?”

  Jane snorted and gave her head a quick shake. She sipped her tea again, trying to sooth her tickling throat, irritated when the warm beverage nearly came out her nose.

  “Tell me.” Ellie reached across the table and nudged Jane’s arm. “I don’t want you recoiling every time you see your nephew. You’ll give the poor little guy a complex.”

  “I won’t recoil. My tea just went down the wrong pipe.”

  Ellie studied her dubiously. “Are you sure?”

  “If you and Daniel love that name, by all means, keep it on your list.” Ellie was still giving her the side-eye. Jane knew she needed to change the subject fast.

  “Is it hard picking names? I would imagine teaching for so many years, you’d start associating names with certain kids. Did that eliminate a bunch of possibilities?”

  “I see what you’re doing there. Don’t change the subject, Jane. What’s wrong with the name Liam?”

  “Nothing is wrong with the name Liam.”

  Ellie frowned at her. “I have all night. I hope you wouldn’t make a pregnant woman sit up and pry it out of you. I need my sleep more than ever now.”

  She and her sister had such a bond that sometimes it was as if they could read each other’s minds.

  “Okay. Okay.” Jane scrunched up her face and then covered it with her hands. “It just brings back bad memories. That’s all. But I mean it, if you and Daniel like the name, please don’t take it off your list on my account.”

  Ellie pursed her lips and squinted at Jane. “I don’t remember you dating a Liam.”

  “I didn’t date a Liam,” Jane said.

  Ellie’s eyes got big. “Did you have a one-night stand with some hot, hunky bad boy named Liam and now remembering it makes you feel naughty?”

  The flash of an image of Liam Wright, in bed and covered only by a white sheet and a smattering of tattoos, flashed through Jane’s head. The thought made her squirm. It was ridiculous. She had no idea if Liam Wright had tattoos.

  And she didn’t want to know. Sort of—

  “Don’t be absurd.” Jane rolled her eyes. She wished it was something so simple and sexy. But not with Liam. At least it would’ve meant she’d been in charge of the situation. But the sad truth was, she’d never been naughty like that a single night in her life.

  “Then why are you blushing?”

  “Because you’re embarrassing. That’s embarrassing.” Thinking about her boss, the one who’d fired her, the one who would never give her the time of day because he only dated supermodels, was embarrassing. How was she supposed to not see that image of him the next time she looked at him?

  “For your information,” Jane said, “I’ve never had a one-night stand in my entire life.”

  Ellie looked incredulous. “Not when you lived in New York City?”

  “Nope. I had a boyfriend for a while and then I was just too busy to meet anyone. Restaurant hours aren’t exactly conducive for meeting people.”

  “Maybe we need to get you laid,” Ellie said.

  “And how long do you think it would take for that to get back to Gigi? She’d perform the shotgun wedding herself.”

  “You’re right. But that’s beside the point. Tell me why you’re judging the name we’ve chosen for our sweet baby boy.”

  “Given our family’s track record, you’ll probably have a girl.”

  “Daniel has a brother. We might not. And now our poor baby boy doesn’t have a name.”

  “Ugh.” Jane braced her elbows on the table and buried her face in her hands. “Okay.” She peered up at her sister. “You really don’t remember?”

  “If I remembered, do you think I’d be asking you?”

  Jane sighed. “This is just too weird.”

  “What is? Tell me.”

  Obviously, Ellie wasn’t going to let this go.

  “Remember Liam Wright who owns La Bula?”

  Ellie stared back at her blankly for a few beats.

  Jane didn’t remember the name of the principal at the school where Ellie had worked. It shouldn’t be surprising that her sister didn’t remember Liam’s name. She wasn’t a foodie and she didn’t watch reality TV. The fact that Liam had won America’s Best Chef and had made numerous appearances on cooking shows meant nothing to her.

  “He’s the guy who fired me...? The reason I’m back here...?”

  Ellie’s mouth formed a perfect O before she could cover it with her hand. “Oh, yikes, Jane, that’s right. I am so sorry.”

  Ellie was one of the few people who knew the whole story and Jane had sworn her to secrecy. Obviously, she’d taken that pledge to heart.

  “It’s not a big deal,” Jane said. “Except that today—today of all days for you to mention the name Liam—Liam Wright showed up at Wila.”

  “What?” Ellie’s mouth fell open again. “Why? He lives in New York City. What is he doing here?”

  Jane shook her head, still half hoping she would shake herself awake and discover that it really was all a bad dream. “He’s Charles’s new business partner. We found
out this morning in a staff meeting.”

  “You’ve got to be kidding me. I can’t believe Charles has taken on a business partner. Most important, though, what does that mean for you?” Ellie grimaced as if bracing for bad news.

  “We all have to reinterview for our jobs, but Liam said he won’t be making any changes for a month. Apparently, that was one of Charles’s nonnegotiable stipulations for the partnership. Liam has to give the current team a fighting chance. But that’s short-term. We have a month to prove ourselves. After that, it doesn’t mean he has to keep us.”

  Saying the words out loud made Jane’s stomach hurt. She couldn’t beat the situation she had now, living in the guest cottage in exchange for helping her mom and Gigi was a win-win for all of them. With the decreased expenses, she’d been able to double up on her student loan payments, which meant she would be debt-free within the next two years. By that time, the tearoom should be up and running and, if all went according to plan, turning a profit. If she lost her job and had to move, it would set everyone back.

  “I’m sorry,” said Ellie. “No wonder the name bothers you so much. Now it bothers me, too. Don’t worry, we’ll pick another one.”

  “No!” Jane protested. “Please don’t take it off the list. I’m over it. I promise it won’t bother me. In fact, if you named a sweet baby boy Liam, you would be doing all guys in the world named Liam a favor by rebranding it. Because your son would redeem the name, no doubt.”

  Ellie sighed. “It was so insensitive of me not to remember. I know how it feels to lose your job.” Ellie’s job as an art teacher had been eliminated at the end of last year’s school year. While it had been a hard blow when it happened, the county had eventually called and offered her another position as a curriculum resource professional. But by the time she’d gotten the call, she had already decided to stay in Savannah. She was in love.