Page 39 of Sea Glass Serenade

“Yes. Thank you. Coffee would be great.”

Alexis watched him, finding it odd to see him sitting there. Odd but also strangely pleasant, and the way both Hazel and Samantha were acting particularly friendly toward him warmed her heart. She wondered how he felt about the whole thing. He was clearly feeling a little awkward, and she wondered if he felt bad that Hazel had been the one to invite him to sit down to breakfast instead of her. He seemed to be avoiding eye contact with her, and then all at once he looked right at her, right into her eyes, and she felt her stomach jump as if she’d just taken a dip on a rollercoaster.

“Here you go, Uncle Grayson.” Samantha set down the dishes in front of him with a flourish. “You’re going to love this food. It’s really good.”

Grayson smiled at her a little awkwardly. “Thank you. I appreciate being invited.”

Alexis felt a twinge of guilt, since she herself could have invited him to any of their breakfasts ever since he’d arrived in town. The sight of him sitting there was making her see him in a whole new light. Although he seemed a little uncomfortable, since he hadn’t had a lot of time to get used to being in a family setting when he was so wrapped up in his career, he seemed touched by how sweet Hazel and Samantha were being. Alexis found herself picturing him sitting down to breakfast with her at a table of their own, something they hadn’t done in years since he’d always wanted to rush off to the office early.

Grayson helped himself to a breakfast sandwich and some of the hash browns and mango slices. For a while, everyone was quiet as they continued to eat. Alexis wrote down a fewmore notes in her planner, but she felt jittery and distracted. She found herself wanting to stare at Grayson, but felt that she couldn’t, as if he was some kind of stranger.

“This food is excellent, thank you,” Grayson said finally. “And you have a charming home here.”

“Thank you very much.” Hazel smiled, pleased, and Grayson looked around the kitchen as he chewed. His eyes lighted on the gift basket resting on the top of the refrigerator.

“That’s a nice gift basket. Did you pack it yourself?”

“I did.” Hazel blushed faintly. “Everything in it is picked out by me.”

“But we helped arrange it,” Samantha said proudly.

“It must be for someone special,” Grayson said, looking a little wistful.

“It is,” Hazel said, blushing more. “Oh, Samantha, look at the time! We need to get you to school and me to the office. Alexis, would you mind cleaning up when you and Grayson are done eating?”

Alexis nodded, feeling her stomach squirm. She knew that Hazel’s sudden departure had three reasons—one, it really was getting late, two, she wanted to stop talking about her gift basket in case Grayson asked who it was for, and three, she wanted to leave Alexis alone with her husband. “That’s fine. Have a good day, you two.”

“We will,” Samantha said cheerfully as she swung her backpack up onto her shoulders “You two have a good day too.”

Alexis felt herself blushing, since she didn’t plan on spending time with Grayson after breakfast was over, but she found the thought both wonderful and alarming.

Hazel and Samantha slipped out of the house through the back door, and Alexis and Grayson were left sitting across from each other, awkwardly poking their forks in their food.

“How are you this morning, Alexis?” he asked finally, and there was a tenderness in his voice that made her heart ache a little.

“I’m doing all right.” She cleared her throat. “How about you?”

“I’m doing fine. It’s good to see you.”

“It’s good to see you too.”

For a few moments, they looked across the table at each other. She felt her heart begin to beat faster, and finally she looked away.

“This food is great.” He picked up his sandwich again, but he didn’t take a bite yet. Even though he wasn’t looking directly at her anymore, she could sense that he was tuned in to her, listening intently to her body language.

“It is,” she agreed. “It’s been so nice living here with the two of them. We eat almost all our meals together and it’s always a team effort. That’s felt very nice.”

“I can imagine.” He smiled, but his eyes looked a little sad. She wondered if he was regretting all the times he’d eaten at the office or skipped meals altogether, leaving her to sit and eat in their mansion alone. “What are your plans for the day?”

“Uh, well, I’m doing a few things before working at the pub this afternoon.” She glanced down at her planner, feeling so jittery that for a moment, she forgot what her agenda for the day was. “I’m taking my mom to the doctor and ordering some supplies. Little things like that.”

“I can come with you,” he suggested, and she looked up, surprised.

“Oh! You—you don’t have to.”

“No, I insist. Whatever you need to do today, I’ll come along with you and help you get it done. We’ll do it together.” He smiled at her, and she felt her heart stir a little.

“Well, the first thing we should do is clean all this up and put the leftovers in the refrigerator.”

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