Page 18 of Where Sea Meets Sky

Alexis gasped. “Oh! Of course! That’s such a good idea. When we had our mansion in L.A., we had someone come in to do the painting, so I’ve never actually done this before. You know, besides the time I painted my whole room bright purple when I was thirteen.”

“Oh, I remember that. You didn’t tell Mom or Dad and they were not happy.” Julia laughed and took a giant bite out of the avocado toast. The soft avocado and the crunchy toast were a perfect pairing of textures, and the garlic and butter that Allison had added gave the food a delightful flavor. “Mmph, this is good.”

“Neither is Grayson about me painting the living room.” Alexis laughed. “But he’ll get over it. Mom and Dad did—and that room looked great.”

Julia shook her head, chuckling. “Eventually. When you finally got a white bedspread instead of a hot pink one.”

“No, it looked great the whole time.” Alexis pretended to bow.

“You did do a good job, I remember that. The lines were clear even though you used such an intense paint color, which was impressive for a teenager. I’ll have to tell Grayson that if he starts to get really nervous about you painting the living room.”

“I’ll take the compliment and ignore the teasing. How’s your toast?”

Julia shook her head. “You can have a bite, pregnant lady.”

“Thank you!” Alexis grinned and happily accepted the small piece of avocado toast that Julia handed to her. “Oof, you’re right, that’s fantastic. If I’m still here at lunchtime, I’ll order that.”

“If you are here that long, keep an eye out for Faith, will you? No one’s seen her since she stopped by that first day. I kind of feel like we should reach out to her, but then I find myself thinking that if she wants to talk to us, she’ll just come here.”

“Makes sense,” Alexis agreed, nodding. “Although she might be feeling shy. Maybe we should make the first move if we can. We could also show up at the bed and breakfast and leave her a note or something.”

“True.” Julia was quiet for a moment. “What do you think of her showing up after all this time? I mean really—not the polite version.”

Alexis chuckled. “Remember when we first came back to Rosewood Beach? Our big city lives weren’t fulfilling, and we felt disconnected and rushed in New York and L.A. I think Faith is probably feeling something similar. She saw RosewoodBeach online and realized that she could start over here, living a healthier kind of life where she’s more intentional about her time and her community. I can sympathize with her struggle to want to move away from her past. I know you felt the same way too.”

“You’re right.” Julia nodded. “The city seems like another planet to me now, one that I can’t believe I lived on for so long.” She laughed. “Do you think we looked as out of place as Faith does when we first arrived back in Rosewood Beach?”

Alexis laughed. “Oh, we probably did. I remember showing up in my stilettos and feeling extremely out of place.”

Julia grinned. “I can’t believe how often I wore heels. I mean, for hours. I would take the subway in those things. Don’t get me wrong, I still love wearing a good pair of heels—but not every day.”

“Comfort is the way to go.” Alexis nodded.

Both sisters smiled and then were quiet for a few minutes. Julia munched on her avocado toast and Alexis went back to stringing beads.

“I wonder what happened to Faith that led her here to Rosewood Beach?” Julia said thoughtfully. “Maybe a whole bunch of things shifted slowly for her or it was one big life upheaval.”

Alexis grunted sympathetically. “I know for me, it was both. I’d gotten so discontent with my life in L.A. and Grayson had been so distant, consumed by work. I really wasn’t happy, even though my life looked perfect on the outside. It took Dad’s passing away, and coming back to Rosewood Beach, to show me that though. Otherwise, I never would have been brave enough to move away from how people expected me to behave. Coming back here showed me how warm and welcoming people can be, and I knew I wanted to be part of that kind of community. Faith probably feels the same way.”

“That’s a good point.” Julia nodded thoughtfully. “She probably does. I wonder what her life was like back in Boston? Maybe she got fired like I did—it took two life upheavals to bring me back home to stay.”

“Two life upheavals and a handsome man who caught you in the rain,” Alexis teased.

Julia flushed, always happy to think about the day she met the man she loved. She felt grateful that circumstances had aligned the way that they had, bringing her to him. She never would have thought, when she was living in New York and focusing almost solely on her marketing job, that she would soon be wanting nothing more than to settle down with someone who often came home dirty and a little smelly from doing landscaping work. But now she knew that nothing could possibly make her happier than love, and living near to her family and Cooper and Macey was the best way she could spend the rest of her life.

“Whoa, speak of the devil,” Alexis teased with a laugh. “Cooper just walked in.”

“What? Really?” Julia turned, her heart leaping up in excitement. She still got butterflies whenever she saw her soon-to-be husband, especially when he showed up unexpectedly.

He was just entering The Lighthouse Grill, and she jumped up and hurried over to him.

“Hey, sweetheart!” She kissed him eagerly and gave him a hug. “This is a pleasant surprise.”

“Good. I’m happy to see you.” He smiled at her, but she could tell right away that there was something on his mind—maybe even something wrong.

“What is it?” she asked him. “Is something the matter?”

“No.” He shook his head. “It’s just—well, can we go somewhere more private?” he said as a large family bustled in through the front doors behind them.

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