Page 7 of Sea Glass Serenade

“Oh, I’m doing fine. Rosewood Beach is the same as ever.”

“Yeah?” He tried to sound cheerful, playful even. But it was something he was out of practice doing, and he just ended up sounding fake. “That’s good.”

“Yeah. So… uh, how are things at the office?”

“Good. I just closed another deal.”

“Good for you, Grayson.”

She hardly sounded enthusiastic. There had been a time when she’d kissed and hugged him and gushed that she was proud of him every time he closed a deal. It had become a common occurrence, certainly, no longer an exciting novelty, but he couldn’t brush past the fact that her reaction had been so apathetic.

“How’s your family doing?” He wanted to kick himself, thinking to himself that he should have asked that question right away. That would have been the right thing to do to show her that he cared about her and her life.

“Oh, they’re all fine. Keeping busy.”

It wasn’t like Alexis to answer questions so briefly. In the past, she’d liked to include details about what was going on in the lives of her family members whenever she answered questions like that. She’d liked to tell stories and would often laugh while repeating things that someone else had said. He felt his heart sink even more as he realized just how checked-out she was.

“Well, that’s great. Got any plans with them in the coming days?”

“Nothing new, really. Just continuing work.”

“You got any idea when you’re going to come back home?” He drummed his fingers against the countertop, willing himself to stay calm and failing miserably.

There was a pause, and he swallowed.

“I don’t know,” she said finally. “Right now—well, right now I feel that I’m needed here more than I’m needed there.”

“I understand.” He wanted to tell her that he did need her, and he missed her, but he didn’t want to sound selfish. After all, her family was going through a lot and they had The Lighthouse Grill to think of. If Alexis felt that she was needed in Rosewood Beach, it wouldn’t be right for him to ask her to come back sooner.

There was another pause, and then she said, “I’m glad.” Her voice sounded almost muffled. “Well, I should get going. I’ve got some work to do with Hazel tonight.”

“Okay. No worries. I do too.” He thought with a pang of all the nights he’d come home and kept working in his home office instead of spending time with her, and he wished he had a time machine so he could go back and make different choices. He had a sudden, overwhelming desire to just sit on the couch with her in their pajamas and watch a movie while they ate popcorn. They hadn’t done that in years.

“Talk to you later.”

“Talk to you later.”

He hung up, feeling dejected. Kay’s words rang in his ears. However he was supposed to be fighting for Alexis, he strongly suspected that he wasn’t doing it right.

CHAPTER FIVE

Hazel hummed to herself as she pushed open the back door of her little cottage. It had been a good but tiring day at her job as a receptionist at the local doctor’s office and she was eager to be home. She always loved returning to her little house and settling in for the night. Ever since Alexis had come to stay with her and her daughter Samantha, their home had felt even cozier. She thought to herself that she might suggest they all play some board games together that night, or maybe curl up on the couch and watch a movie.

As she stepped into her kitchen, her mouth popped open in surprise. The whole room was in disarray—the table had been pushed up against the counter, and the little bookshelf that Hazel stored her recipe books on was nowhere to be seen.

The clear culprit for the disarray was standing near the far wall, her reddish-brown hair pulled up into a messy bun. She was wearing an oversized white t-shirt that was already covered in paint.

“Alexis!” Hazel laughed in surprise.

Alexis turned around and grinned at her. She had a smear of paint along one of her cheeks. Half the wall was already painted a cozy moss green, and Hazel loved the effect even more than shethought she would. It was clear that Alexis had jumped headfirst into her painting and backsplash project.

“What do you think?” Alexis asked proudly.

“Well, I love that you want to spruce up the place, but if I’m being perfectly honest, I was hoping to start dinner first. You’ve got plastic sheeting covering my stove,” Hazel pointed out wryly.

Alexis shook her head. “Cooking tonight is out of the question, I’m afraid. We’ll be eating out or eating at Mom’s until I can get this done.”

Hazel sat down at the kitchen table with a chuckle. “I guess we could all go eat at the pub tonight. That might be fun. I hate to impose on Mom last minute.”

---