Page 49 of Return to Rosewood Beach

The work was fun, and it helped keep Alexis’s mind occupied. She’d been doing her best to not think about Grayson and her worries about her marriage, but occasionally thoughts of her husband snuck in despite her best efforts.

As she was sketching a plan of her booth, making sure that all of the products she wanted to have on hand would fit in her allotted space outside the pub, she started to think about her early days in L.A., when she worked part-time for a makeup company. She paused in her sketching, suddenly flooded with memories about her journey to L.A. and her modeling career, which at first had blossomed magnificently and then had steadily tampered off into an almost nonexistent hobby. She remembered the first night she’d met Grayson. He’d seemed so captivated by her, and she’d felt as though she was on top of the world.

Her stomach twisted as she remembered it. She tried to shake herself out of her reminiscing, telling herself to focus on the task at hand. The past was in the past, and there was no point in her thinking about it now.

She heard Hazel giggle, and she glanced over at Hazel and Jacob, who were laughing over something as they planned the water games together. Her heart ached as she watched them, recognizing the way her sister looked at Jacob. It was clear from her shining eyes that she had a major crush on him, and her smile made it clear that she was hopeful things might work out between them.

Alexis took a deep breath, trying not to feel jealous and out of sorts. She’d seen yet another charge on her and Grayson’s joint credit card for an elegant restaurant, with a tab that was too expensive to have been for only one person. She had done her best to not think about it, but the uncertainty had been torturing her. She didn’t know if she should bring it up with Grayson or not. Part of her felt strongly that she should voice her concernsto her husband, but the idea made her squirm with worry. She didn’t know if Grayson would get upset with her for thinking something so despicable of him if it wasn’t true—and if it was true, wouldn’t he just lie to her anyway?

“Hey, Alexis, how’s it going?”

She looked up, startled out of her reverie, and saw Julia standing beside her. Her sister reached over and gave her a hug, and Alexis wondered if Julia had sensed the way her spirits were crumbling.

“Good. I’m making sure that everything I want to have on hand will fit in my booth.” Alexis laughed breathlessly. Her heart felt as though it was beating faster than usual, and she wondered if she was flushed from worry.

“I know it will be amazing.” Julia’s voice was full of conviction. “I really think this is going to be the ticket to saving the pub and restoring Mom’s strength. I think after this, she’s going to know that she can go on in spite of Dad’s lies and debts.”

Alexis nodded. “I think you’re right. I’m excited to see what this fundraiser does.”

“And I think it will show our friend, Judd McCormick, and his sons, too, how much the people of this town love The Lighthouse Grill. Maybe they’ll think twice about what they’re trying to do after this.”

Julia looked feisty as she spoke, and Alexis couldn’t help smiling at her affectionately.

The doorbell rang, and everyone turned toward the door in surprise.

“Who is it this time?” Hazel asked, looking up.

“Pizza delivery?” Dean suggested hopefully.

Julia scampered over to the door and opened it.

“Cooper!” she cried eagerly and gave him a hug.

Cooper stood on the front step grinning, holding the hand of his adorable little daughter and hugging Julia back with his free arm.

“I wanted to stop by with some good news.” He stepped inside, followed by Macey, who looked around curiously and noticed the cookies on the coffee table with an exclamation of eagerness.

“We love good news!” Hazel grinned at him. “Come on in. And help yourselves to some cookies—I see Macey eyeing the plate.” She laughed.

“Thanks, we will.” He stepped over to the cookie plate and picked up a couple of cookies, handing one to Macey.

“Come on, spill the good news,” Dean said. “Somebody bought my car already?”

Cooper laughed. “Not yet. But things are looking great. More items came in for the auction, and there’s some pretty awesome stuff. And I added one myself—I’m offering to do a free landscaping of a backyard.”

“Hey, that’s awesome!”

“Great idea.”

“Wow, thanks, Cooper.”

Cooper grinned and Julia leaned over to him and kissed his cheek. “Thank you. That’s huge. We really appreciate it.”

“Yay!” Macey cried, clearly catching onto the idea that something great was happening. Julia laughed and reached down to tickle the little girl’s tummy, which made her giggle.

After a few minutes, Cooper went to talk to Dean, and Alexis turned to Julia with a smile. “You three all seem to be getting along well.”

“We are.” Julia glanced at Cooper with what could only be described as a starry-eyed smile. “He’s such a great guy. He’s working hard to be the best father he possibly can be, but it’s like he doesn’t know how great he is. He’s so good about taking careof Macey. He really looks out for everyone—I mean, look at the way he’s jumped into helping us with the fundraiser even though he’s so busy.”

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