Page 34 of Sea Glass Serenade

“Sounds like you’re just as busy as I am.”

“Maybe.” She laughed. “But Samantha and Alexis and I are planning a picnic for tomorrow’s lunch break, so that will make it feel almost like a day off.”

He nodded, smiling, and then he glanced at his watch. “Well, I guess I shouldn’t keep you. I hope you enjoy your lunch.” His eyes held something that looked a lot like fondness as he looked at her. “It was so nice running into you, Hazel.”

“You too.”

She found herself wanting to stay and talk with him longer, but she did need to get back to work. Besides, the deli was in the back of the grocery store, so when he went there she would have plenty of time to retrieve her basket and pay for the items without him seeing her.

“See you around.” He smiled, seeming to linger for a moment, and then kept walking.

“Bye!”

She watched him walk away for a few moments, butterflies flapping in her stomach. His kind words had seemed like a reassurance that he was interested in her as well, and she thought with a grin of the basket that was tucked just out of sight.

The moment he disappeared around the end of the aisle, she grabbed her basket out of its hiding spot and went up to the front of the store. As she hurriedly paid for her items, she felt her excitement building. She was looking forward to her big moment when she would declare her feelings for him, and she knew that soon, she would choose the exact moment for it.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Julia sat on the couch in her mother’s living room, hugging her knees and watching the late afternoon sunlight flicker in beautiful patterns on the hardwood floor.

She’d just returned home from the pub, where she’d been working on marketing and had also jumped on deck to waitress a few tables when things got particularly busy. She had the rest of the afternoon and the evening off, and she knew how she wanted to spend it.

I’m going to see Cooper tonight, she thought.And this is it. Today’s the day. I’m going to tell him how I feel about him.

She took a deep breath, feeling a sense of excitement and joy even though the prospect made her nervous. She closed her eyes, thinking about what she wanted to do. As she planned out every detail, a smile spread across her face.

A few minutes later, she opened her eyes and glanced at the clock on the wall. She knew that Cooper would be leaving work soon, and that after that he would be going to pick Macey up from daycare. She hopped off the couch, determined to get a move on so that she had enough time to enact her plan before Cooper and Macey returned home.

She grabbed some supplies out of the refrigerator, tucking them carefully inside a bag. She slipped outside and got into her car, feeling her stomach flutter with anticipation.

As she drove, she carefully went over every detail of her plan in her mind one more time. She enjoyed thinking about it, and she wanted to make sure that she enacted all the steps of her plan in the most efficient way possible. She was determined to make the setting romantic and memorable for the big moment in which she told him how much she cared for him.

When she arrived at Cooper’s house, she used the key he’d given her to go inside through the back door. She immediately went to work setting a beautiful table for her and Cooper to have dinner at. She spread a pretty tablecloth that she found in a kitchen drawer on the table and set out some of Cooper’s best dishes. Then she went into the kitchen and whipped up a colorful salad with cold slices of seasoned chicken, using ingredients that she’d brought and some ingredients from Cooper’s fridge as well. She set the salad down on the side of the table, feeling pleased by how nice it looked.

Next, she brought out a candlestick and set it in the center of the table, and she dimmed the lights. Sighing with anticipation, she lit each candle in the candlestick, enjoying the way the warm glow of the flames made the whole room look more romantic.

She was just stepping back from the table, thinking to herself that it all looked perfect, when she heard the front door open.

“Julia?” Cooper called.

She grinned and hurried out of the kitchen toward the front door. “Hi, honey!”

“Hey.” He grinned when he saw her, although she noticed he looked particularly tired. Macey was standing next to him, holding onto his pants leg and rubbing her nose with the back of her hand. “I saw your car in the driveway. This is such a wonderful surprise.”

“I’m so glad. I—” She didn’t get a chance to finish her sentence, because in the next moment, Macey sat down on the floor and began to bawl.

“Oh, no.” Cooper crouched down to be on the same level as his daughter. “Macey, it’s okay. We’re home. What do you want? Some dinner?”

She shook her head, just bawling even harder. Cooper frowned worriedly and stood up. He hurried over to the light switch and turned the lights up all the way, causing the romantic, dimly lit atmosphere that Julia had created to vanish.

“Macey, what’s wrong? Do you want some milk? No, that would be a bad idea,” he added as if to himself, muttering. “How about orange juice? Yeah? Okay, I’ll get you some orange juice.”

Smiling apologetically at Julia, Cooper hurried into the kitchen to get orange juice for Macey. As he stepped inside the room, he started to have a fit of sneezing. He sneezed all the way through getting a sippy cup out of the cupboard and filling it with orange juice. He didn’t notice the romantic table that Julia had set up, and returned a moment later to the front entryway, where he handed Macey the sippy cup.

“You drink that, sweetheart, okay? It will make you feel better. There’s all kinds of vitamin C in there. It’s like a magic potion that will help you get well.”

“Is she okay?” Julia asked, feeling strangely out of place and unsure of what to do. So far, the evening was not going at all as she had anticipated. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

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