Page 26 of Sea Glass Serenade

Despite the fact that Julia loved food and cooking, she was not getting distracted by Alexis’s description of what she’d purchased. “Alexis,” she said gently. “Are you avoiding Grayson?”

Alexis felt her heart rate pick up, but she shook her head emphatically. “Avoiding him? No! I’ve just had so much to do today. It’s been nonstop.”

Julia crossed her arms and leaned against the counter, giving her sister a look that Alexis knew meant business. “It may have been nonstop, but none of those things actually needed to happen today. There’s a reason you didn’t prioritize spending time with your husband instead of working on all kinds of things all day long. You’re avoiding him. Don’t you want to talk about why?”

Alexis bit her lip, suddenly feeling as though she might start to cry. “You’re right. I am avoiding him. I guess I didn’t really mean to, but I’ve been rushing from one thing to the next all day so that I didn’t have to think about all of it.”

“Why don’t you want to think about it?” Julia’s eyes were soft with sympathy.

“I don’t really know what to make of this drastic gesture,” Alexis said. “He—he quit his job and everything. It just seems so unlike him. I mean, back when we first started dating, he was romantic. He did grand gestures for me and showed me how much he cared about me. But lately—I mean, it’s been years since he even came home with flowers for me.”

Julia nodded. “I think you’re scared of getting let down again. You don’t want to let him back into your heart. But, Alexis, look at what he’s doing. He’s really making an effort here, and that’sa great sign. Besides, he’s your husband. You told him ‘till death do us part.’ I think you owe him the chance to win you back, which he’s clearly trying to do.”

Alexis nodded, feeling her heart twist. “I guess I am scared. It feels too good to be true. I don’t want to get let down again.”

“I understand that,” Julia said. “But I think you need to give him a chance. And giving him a chance starts with not avoiding him all day.”

Alexis sighed and went back to chopping up the carrots. “Are you going to be staying for dinner?”

Julia chuckled and shook her head at her sister’s obvious attempt to change the subject. “No, unfortunately, I can’t stick around for dinner. Cooper and I have plans tonight. Dinner and a movie.”

“Sounds like fun.” Alexis smiled, although she felt disappointed that Julia wasn’t going to be staying to eat dinner with them.

“Thanks. I can’t wait to eat some of these leftovers. I know it’ll be amazing.” Julia smiled at her sister and gave her a sideways hug. “I’m going to go upstairs to get ready for my date. Think about what I said, will you?”

“I will. You made some really good points.” Alexis forced a smile. “Have fun on your date!”

“Thank you!” Julia disappeared through the doorway that led to the staircase, and Alexis noticed that her sister looked a little troubled. She had no doubt that Julia’s worry was about her situation with Grayson, since nothing was wrong in Julia’s personal life at the moment. Alexis sighed, knowing that Julia meant well and that she’d given her some very good advice.

But not tonight,Alexis thought, feeling her heart rate pick up at the thought of spending time with Grayson.I’ll talk to him soon. Just not tonight.

She got the lemon ziti into the oven and started the carrots cooking on the stovetop for soup. Then she curled up on the couch in the living room with her phone and looked up all the girls in town she knew on Facebook, trying to figure out how many of them were single.

CHAPTER TWELVE

Julia hummed to herself as she unlocked the back door of The Lighthouse Grill. She was arriving there early in the morning before anyone else, and the place seemed hushed and sleepy.

She made her way through the clean, quiet kitchen toward the office, where she planned on getting a head start on some marketing work. The Lighthouse Grill had been doing well, but there were still her father’s remaining gambling debts to think about, and she needed to ensure that business continued to be good—or, ideally, got even better.

She set her purse down on the desk and cracked open the window that looked out onto the ocean. The breeze that rushed inside promised a beautiful, warm day, and she felt her spirits lift with anticipation.

I think I’ll make myself some tea, she thought, looking at the little basket of tea bags that her mother kept on one end of the desk.

She stepped back out into the kitchen to heat up some water inside a mug. As she was pouring water into the mug, her phone began to ring. She pulled it out of her pocket and smiled eagerly when she saw that the caller was her boyfriend Cooper.

“Hey.” She tucked the phone between her ear and her shoulder as she continued to prepare her mug of tea. “How are you?”

“I’m great, how are you doing?”

She thought to herself what a nice, warm voice he had. She always loved listening to him talk.

“I’m good. I feel really happy today. Last night was so much fun. That homemade pizza you made was amazing, and I loved just hanging out on the couch with you and watching that movie. It was so relaxing and energizing at the same time.”

“I’m so glad you liked it.” She could tell that he was smiling, she could hear it in his voice. “And I can’t believe that pizza turned out as well as it did. The pizza fairies must have been with me.”

She laughed, feeling a surge of affection for him. “I mean it, Cooper. It’s always so wonderful to spend time with you. You really mean a lot to me. I’m so thankful we’re in each other’s lives.”

She was feeling particularly mushy toward him, and she wanted to tell him how much he meant to her. Her heart fluttered as she realized that this could be the moment in which she told him that she loved him, but then she told herself that she wanted to say those words in person, not over the phone. She wanted to be able to see his face when she told him how much she cared for him.

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