Page 37 of Sea Glass Serenade

Hazel laughed over how enthusiastic Alexis was being. She and her sister were in the kitchen with Samantha, officially packing the gift basket for Jacob with all of the goodies that Hazel had picked out for him.

“Yes, the bag of coffee definitely looks cuter over there next to the macadamia nuts,” Hazel teased, and Samantha giggled.

“I think Aunt Alexis is right. It just looks better over there. It’s more aesthetically pleasing.”

“Wow, look at you with the big words!” Hazel said, laughing but genuinely proud. “All that reading is paying off.”

“Well, I agree about the reading, but I heard that word when Aunt Alexis used it about the kitchen.” She grinned. “It is very aesthetically pleasing in here. The colors are cheerful and calming at the same time.”

Alexis and Hazel exchanged a delighted look. Hazel felt glad that someone was living with her who could appreciate just how darling Samantha was almost as much as she did.

“And I’ll set the gum right here,” Hazel said, placing the final item in the basket. “There. It’s all ready to go.” She smiled, and her heart began to beat faster—both with excitement and nervousness.

“When are you going to ask him out?” Samantha asked, looking starry-eyed.

“I’m planning on meeting him at his work on Friday.” Hazel took a deep breath, laughing breathlessly as a little rush of adrenaline shot through her. “I’m going to tell him how I feel about him.”

Alexis put an arm around her sister and squeezed her tightly. “You can do it. How are you feeling about it?”

“Good, but nervous.” Hazel smiled. “I’ve got lots and lots of butterflies, for different reasons.”

“You’re going to do great, Mom,” Samantha promised.

“Thank you both. I feel very loved right now.”

“You are!” Alexis said, and both she and Samantha gave Hazel another hug.

“Well, I guess it’s all ready to go,” Hazel said, looking down at the basket with a happy sigh. She picked it up and carried it over to the refrigerator, setting it on top. “I’ll leave it there until Friday. Enough about me! How was school today, Samantha?”

“Great. I got an A plus on my history report, and Abbey and I found a frog on the sidewalk outside when we were leaving.”

“Sounds like a great day.” Hazel grinned at her. “Way to go on that report. What about you, Alexis? How are things going with Grayson?”

Alexis, who had been looking down at the kitchen table, looked up and flushed. “I haven’t spent very much time with him. We ate dinner together at The Lighthouse Grill the other night.”

“Why haven’t you been spending time with him?” Samantha asked. “Don’ t you miss him since he was in L.A. for so long?”

“Samantha,” Hazel said gently, wanting to warn her daughter to not accidentally say anything tactless.

“No, it’s all right.” Alexis sighed. “I did miss him. I do miss him. But it isn’t that easy, unfortunately. He’s been basically ignoring me for so long that now, I’m scared to open up my heart to him again.”

Samantha frowned and nodded, as if she didn’t quite understand but wanted to be supportive anyway.

“I’ve been avoiding him since he got here.” Alexis looked out the window, fiddling with a gold bracelet on her wrist. “I just don’t know how to handle him being here. It seems too good to be true, and I’m scared of getting let down.”

Hazel wrapped an arm around her sister. “I can understand that,” she said gently. “Love is always a scary thing since there’s always some risk involved. But I think what Grayson is doing shows that he really does care about you. He wouldn’t have quit his job and come all the way out here if he didn’t truly intend to make it work. I think you owe him a chance.”

Alexis nodded, looking a little nervous, and then she smiled. “I do need to have more faith in him. He’s let me down for so long, but when we first got married, he was my best friend. It would be wonderful if we could be that way together again.”

“That’s the spirit!” Hazel grinned at her sister.

“Look at you, being the love cheerleader.” Alexis laughed. “Next you need to help me encourage Dean to find love.”

Hazel chuckled. “Maybe I will. I do feel particularly optimistic about love right now. It’s been a long time since I felt this confident in the process of stepping out and hoping for the best in relationships. I have a very good feeling that things are going to work out great for both you and me, Alexis.”

“I hope so.” Alexis smiled at her sister. “And in your case, I’m sure it will. I mean, just look at that basket! Even if he isn’t already interested in you, which I’m sure he is, that basket isgoing to make his heart start beating faster. It’s so thoughtful and caring.”

“I hope you’re right.” Hazel looked up at the gift basket where it was resting on top of the refrigerator. She felt giddy with excitement. Ever since she’d started putting the basket together, she’d been catching herself daydreaming about how her declaration to Jacob might go. Sometimes she imagined him looking a little dazed and stammering out an agreement to go to dinner with her. Sometimes she imagined him looking at her with starry eyes, declaring that he’d also been interested in her for years. And sometimes she let her herself imagine that as soon she told him she was interested in him, he would take her in his arms and kiss her, telling her that he felt the same way.

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