Page 51 of Moonlit Harbor Nights

“We all thought he was, Mom,” Alexis assured her. “He was so sweet to you, and so friendly. And then when he gave you that huge bouquet, I was sure.”

“I can’t believe he would be so cruel,” Julia said, punching the pillow she was holding as if she was imagining it was Alan. “Feigning affection for you to get at the pub’s secret recipes?”

“It’s appalling,” Dean agreed. “If I ever meet that guy on the street I’m going to give him a piece of my mind.”

“What a jerk,” Hazel agreed. “But it’s not your fault, Mom. He really seemed so nice. He’s a true con artist.”

Vivian forced a watery smile. She was glad her children loved her so much and were so angry for her, but it didn’t quite take away the sting of her reality. She’d let her crush on Alan grow into something precious to her. Learning all at once that he was both a liar and a cheat hurt her more than she ever wanted to let her children know.

“What should we do next?” Alexis asked. She set down her mug of tea firmly. “I say we confront Judd. Tell him that we know what he’s doing and that he needs to stop. What he’s doing is wrong.”

“What he’s doing is wrong, but I don’t think he’ll listen to us.” Hazel tapped her fingers against her mouth as she thought. “I think we need to sue him. I know it sounds drastic, but that’s the kind of thing he’d do. It may be the only way to get him to see reason. I know we never patented the sauces or anything, but it’s pretty obvious that the McCormicks stole recipes and ideas from us. There’s got to be some kind of law protecting us from that.”

“I don’t know that there is.” Dean shook his head. “I think we’d better wait and think about all this. It’s a complicated situation, and maybe we shouldn’t move forward with anything until we have more facts.”

Julia was quiet for a minute, and then she said softly, “I don’t think we should do anything.”

“What?”

Her siblings turned to her in surprise.

“But, Julia!” Hazel protested. “He can’t just do something like this and get away with it. He’s breaking so many laws of basic human decency, even if he isn’t breaking any actual laws—and maybe he is.”

“I know, I’m upset about it too,” Julia assured her. “But in the long run, does it really matter? The Lighthouse Grill is such a popular place, I don’t think anything Judd does can hurt us.”

Dean nodded. “That’s what Noelle said too.”

“It might be kind of nice to see people still come to our place instead of his even though the menu is the same.” Hazel grinned impishly.

“Our food is definitely better.” Dean grinned back at his twin. “That Monte Cristo sandwich might have had the same ingredients, but it definitely didn’t have the same flavor.”

“I like what you guys are saying, but I don’t think we should be overconfident,” Alexis said doubtfully. “Judd McCormick has enough money to advertise a lot, and his brewery is closer to the freeway than we are. What if he starts snapping up all the tourists? And then the next generation of Rosewood Beach—people who aren’t as loyal to the pub as our current customer base?”

“Whoa, slow down,” Hazel said. “Let’s not bring tomorrow’s worries into today’s troubles so fast.”

“I’m just saying, we need to figure out if this is something we can let slide or not,” Alexis said. “It might actually turn out to be something bad for us.”

“I think it’ll be okay,” Julia said, finally starting to take off her coat and mittens. “Like Dean was saying, our food is bound to be better. And the brewery is so sleek and modern, not at all like our homey, inviting pub. I don’t think we should do anything, at least not for now. It won’t help to antagonize Judd.”

“But don’t you—” Alexis froze mid-sentence. She was staring at Julia’s hand. “Julia,” she said loudly, her tone almost a squeal. “What is that?”

Vivian’s heart leapt up in excitement when she saw the beautiful diamond ring on Julia’s hand. Hazel grabbed Vivian’s arm as she noticed it too.

Julia held up her left hand, flushing and grinning. “Cooper and I just got engaged.”

The room erupted into cheers, and Hazel and Alexis ran forward to hug Julia. They pulled her off the couch, and soon the whole family was nestled into a giant group hug.

“I can’t believe it!” Alexis cried. “Well, I mean, I can, but—you’re engaged!” She hugged her sister again. “Oh, Julia, that ring is absolutely gorgeous.”

Vivian felt tears rush into her eyes. Another one of her babies was getting married. She couldn’t have been happier for Julia, who was a kind, intelligent, hard-working woman who deserved the best.

“Cooper is a wonderful guy, sweetheart,” she said to her daughter, squeezing her hand. “I’m so happy for you.”

Julia laughed breathlessly and wiped away a tear. “Look at us, we’re both crying.”

“Me too.” Hazel rubbed a couple of stray tears off her cheeks. “I’m so happy for you, Julia.”

“Let’s celebrate!” Alexis said, not crying but instead looking ecstatic. “I’ll bring out a couple of bottles of wine.”

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