Whispers of Destiny: His Belated Love novel Chapter 82

They agreed to meet around mealtime, so they chose a fancy restaurant for the rendezvous. Rosemary hopped out of the cab and instantly spotted the guy waiting for her outside the restaurant.

Martin smoothly took the toolbox from her hands, "How's the new place treating you? Settling in okay?"

"Yep, all good."

As Martin led her in, he seemed to hesitate before saying, "Oh, by the way, my grandpa's kind of a party animal, so don't take it personally later on, okay?"

Rosemary was puzzled, but once they reached the private room, she got what Martin meant. She thought it would just be Nelson, but to her surprise, the room was packed to the rafters.

Martin cleared his throat, "All these folks are my grandpa's buddies. They had a golf game this afternoon and they're kinda into the whole antique appraisal thing, so they tagged along. If it bugs you."

It seemed like he only just found out about the crowd himself. Rosemary shook her head, "No worries, but just so you know, appraising artifacts isn't exactly my forte, so there might be some margin for error."

Despite saying that, she knew she was likely on the money. She didn't graduate in the field, but her grandpa and mom were pros in the biz and had passed down everything they knew to her.

When Nelson saw her, he waved her over, "Rosemary, come sit by me."

The families went way back, yet as time passed, they got estranged; the Chambers family, well, they weren't exactly in the same league anymore.

Rosemary approached, "Nelson."

The old man nodded with a smile, "You've grown up to be quite the stunner. Martin tells me you're working at Heritage Revive Studio now? A hotshot artifact restorer?"

Rosemary didn't want to blow her cover as Rose just yet, so she just gave a modest smile, "He's just singing my praises. I'm just an assistant, nothing more."

"Nonsense, being at Heritage Revive Studio is a big deal in itself, especially at your age. Keep it up, and who knows, you might be taking over the Oswald legacy someday."

Someone else chimed in, teasing, "Nelson, is Martin getting hitched soon?"

A young and pretty girl, personally picked up by Martin himself, supposedly for an antique appraisal - but no one really believed she had the chops for that. With the Gellar family connections, if they wanted an appraisal, they'd go for a bigwig.

So naturally, everyone figured Martin was just looking for an excuse to introduce his girlfriend to his grandpa.

At that comment, the usually genial old man's face turned stormy, "Don't go spreading rumors. Rosemary's already hitched."

The Gellar family knew about Rosemary's marriage to Maxwell; although there was no wedding, the families were close enough to bump into each other now and then.

Seeing Nelson's serious look, everyone clammed up, realizing it wasn't a joke.

The old man had snagged an ancient porcelain cup, something Rosemary had seen before in a museum. This one wasn't in as good condition, but it was remarkably well-preserved.

She opened her toolbox, took out her gear, and started examining the cup closely. The process was lengthy, and even as dinner was served, she was still engrossed in the cup's base.

Martin spoke up, "Rosemary, why don't we eat first? The appraisal can wait."

She set down her tools and carefully boxed the cup, "Sure."

The others didn't really have high hopes for her verdict; they were just putting on a polite front for Nelson's sake. At the moment, they already turned to their own conversations. As their attention was caught by something else, Martin leaned in and whispered, "Got a verdict yet?"