Page 48 of Moonlit Harbor Nights

“Vivian, I?—”

“I should really get going.” She stood up, grabbing her purse and her purchases. “Thank you for your concern, Terrence. I know you like to make sure everything is safe. But this is not under your jurisdiction—my personal life is none of your business. Have a good day.”

She turned and walked out of Seaside Sweets Bakery before Terrence could say anything more. She got inside her car and started the engine hurriedly. She drove straight to the pub, not touching her honey lavender latte until she was parked behind The Lighthouse Grill.

She stared into space, feeling frustrated with Terrence and offended by his implication that Alan wasn’t genuinely interested in her. As if that charming, smiling man had sinister motives behind his romantic pursuit of her.

She took a sip of the latte as she glanced at her watch. She didn’t need to go inside for another twenty minutes, but she had a feeling she would be going inside in the next couple of minutes as a way of escaping the thoughts that were trying to crowd into her mind.

Even though she felt offended, she had to admit that Terrence’s words had planted a bit of doubt in her mind.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Julia pulled her car into Cooper’s driveway and let out a bear-like yawn. She covered her mouth with her mitten demurely, but the way she let out a bear-like noise while yawning was decidedly unladylike.

It had been a long day at work, and she was feeling tired and a little sleepy. Cooper had invited her over for takeout and a movie, and she was excited about getting to cuddle with the man she loved and maybe drift off to sleep on the couch. She’d tried to look nice for the date, since it was one of her ways of making Cooper feel special, but the pants and sweater she’d chosen for the evening were both on the comfy side. She had a feeling that she’d be taking out her gold hoop earrings before they were half an hour into whatever they decided to watch.

She got out of her car and walked up to Cooper’s house. She noticed that the salt on his sidewalk hadn’t been swept away even though it had been warm enough for all ice to melt off the concrete for quite a while and they didn’t have snow in the forecast for another week or more.

Don’t be too fussy, Julia,she reminded herself with a chuckle.After all, you can’t expect Cooper to be quite as tidy and well-planned as you are.

She smiled, determined to be more forgiving with her boyfriend. She thought about how upset she’d gotten over the coffee grounds in the sink and shook her head. That was the kind of issue that, if they were married, would probably be solved by one simple conversation.

If we were married, we would?—

The moment Julia opened the front door of Cooper’s house, her thought broke off as she gasped. There were red rose petals strewn across the floor in a swirling pathway. The golden, flickering flames of candles which lined the rose petal path gave the scene a hushed, almost sacred atmosphere.

Holding her breath, Julia began to follow the path made by the petals. They led her to the backyard of Cooper’s house, where a beautifully set table and chairs waited. Beside the table were two heaters, making the impromptu dining area warm enough despite the winter cold. Candles flickered on the table, lighting up a gorgeous bouquet of red roses. A couple of covered silver dishes sat next to the plates, and she guessed that there was some kind of delicious meal under them.

Cooper stood next to the table, wearing a suit jacket over a nice sweater and smiling at her as if he thought she was the most beautiful woman in the world.

“Cooper,” she stammered, totally in shock. “You… you did all this?”

He nodded, and came forward to give her a huge hug. She folded into his arms, feeling as though she couldn’t quite breathe from excitement. He kissed her, and she was conscious of the stars glittering majestically overhead before she closed her eyes.

“I have something to show you,” Cooper whispered. He took her hand in his and led her over to a raised flower bed in the left side of the backyard. He’d surrounded it with fairy lights, and it looked like some kind of enchanted place. In the dirt of the garden, he’d placed little wooden signs with the names of allthe vegetables and herbs that she’d been talking about planting. He’d followed the design they’d come up with together perfectly, and tears sprang into her eyes.

She knew she was crying about more than just the garden. She’d begun to wonder if Cooper really was going to propose after all, but it was becoming clear that this was the moment. She pressed her hand against her pounding heart and blinked back tears as Cooper got down on one knee.

“Julia Owens,” he said, his voice soft and his grin huge. “I know we both want to garden, and we want to garden together. I want to garden here, forever, with you. I want to put down roots with you, and tend what we’ve planted all our days, until it’s as big and unshakable as that oak tree.” He paused and pulled a small velvet box out of his pocket. He took a deep breath. “Will you marry me?” He opened the box, revealing a glittering diamond engagement ring.

Julia couldn’t control her tears anymore. They ran down her cheeks like two miniature rivers—but she wasn’t sobbing, she was laughing. “Yes.” She held onto Cooper’s hands as if he was anchoring her to the world. “Yes, Cooper, I would love to marry you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”

He stood up and they stood there hugging each other for what felt like almost a minute. Julia closed her eyes as she laid her head against his shoulder, smelling his slightly musky cologne and thinking about the fact that she was going to get to spend the rest of her life with him. She felt as though she was in a total daze, but she’d never been happier in her entire life.

He took the engagement ring out of the box and slipped it onto her finger. It gleamed in the glow from the fairy lights, and Julia bit her lip, amazed by how beautiful it was.

“My manicure was perfect a couple of days ago.” She laughed, noticing that her beautiful blue fingernails looked a little shabby after all the work she’d been putting them through.“But now it’s chipped. Alexis will be so disappointed—she tried so hard to get me to have perfect nails in case you proposed.”

Cooper grinned as he heard that Julia’s family had been suspecting the proposal. “Alexis will be just fine. The man you’re going to marry thinks that you look absolutely perfect.”

A happy flush painted her cheeks, and the two of them shared a loving kiss.

“You want to eat?” he asked her. “I’ve made some chicken alfredo and a couple of salads. Nothing too fancy, but I didn’t want to cook anything for us that I might mess up.”

She took his hand as they walked over to the table together. “It sounds incredible,” she assured him. “I can’t wait to eat what you made me.”

As if to echo the sentiment, her stomach growled loudly and they both laughed. They sat down across from each other and began to eat. The food was no longer hot, but it was fairly warm. Julia wasn’t disappointed—after all, it had been out in the winter cold for a while, and no covered dish could work miracles.

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