Page 27 of Sea Glass Serenade

“I absolutely feel the same way.” His tone lifted as he spoke the words earnestly. “It’s always so wonderful to spend time together, and I’m so glad that we’re dating.” There was a short pause, and then he said, “Speaking of spending time together, do you have time to get lunch with me this afternoon?”

“I’d love to! I’m at the pub right now, and I’m planning on sticking around for a while to get marketing work done. Would you like to come here for lunch?”

“What, to the best restaurant in town? That sounds great. I’ll come to you and we can eat there.”

She grinned when she heard him refer to her family’s pub at the best restaurant in town. The Lighthouse Grill was a favorite spot in Rosewood Beach, that was certain, but she thought it was sweet of him to say it like that.

“I thought it would be good to talk,” he continued, and his voice suddenly took on a serious quality that made her feel almost nervous. “How long of a break can you take today?”

“Oh, whatever we need.” She tried to sound breezy, but the shift in his tone had made her start to wonder what it was he wanted to talk to her about. She took a deep breath and was about to ask him what he wanted to discuss with her, when he let out a sigh.

“A customer is calling me. I should let you go. I’ll come over there at noon?”

“Sounds perfect. See you then.”

“Bye, Julia.”

“Bye, Cooper.”

She hung up the phone and leaned against the counter for a few moments, staring at the worn tile floor and feeling nervous.

He sounded so serious, she thought.What does he want to talk to me about?

She tried to convince herself that it was nothing bad, and that he was probably just tired. She knew that although Macey had been sleeping more regularly than she used to, she often kept Cooper up at night and he didn’t get nearly enough sleep when that happened.

She finished making her tea and went back to the office with it. Although she got a decent amount of work done, all throughout the morning she kept pausing to worry. She often found herself staring out the window at the ocean, a frown of concern on her face.

Finally, she glanced at the clock on the wall and saw that it was five minutes to noon. She closed her laptop and stood up, telling herself that she would go outside and meet Cooper at the door when he arrived.

She made her way through the kitchen, where she was greeted warmly by the smiling cooks, and out through the dining room to the front door. As she walked, her heart fluttered with nervousness, but she told herself to stay calm and that there was nothing to worry about. The moment she stepped outside into the sunshine, she came face-to-face with Cooper.

“Hey!” His face lit up into a grin when he saw her, and he gave her a bear hug and a kiss. For a moment, she felt completely reassured that everything was fine, but then she noticed a troubled look in his eyes. “How are you?”

“I’m good.” She smiled back at him, trying not to feel nervous. “What about you?”

“Well, great now that I’m here with you.”

They went inside and got a booth in a back corner. Julia wondered nervously if Cooper wanted to go to that table because it was more secluded, and he wanted to be able to talk to her without anyone else overhearing them.

“Ah, my favorite menu,” Cooper teased as he looked over his menu at their table. “I’m pretty sure I want a cheeseburger with fried onions, but I should look over my options again.”

Julia smiled, although she was realizing she didn’t feel particularly hungry. She looked over the menu herself and decided to order a cup of tomato soup and a BLT with slices of avocado added to it.

“How’s marketing going?” Cooper asked once they’d given their orders to the waitress.

“Good. It’s nice to do marketing for a place I care so much about and think so highly of.”

“I can imagine.”

“How about you? How is work going today?”

“Good. It’s been kind of slow today, but that’s nice. I didn’t get a lot of sleep last night, so it gives me more time to drink coffee.” He gestured to their surroundings.

She smiled back at him, and for a few moments, neither of them said anything. She took a deep breath, wondering if he was about to bring up what it was that he wanted to talk with her about. When he didn’t say anything, she decided to come right out and ask him. She’d spent all morning worrying that he wanted to talk with her about something bad, and she wanted to not be in suspense any longer.

“Was there a particular reason you wanted to meet today?” she asked, realizing her voice was a little higher-pitched than usual. She cleared her throat. “You’d said you wanted to talk while we were here.”

He nodded. “Yes, I—” For a moment, he hesitated, and she watched him inhale. “I wanted to thank you for taking Macey shopping for shoes the other day. It really meant a lot to me. She loved spending time with you like that, and I’m always at a loss when it comes to things like shoes. I’m never sure what’s going to be the right mix between what she likes and what’s going to be comfortable for her feet. Those shoes you picked out are perfect, and she never wants to take them off.”

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