“Oh! He doesn’t live on Nantucket?”
“No, he’s just here for the rest of the week on vacation.”
“So, you probably won’t see him again after that then?” Billy sounded pleased that Mac wasn’t going to be around much longer.
“Probably not. But he does live in Manhattan, so you never know.”
“No kidding?” Billy was quiet for a moment before adding, “Well, have fun then. Say, we need to firm up a date for me to come out there. I’m still thinking maybe next weekend, if that works for you? Or the weekend after?”
“Next weekend works. Why don’t you come Thursday night? We can work from here Friday and then you can fly back Sunday night.”
“Perfect. Well, I better let you go get ready for your big date. Talk to you later.”
“Bye, Billy.”
As Jill hung up the phone she smiled thinking about how surprised Billy sounded to hear she had a date. She really hadn’t dated in a long time, so it was understandable. She was glad they’d set a date for his visit. It would be fun to play tourist with him, too, and she knew her sisters would be glad to see him.
Mac was waiting for her outside the whaling museum and smiled when she walked up.
“Thanks for agreeing to do this with me. You’ve probably been to the museum a million times.”
Jill grinned. “I haven’t been yet this year. And it’s always more fun when I’m going with someone that has never been before.”
They went in and spent the next hour and a half roaming the several floors of the museum. Mac was suitably impressed.
“I have to admit, this was better than I expected. There’s a lot to see here.” The museum was full of interesting history and replicas of ships, whales, scrimshaw and so much more.
It was just after five when they finished up and walked outside.
“Can we walk to Millie’s?” Mac asked. “If not, my rental car is right here in the lot by the grocery store. I was running an errand earlier.”
“We need to drive there. It’s not too far, and right by the ocean.”
Mac led the way to his rental car, a red Jeep Wrangler. Jill directed him, and ten minutes later, they arrived at Millie’s. It wasn’t crowded yet as it was still early and they went to the upstairs bar area, where the views were better and settled at a high-top table.
Jill ordered a margarita on the rocks and Mac another local beer, this time Cisco’s Indie Pale Ale. They both ordered the fish tacos and shared an appetizer of guacamole and chips. While they snacked on the chips, Mac entertained her with funny stories about some of the other restaurants he’d evaluated. While he talked, she couldn’t help think what a catch he was. He was around her age, mid-thirties, came from a successful family, was smart, funny and handsome. Yet, as they ate their dinner and got to know each other, as much as she enjoyed his company, she didn’t feel much of a romantic spark. He seemed like a really great guy though.
“So, enough about me. When you’re in Manhattan, not running a restaurant on Nantucket, what do you do?”
“I’m a recruiter, a headhunter, in the financial services space.”
“New York is a good place for that. Do you like it?”
Jill smiled. “I do. I love it actually. My friend Billy and I used to work together and left to open our own small firm. I miss the energy of Manhattan and being in the office,” she admitted. “But, I’m enjoying being here too. It’s nice catching up with my sisters. We don’t see each other often enough. Do you have any siblings?”
“I do, one of each. Both work in the family business. My sister manages the office and my brother runs the front of the house at our flagship location. I’m the oldest.”
“Are you always traveling for your job?” Jill imagined he probably was and knew she’d hate that aspect of it. Every once in a while would be fine, but more than that, no.
“I do travel a fair amount, but it seems to go in spurts. There are months where all the clients are local, which is nice.”
“I’m traveling back to New York once or twice a month now, which is more than I’ve done before. I don’t know how you do it.”
He grinned. “It’s really not that bad. And I get to meet interesting people, like you. In fact, if you’re up for it, we could go out again one of these times when you’re back in town.”
Jill did enjoy talking to Mac. He was charming and funny and good company overall. So, she didn’t hesitate to say yes. Maybe she needed to give it more time, give him a chance for the attraction to grow.