Page 57 of Return to Rosewood Beach

She took a deep breath, looking serious. For a moment, his heart skipped a beat as he wondered if she was about to tell him that she didn’t think things could work out between them. Then she grinned at him and nodded.

“I really like that plan, Mr. Harris,” she said.

His heart leapt up in happiness, and he was suddenly filled with excitement for the days ahead.

“I’m so glad you said that,” he murmured. “Me too.”

And with that, he drew her in for a kiss.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Julia looked over at Cooper and found herself grinning from ear to ear. He was staring up at the stage where the Barn Rollers were performing with a completely enraptured expression.

He’s adorable,she thought, feeling a rush of fondness for him.I’m so glad everything worked out, and he was able to come to this concert with me.

She turned back to the stage, swaying a little to the rollicking beat. Cooper had been right when he’d said that she would have a new appreciation for country music if she got a chance to go to a live country music concert. The concert hall was filled with a positive energy as people cheered and danced and sang along to the music.

She glanced at Cooper again, thinking to herself that she was enjoying watching him as much as she was enjoying watching the concert itself. He was so into it, and she couldn’t help smiling again as she watched him nod along to the songs and mouth all the words. After a few seconds, he glanced at her and grinned.

“Are you enjoying it?” he shouted above the noise.

“Yes!” She slipped her hand inside his, and he swayed back and forth a few times playfully, causing her to sway with him.

They continued to have a wonderful time together for the remainder of the concert. After the band left the stage, the audience cheered so loudly and for so long that there was an encore performance. Julia found herself tapping her foot and clapping her hands just as enthusiastically as all the people around her as the concert officially ended.

“Wow, that was amazing.” Cooper couldn’t seem to stop grinning as they moved along with the crowd toward the exits. “I mean seriously, that was so good. They’re so good. And it was so awesome to see them live like that. The music was just—I don’t know, I just got totally swept away by it.”

She couldn’t help laughing, he was so charming.

“What?” he asked, smiling at her as they stepped out of the concert hall onto the sidewalk. The crowd thinned out as people went off in separate directions, and the sounds of the city purred in the background. Streetlights cast a warm glow over everything, and neon lights blossomed like strange electric flowers in the distance.

“Are you glad we went?” she teased, and he stopped walking and pulled her into his arms.

“I’m so glad.” His eyes were shining at her. “Thank you so much for thinking of this and making it happen.”

“Thank you for coming with me, and for figuring out how to make it work. I know what a big deal it was for you to do this, bringing Macey to the city and organizing having Callie come along with us. I know it was a lot of work for you, and you had to pay Callie to be here?—”

He brushed her hair behind her ear, looking into her eyes fondly. “You’re worth it.”

Her stomach fluttered with happiness, and he drew her in for a kiss, which made her feel as though she was on top of the world.

They walked slowly to the garage where they’d parked Cooper’s car, and from there drove back to the hotel. They talked excitedly about the concert together the whole way.

“Let’s go talk to Callie together,” Cooper said as they stepped inside the hotel’s elevator. “I don’t want to say goodnight yet, but I do want to check on Macey right away.”

“Sure.” She smiled at him.

They went to Cooper’s room, where Callie had been watching Macey. As they tiptoed inside, they saw Macey sound asleep in one of the beds, holding a stuffed panda toy tightly. Callie was sitting by the window reading a book under a lamp, and she had the overhead lights dimmed to make it easier for Macey to sleep.

“Hey, you guys.” Callie spoke in a whisper, but she grinned and stood up as soon as they stepped inside the room. “How was the concert?”

“Amazing,” Cooper whispered, grinning as well. “How did everything go here?”

“Great. There was a moment when she was starting to get fussy, but we played some games and then watched a movie. Then I read her a couple of books and she went right to sleep.” As she talked, Callie looked both at Cooper and at Julia, clearly including Julia in the report. Julia felt a little strange about it, but at the same time, it meant a lot to her.

“Fantastic. Thank you so much.” Cooper smiled at the teenager. “I’m glad you both had a good night.”

Callie nodded. “And speaking of goodnight, I’ll head on over to our room, Julia. All that reading has made me pretty sleepy too.” She laughed.

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