Page 56 of Return to Rosewood Beach

“Now why on earth would I do that?” Vivian said. The look in her eyes was starting to look similar to the one in Julia’s.

Judd shrugged. “I hate to say it, but once your kids go their separate ways again, I think you’re going to find yourself with the same issues as before.”

Vivian squared her shoulders. “That’s none of your business, Judd. And furthermore, you’re wrong. That won’t be a problem. My kids aren’t going to be leaving me to fend for myself. We are family, and we’ve all agreed to do whatever we need to do to preserve the pub.”

Judd’s eyes narrowed. “Well, if you ever find yourself reconsidering my offer?—”

“No, Judd.” Cooper spoke up, looking the other man square in the eyes. “You’re the one who needs to reconsider your offer. I’ve worked out some of the landscaping details, and I don’t think the pub would be a good spot for the McCormick expansion. You’d be better off buying more square footage somewhere else—somewhere else that doesn’t involve destroying a restaurant that serves as a center of community in this town.”

“I—well—” Judd stammered, seeming to be at a loss for words.

Cooper found himself glancing at Julia, and his heart swelled when he saw that she was looking at him with a glow in her eyes.

“That’s my professional opinion,” Cooper said. “Honestly. And my personal opinion is that you should have learned your lesson by now. The location isn’t what makes this pub popular. It’s the food and the atmosphere and the people who run it. You can’t buy that. Take a hint from the way the fundraiser went today. The people of Rosewood Beach love The Lighthouse Grill. If you take it away from them, they’re going to want nothing to do with your brewery.”

Judd blinked. For a moment, he hesitated, as if he was trying to think of something to say. Then he swallowed, turned around, and left the pub.

“Three cheers for Cooper!” Dean laughed.

“I have a very good feeling that this time, he’s actually leaving for good.” Vivian was all smiles.

“I propose a toast,” Alexis said, lifting her glass of wine. “To The Lighthouse Grill.”

“To The Lighthouse Grill,” Julia echoed, holding her root beer float aloft. “May it have a long and prosperous future.”

They all clinked their glasses together, laughing and cheering.

“I have no doubt it will.” Vivian smiled. “Frank would have been so proud of you all today. So proud.”

They continued to talk and laugh as they finished their drinks and their sandwiches. Everyone seemed to be in holiday spirits, and a sense of relief and celebration pervaded the rest of the meal.

As everyone else lingered at the table to talk and sip what remained of their drinks, Julia stood up and picked up a few of the empty plates. She headed into the kitchen alone with thedishes, and after hesitating for a moment, Cooper stood up as well. He took a couple more empty plates and followed her into the kitchen. He was hoping to be able to catch a moment alone with her so that they could discuss what had happened between them the other day.

He pushed open the swinging doors of the kitchen with his elbow and saw Julia setting her dishes down next to a large sink. One of the cooks was bustling away at the stove, humming to herself as she cooked, and listening to unheard music on a pair of earbuds.

“Hey,” he said to Julia, almost breathlessly. “Do you have a second?”

Julia turned around hurriedly and pressed her lips together. She looked suddenly nervous, and for a moment he was worried that she was going to make an excuse and leave the kitchen without talking to him.

“Yeah.” She smiled almost shyly at him, and he noted that he still got swarms of butterflies in his chest when he was close to her.

“I want to discuss those tickets you offered, if that’s all right.”

Julia nodded slowly. “I expected you to still be thinking about that whole thing. I know I am. I think I was too hasty and I should have given it all more thought. I can’t expect you to change your whole way of life around for me. I know you’re a great father, and you take parenting seriously. Honestly I feel so embarrassed about the whole thing.”

He stepped up to her and took her hands. “No, Julia.” She squeezed his hands back gently, and he felt his heart rate pick up. “You shouldn’t feel embarrassed. This is new territory for both of us, and we just need to compromise to make this work. Our different ways of living don’t need to stop us from going out together; we just need to figure out how to adapt.”

She nodded, and there was a hopeful look in her eyes that hadn’t been there a moment before.

“And besides,” he continued, starting to smile, “I had a thought. I could ask Callie to come along on the day of the concert to watch Macey. She could sleep in your hotel room with you, and Macey could spend the night with me. It wouldn’t be exactly what you were thinking, but we would still have our time together and get to go to the concert together. And I would be doing what I need to do to feel as though I’m taking good care of Macey.”

He saw tears spring into Julia’s eyes, and she nodded. “That’s a great idea. A really great idea.” She smiled at him and laughed breathlessly. “I wish I’d thought of that. I’m sorry I didn’t.”

“You stop apologizing there, missy.” He grinned at her. “Besides, I feel as though I completely messed that whole thing up by reacting the way I did. We’ll be learning together.”

His eyes traced over her face for a few heartbeats, and then the words that had been beating around in his chest for a while spilled out of him.

“I’ve never really been interested in being more than a single dad. Ever since Macey’s mom died, I haven’t felt any interest in dating anyone, even though raising Macey alone has been hard. But… well, I like you a lot, Julia Owens. So if you’re willing to stumble around with me in the dark while we figure out how to do this, I’m game if you are. I want to see where things could go between us, because I think it could be pretty amazing.”

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