Slipping off my stool, I skim my hand over my skirt. “I should too. I need to get home soon.”
“Go look around.” Lynn points toward the jewelry area. “I just put out some new pieces. I think you’ll fall in love with a few.”
She’s likely right. I have two jewelry boxes filled with vintage pieces I’ve picked up over the years. I’ve always been drawn to secondhand things. I see beauty in the tarnished silver or worn edges that not everyone can. To me, they are a part of someone’s story from the past. I always try and imagine who owned those things before me.
It’s the same with clothing. Why buy new when gorgeous items are sitting in this shop for me?
Straightening the collar of the white blouse I’m wearing, I start toward the jewelry area when the sound of fingernails dragging down a chalkboard stops me in my tracks.
I close my eyes.
My heart thumps an extra beat knowing that Mr. Calvetti has sent me a message.
I tug my phone out of my purse and open the email app.
Subject : Boston
Miss Voss,
I need a reservation for dinner at 8 p.m. tonight at the best restaurant in this city.
Book that and forward me the details.
Note: The reservation is for two.
Signed,
Dominick Calvetti
“What the...” I say under my breath.
Mr. Calvetti usually books his own reservations for dinner, especially when he’s out of town. This has to be another test.
“Did I hear fingernails on a chalkboard?” The woman in the blue trench coat approaches from the left. “It sent goose bumps straight up my back.”
I wince. “It’s my phone. That’s the notification I set for when my boss emails me.”
Laughter rolls out of her. Her blue eyes widen. “You’re serious?”
Nodding, I fight a smile. “I am.”
Her gaze wanders my face. “He must be something else.”
“You have no idea. “ I sigh. “He wants me to make a reservation for two at the best restaurant in Boston for eight o’clock.”
I glance at my watch. Great. I have just over an hour to do that.
Opening the browser on my phone, I whisper. “I don’t know where to start.”
“You’ll want to book him a table at Axel Boston.” The woman standing next to me rests a hand on her hip. “Their New York restaurants are divine, but there is something special about their location in Boston.”
I smile at her. “I hope they can fit him in.”
Her ruby red lips part. “My nephew is the executive pastry chef there. He’ll get you in. Call and tell them Elvis’s aunt needs a table for a friend.”
“Elvis’s aunt?”
She nods. “They’ll know.”
“Thank you,” I say as relief rushes through me. “You’re a lifesaver.”
“It’s nothing.” She taps my forearm. “You can return the favor by telling me where you got that beautiful brooch.”
My hand leaps to the blue and white rhinestone wreath brooch pinned to my cardigan. “I got it here. I bought it last winter.”
She leans closer. “It’s remarkable. It reminds me so much of one my grandmother had. My uncle misplaced it after her death. I’ve been searching for a similar one since.”
I reach up and unhook the brooch. “You can have it.”
Her gaze leaps up to my face. “What?”
I carefully place it in her hand. To me, it’s been a pretty accessory I bought for ten dollars, but the tears forming in her eyes tell me it’s priceless to her. “Please take it as a thank you for helping me with the restaurant.”
Her bottom lip quivers as she cradles the brooch close to her chest. “I don’t know what to say. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” I glance down at my phone again. “I better call the restaurant to book a table for my boss. I don’t want him to get hangry.”
“You should do that now,” she says, pointing at my phone. “Don’t forget to mention Elvis.”
Nodding, I pull up the website for Axel Boston in the browser and click on the icon to connect the call.
“Good evening.” A man’s voice greets me after just one ring. “How can I help you?”
“Elvis’s aunt needs a table for a friend at eight tonight,” I repeat everything the woman next to me said.
“Of course, “ he says happily. “Under what name would you like the reservation?”
“Calvetti.” I give the woman next to me a thumbs-up and a smile. “The reservation is for Dominick Calvetti and a plus one.”
“He’s booked in. We will see Mr. Calvetti and his guest at eight.”
I hang up and turn to the woman who just saved my night. “Thank you so much!”
A soft smile settles on her lips. “There’s no need to thank me. You’re the one who gave me a priceless gift tonight. You’re a very special young woman. One in a million I’d say.”
“Arietta!” Lynn calls from where she’s standing near a rack of dresses. “I think I just found the perfect dress for you to wear on your date with Lowell tomorrow night.”