Page 10 of Sea Glass Serenade

The meal commenced, and everyone talked and laughed loudly as they started to eat. Julia received compliments on her food every minute or so, and she felt pleased that her family was enjoying what she’d made so much. The twins kept everyone entertained as they ate. Hazel told stories about the strange things people did in the waiting room at the doctor’s office, and Dean told stories about the people who came to get their cars fixed at his shop.

“And I kid you not,” he said, almost crying with laughter and shaking his head, “that same chicken wing was in a napkin in her car six months later. Right there in the cupholder.”

“Oh, that’s so gross!” Samantha covered her mouth with her hand, shaking with laughter.

“So I asked her if I could take it out for her, and she asked me how much extra it would cost her.” Dean wiped away a tear.

“How much did you charge her?” Hazel grinned at him.

“I did it for free, I’m not a jerk!”

The table kept chuckling over the story for a few more minutes while they ate. As Julia was savoring a sip of her coffee, Hazel turned toward her.

“How come you didn’t invite Cooper and Macey this morning? I know it would have been a lot of people here, but we could have squeezed them in.”

“I thought about it.” Julia smiled. “But he had to be at Greener Pastures early this morning. There’s a big landscaping job they’re working on, for a very important client. He’s leadingit, so he didn’t think he could come into work late.” She felt proud of Cooper as she spoke, knowing how good at his job he was and how much care he put into it. “I’m going to pick Macey up from daycare once breakfast is over so I can spend some time with her. I wanted to pick her up sooner, but I knew I couldn’t cook and watch her at the same time.”

“Next time I can watch her,” Vivian volunteered eagerly. “I’d love to.”

“Things seem to be going extremely well between you two.” Alexis grinned at Julia. “I’m thrilled for you. Cooper’s practically part of our family now.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t say that,” Julia blurted, feeling suddenly flustered. “I haven’t even told him that I love him yet.”

“What?” Hazel looked shocked. “But—you do, don’t you?”

“You sure seem like it.” Dean shook his head. “You two seem absolutely smitten with each other.”

“I agree.” Alexis blinked in surprise. “I thought for sure the two of you were past that point already.”

“Do you love him, Julia?” Vivian prompted gently.

“I—yes, I do.” Julia felt herself blushing, but her feelings for Cooper couldn’t be denied. She felt a glowing feeling in her chest whenever she thought about him.

“So you need to tell him,” Dean said firmly. “That’s not the kind of information you should keep to yourself.”

“I agree.” Hazel stared into space as she thought. “How do you want to go about telling him you love him?”

“Ooh, do something romantic,” Alexis said. “You should tell him as soon as possible, Julia. Today. You should tell him today.”

“Today?” Julia squeaked.

“Just come up with a plan for how you’re going to do it. That should make it easier.” Hazel drummed her fingers on the table.

“I don’t know—” Julia felt herself blushing.

“Oh, come on, Julia.” Hazel grinned at her. “You’ve been trying to get me to talk to Jacob even though it’s scary. You should take your own advice and tell Cooper how you feel about him. You can even sneak it into a more subtle form of communication, like a note.”

“No, not a note,” Dean protested. “All men are simple. Bluntness is the way to go. Just drop it in the middle of a conversation. Say, ‘Cooper, I love you.’”

“And then he’ll say, ‘I love you too.’” Samantha’s eyes were shining. “It’ll be so romantic. You’ll probably kiss and everything.”

“It should be even more romantic than that!” Alexis shook her head. “You should make the moment special. Put a lot of thought into it, don’t just drop the words on him like a sack of potatoes. Go a more romantic route and make it an event to remember. You could create a picnic for the two of you, or take him to the beach at sunset, or drive up with him to the bluff. Or maybe tell him at a candlelight dinner.”

Julia’s head was spinning, and her stomach was fluttering with nervous butterflies. “Thanks, guys.” She couldn’t help smiling, amused and delighted by how invested they were in her love life. “Those are all great suggestions. I’ll give it some consideration.”

“Don’t consider too long.” Dean grinned at her knowingly. “You can ‘consider’ for a couple weeks, disguising the fact that you’re just procrastinating.”

“Okay, okay.” Julia laughed. “I won’t procrastinate for too long. I mean it. You guys are right—this is an important conversation that needs to happen.” Her heart thumped nervously in her chest as she said the words, but the way her family smiled at her lifted her spirits.

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