Page 5 of Moonlit Harbor Nights

“Yay!” Macey cried, so loudly that Cooper might have heard her from outside. Julia held a finger to her lips, laughing, and held out her hand for Macey to take. They scampered over to behind the living room couch, where they had a good view of the front door. They ducked down together, both giggling.

“Okay, we wait here and be quiet, and then as soon as your daddy comes through the front door, we’re going wait a couple of seconds, and then we’re going to jump up and say, ‘Surprise!’ Okay?” Julia whispered to the toddler as they crouched behind the couch.

Macey nodded, a huge grin on her little face. “Okay,” she whispered.

A moment later, they heard the front door open. Macey giggled loudly. Julia held her finger to her lips to signal to the little girl that they should still be quiet.

“Hello?” Cooper called. “Anybody?—”

“Surprise!” Julia and Macey jumped up from behind the couch, and Cooper’s face lit up in an expression of surprise and joy.

“Happy birthday, Daddy!” Macey squealed, hurrying forward to hug her father.

“Thank you, sweetheart.” Cooper scooped Macey up into his arms and gave her a big hug. “I’m so excited about the surprise that you and—that you and Julia gave me.”

“It’s so good,” Macey said. “And there’s cake.”

“There’s cake, huh?” Cooper laughed as he set Macey back down on the floor and pulled Julia into a kiss. “Thank you, dear. This is such a wonderful birthday surprise.”

“You’re so welcome.” Julia gazed up at him, feeling tears spring into her eyes. She knew in that moment that she cared about him in a way that she’d never cared about a man before. “We both wanted you to have a very happy birthday.”

“Well, this is doing the trick, for sure.” He hugged her sideways as he took Macey’s hand in his. “I love this surprise. I was just hoping for dinner—this is beyond all my hopes and dreams.”

“Well, lucky for you, dinner is involved in the surprise,” Julia said, chuckling. “And so is cake.”

She led him into the dining room, and his jaw dropped when he saw all the decorations she’d put up.

“Sweetheart,” he said, his voice sounding slightly raspy as if he was tearing up. “This is so kind of you. I haven’t had someone celebrate me like this since I was a kid.”

Julia felt a surge of joy. She was thrilled that she’d made him so happy. “You should get used to being celebrated like this,” she said, grinning. “You’re dating a woman who loves to plan parties.”

Cooper’s eyes filled visibly with tears. He pulled Julia into another kiss and hugged her tightly. “You’ve become such an integral part of my and Macey’s life, Julia. I can’t imagine living a day without you, and I wouldn’t want to.”

Her heart fluttered. His words sounded very serious, and she had a feeling he was thinking about taking their relationship tothe next level. She smiled up at him, feeling as though the world was spinning faster than usual.

“You look absolutely gorgeous, by the way,” he said. “And so do you, Macey. Just like a princess.”

“Dinner please,” Macey said, tugging on Julia’s skirt.

Cooper and Julia laughed.

“Sounds perfect,” Julia said. “You two go ahead and sit down and I’ll dish out the lasagna.”

“Lasagna? Is that what that glorious smell is?”

“Spinach alfredo lasagna. With ground beef.”

“Wow.” Cooper grinned and kissed her again. “I can’t wait. But let me help you dish it out. I insist.”

Julia gave in, even though she wanted him to be able to just sit and relax because it was his birthday. They went into the kitchen together, and Cooper exclaimed in delight over the cake. They dished generous portions of the alfredo lasagna onto their plates and spooned a toddler-sized portion into Macey’s favorite plastic dish, which was shaped like a snowman. Once they had their food, they sat down at the dining room table together, and Cooper poured himself and Julia glasses of Pinot Grigio.

“This meal is delicious, thank you, Julia,” he said, shaking his head in disbelief as he swallowed a bite. “I swear you’re reaching chef level.”

She laughed. “Why thank you. Maybe in addition to doing the pub’s finances, I’ll start cooking in the kitchen as well.”

“You should.” He grinned.

“Aww, you’re sweet. For real, I’m not nearly as good of a cook as Allison is, and even she doesn’t do her best work at the pub. There’s a difference between getting meals out quick enough to satisfy hungry customers and being able to take the time to prepare something really special. She is amazing, though. And so is Mom. Mom used to be one of the chefs back when the pubfirst started. And Alexis hops on board to cook sometimes when one of the cooks has the day off.”

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