Page 13 of Moonlit Harbor Nights

Julia took a deep breath and smiled.

“That’s right!” Alexis laughed. She reached across the table and squeezed her sister’s hand. “Come on! This is so exciting. I’m ready to squeal loud enough for the whole restaurant to hear.”

“You’re adorable. It is exciting, you’re so right. But I’m also a little nervous because I don’t want to be wrong, you know? I don’t want to get my hopes up only to learn that Cooper isn’t thinking that seriously of the future at all. I mean, who knows what’s going to happen, right?”

Alexis shrugged. “I don’t think you can help reading the signs. And it’s okay to be hopeful. It’s okay to let yourself want it.” She smiled reassuringly at Julia, and her eyes were still alight with excitement.

Julia bit her lip.I’m almost afraid to hope,she thought.And yet, I’ve never wanted anything more.

Dean glanced at the agenda hanging on the wall of the garage in his auto shop. He’d just finished up replacing the brakes on a Honda, and he was feeling energetic and ready for more work.

To his surprise, however, the to-do list that was tacked to the wall didn’t have anything listed on it until two hours later.

“Hey, Keith,” he called to his employee, who was just getting ready to roll himself underneath a different car. “What about that minivan the Carlsons were going to drop off?”

“They called to cancel that earlier this morning. I told you, but you must have had your earbuds in or something. They’d wanted the shocks fixed before their family vacation, but they’ve decided to take a rental car and postpone their appointment for a couple of weeks.”

“Huh.” Dean looked at the agenda with his hands in his pockets, wondering what he was going to do with himself. He glanced around the garage, wondering if there was something he could clean up or reorganize. There were a few blue shop towels on the ground by Keith’s feet, but he knew Keith would get them when he was done working. Other than that, the garage was mainly spotless. Well, dirty and greasy, but tidy. His guys were good about cleaning up after themselves. “I guess I don’t have anything to do for a while here then.”

“Why don’t you take a break?” Keith grinned at him. “I’m going to, as soon as I’m done with this. I might even pull a Dean Owens and go take a nap.” He winked, grinning good-naturedly.

Dean laughed. “I absolutely recommend naps in the middle of the workday. I always wake up with more energy than I had before.”

Keith chuckled and rolled underneath the car to start working. Dean turned back to the agenda, tapping his foot against the ground as he considered what he was going to do. He didn’t have any paperwork to attend to—he’d already done his personal taxes and his business taxes. No one was behind on payments or needed to be called about their cars.

I really have nothing to do,he concluded with a shrug.Kind of a shame, considering how much energy I’ve got right now.

Then all at once he got an idea, and his expression lit up. He hurried into the bathroom to wash his hands, checking hisreflection in the mirror to make sure his face wasn’t dirty. Once he was satisfied that he was clean enough, he left the bathroom and went into his office, where his coat and hat were. He put them on, and then leaned through the doorway to call to Keith. “Hey! I’m going out for a couple of hours.”

“You take that nap, boss!” Keith called.

Dean laughed. He might take a nap later on, but for now he was going to pay a visit to his girlfriend.

He left the auto shop, stepping outside into the blustery cold. Although it was sunny and there was a vibrant blue sky overhead, the wind had an icy edge to it. He nestled his hands inside the warm pockets of his coat as he began to stroll down the sidewalk. He thought about what he could do for Noelle. He still felt bad about missing their date because of falling asleep.

He was making his way toward her physical therapy office, and as he turned a corner, he caught sight of Seaside Sweets Bakery at the end of the street, near the frozen beach. He grinned, knowing at once what he would bring her.

He made his way to the bakery and stepped inside. It was warm and cozy, and smelled fragrantly of spices, dough, and sugar. He stepped up to the counter and ordered a Boston cream doughnut and a chai latte. He thought about getting himself something as well and decided on a blackberry and chocolate muffin.

A few minutes later, he stepped back outside into the cold with the latte held in one gloved hand and a white paper bag in the other. Noelle’s physical therapy office was a short walk from the bakery, but he hurried anyway, not wanting her chai latte to get cold. He was also eager to see her. He didn’t know if she had a client at that time, but he was hoping he would have at least a little time to give her a hug and kiss and ask her how her day was going.

I miss her,he thought.Which is weird because we live in the same town. My fatigue has just really been getting in the way of us spending time together.

He reached the physical therapy office a few minutes later. He was often there for physical therapy appointments with Chip, the other PT, and it felt good to be going there just for a casual visit to see Noelle. She was usually busy with other clients when he was there for his physical therapy appointments, and he was always happy to get a glimpse of her—but it usually wasn’t much more than that.

He pulled open the front door of the physical therapy office, and a cheerful bell jingled overhead. The lobby smelled pleasantly of cloves and cinnamon, and Dean guessed that the smell was coming from one of the diffusers that Noelle had picked out eagerly on one of their dates. He smiled, remembering fondly how excited she’d been.

He saw that her office door was ajar, and he grinned. That was a great sign. It meant she almost certainly didn’t have a client.

He stepped up to her door and knocked softly.

“Come in,” Noelle said, sounding distracted.

He stepped inside, and saw her sitting at her desk, scribbling something down in her notebook with a pink pen. She looked up a second later, and her jaw dropped when she saw him.

“Dean! Are you—” She glanced at a schedule hanging on the wall. “You’re not here to see Chip, are you? He just stepped out for a lunch break about fifteen minutes ago.”

“No, I’m here to see you.” Dean came forward, setting the latte and the pastry bag on the end of Noelle’s desk. He leaned down and gave her a big kiss.

---