Page 12 of Sea Glass Serenade

He swallowed, thinking to himself that he couldn’t lose Alexis. He needed to learn to let go of trying to succeed, to get ahead, to make even more money. It was getting him nowhere. He was like a hamster running around in circles on a hamster wheel, not getting any place worth going to.

I have to stop, he thought.I have to put her first. What can I do to show her I’m ready to change, and she means more to me than all this?

All at once, he recognized what he needed to do. His heart began to pound in his chest as he thought of what a big leap it would be. Despite his trepidation, he thought to himself that he had no choice. This was something he needed to do to repair his marriage.

Alexis typed rapidly on the keyboard of her mother’s computer. She was in the office at The Lighthouse Grill, making some finishing touches on a marketing campaign that she and Julia had been working on together. Julia had done most of the work, but she’d asked Alexis to look it over and jot down some of her opinions.

She sat back in the soft office chair and stretched. It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon, and she was looking forward to getting outside and enjoying the weather. She thought longingly of being out on a boat, and smiled as she remembered how many fun times she and her family had had out on the water when she was a kid.

“Knock knock!”

Alexis looked up and saw Allison, the cook, grinning at her from the doorway.

“One of our tables had a mix-up. We made a side of sweet potato fries for them when they ordered waffle fries. The waitress swears the table said sweet potato fries, but I’m not blaming anybody.” She held up a plate of delicious looking orange fries. “You want these?”

“Um yes!” Alexis laughed. “They smell fantastic. Thank you, Allison.”

“They taste fantastic too. I brought you a side of garlic aioli to go with them.”

“Look at you, being so sweet to me! You don’t need to do all this.”

“I want to.” Allison beamed at her. “I mean it. You’ve been working so hard for this place, and we all see it.”

Alexis felt tears spring into her eyes. “Well, I love it. Thank you.”

“We love you. Eat your fries and I’ll talk to you later.” Grinning, Allison disappeared back out into the hallway.

Sighing happily, Alexis dipped one of the crispy fries into the creamy aioli and popped it into her mouth. She shut her eyes for a moment, savoring the fantastic taste.

There are definitely perks that come with working for a restaurant,she thought cheerfully.

She finished up looking over the marketing plan, munching on the fries as she worked. When she was done, she satcomfortably at the desk and looked out the window for a little while. She found her mind turning to Dean, and she smiled as she remembered the way the girl at the hardware store had seemed so smitten by him.

She thought to herself that her brother needed a little nudge toward finding the perfect girl for him. After all, what was he waiting for? He was in his prime, wasn’t he?

Alexis popped another fry into her mouth and grinned. There were plenty of wonderful women who lived there in Rosewood Beach, and she knew a lot of them were still single. Many of the women she’d known while she was growing up were still in town. She thought to herself with a surge of excitement that many of them might be a good match for her brother.

She pulled an old notepad out of a drawer and started to jot down the names of women that she knew were still in town and were unmarried. Many of them she’d run into when working at the pub, and although she hadn’t been checking for wedding rings when she’d seen them, she felt confident that she had a good sense of whether they were single or not.

I can always call them up later and catch up,she thought cheerfully.That would be a good way of making sure they’re unattached.For now, I’ll just write up a list of potentials.

She grinned to herself as she jotted down the names of women she knew still lived in town. She thought of a girl who she remembered as being particularly cheerful, like Dean was, and a girl that she knew loved going for hikes, like Dean did. There were quite a few girls on the list who she thought might make a good match for her brother, and she felt almost gleeful with excitement as she plotted out how she might introduce them to Dean.

“What are you up to, sweetheart?”

Alexis looked up in surprise to see her mother standing in the doorway. She’d been so engrossed in her work that she hadn’t noticed Vivian come in.

“Mom!” she protested. “What are you doing here? You’re not scheduled to come in today.”

Vivian shook her head, laughing. “You’re like my watchdog, always making sure I’m getting enough rest. I’m not planning on bussing tables, don’t worry.”

Alexis shook her head at her mother. “I saw you start washing dishes the last time you were here. I have to keep a close eye on you.”

“I’m not an invalid!” Vivian continued to chuckle. “I wanted to come check on things. It is my restaurant, after all.”

“Oh, I suppose.” Alexis lifted a brow as she asked, “So, how are we doing?”

“Everything seems to be running smoothly. Smells incredible as usual. And the guests are all smiling.”

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