Page 19 of Where Sea Meets Sky

“Sure.” She suddenly felt a little nervous, wondering what he was going to say to her. “We can go in the back.”

Alexis and Cooper exchanged a friendly wave as Julia led Cooper into the back of the restaurant. Once they were in a secluded little hallway near the refrigerators and walk-in freezer, she stopped and turned to him expectantly.

“What is it, sweetheart?”

“Stop looking so nervous, it’s good news.” He laughed, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “Well, it’s big news, but it’s good.”

“Don’t tell me not to look nervous, you look nervous. Tell me what it is, please.”

“I’m not nervous! Just surprised, that’s all. And it’s a lot to think about. My family has decided they don’t want to wait until the wedding to meet you. They’re traveling up for a visit, and they’ll be here soon.”

“Soon? How soon? As in, today?”

“No.” He chuckled. “Just sometime before the wedding. They haven’t set the dates in stone yet. But I wanted to come talk to you as soon as I heard.”

She managed a smile, but his news had made her heart start to pound faster with nervousness. She wondered if perhaps Cooper’s family felt that they were going to disapprove of her, and that’s why they wanted to come meet her before the wedding. What if they didn’t like her? What if they were the kind of in-laws who were mean and critical, and she would never be able to meet with their approval?

“Hey.” Cooper put his arm around her. “Are you all right?”

“Of course!” She forced another smile, a wider one this time. “This is great news, I was just thinking about scheduling logistics, that’s all. I can’t wait to meet them.”

“Well, they can’t wait to meet you either, clearly.” He grinned. “I just know they’re going to love you.”

Julia cleared her throat, feeling another surge of nerves. In order to draw attention away from the fact that she was feeling thrown off, she turned to the pie fridge, which was next to them. “My mom and Allison made some incredible banana cream pie this morning. Would you like a slice? On the house.”

“Wow, really?” He grabbed her and dipped her backward as if they were dancing. “First, she agrees to marry me, and now she’s offering me free pie? Gosh, I’m the luckiest man in the world.”

She laughed as he set her back on her feet. “Well, I feel like the luckiest woman in the world. I’ve got a fiancé who stops over to tell me big news in person.”

She took a to-go box off the top of the refrigerator. Guests often ordered slices of pie to go, so there was a pie server in the fridge and to-go boxes handy. Julia put a slice of the banana cream pie into a to-go box for Cooper and handed it to him.

“Here you go, sweetheart. Let me know if you like this one better than the French silk. Then if you do, I can bring one over whenever your family visits.”

As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she bit her lip. That wasn’t a good idea! She should bring something she’d made herself when she was meeting them. And it would have to be something that she made well, but nothing too complicated in case it went badly. Julia was still figuring out a lot of things when it came to cooking, which had become her favorite hobby since returning to Rosewood Beach. She wouldn’t want to attempt something too gourmet, only to have it not turn out when it was too late to make something else.

Cooper was looking down at the slice of pie with an eager grin, and didn’t notice the concerned facial expression that flitted across her face. “I will. I do really love bananas, so I might end up liking this better. We both know what Macey would prefer, though.”

The two of them shared a laugh. Macey was absolutely obsessed with French silk pie, which she pronounced “Finch Ilk.”

“Well, you’ll have to let me know. Maybe I can bring both.” Her mind had already jumped to the idea of asking her mother to teach her how to make both pies. That way she could bring some Lighthouse Grill classics and still have made them herself.

Don’t get too ahead of things here, Owens,she told herself.You don’t even know when they’re coming yet. Stay calm, okay?

But she could feel a sort of buzzing sensation under her skin as adrenaline coursed through her. She was determined to impress her in-laws and get them to like her, even if they might be coming because they didn’t think she would be good enough for Cooper.

“Thank you again, sweetheart,” he said, leaning down to give her a kiss. “I can’t wait for my family to meet you. I’ll see you later?”

“I can’t wait to meet them either! See you later. Have a good day, hon.” She smiled at him and waved as he left the hallway. As soon as he was out of sight, she leaned against the refrigerator with a sigh.

A pit had formed in her stomach at the thought of her in-laws visiting. She’d felt as though she had all of the events leading up to the wedding totally under control. She knew what to plan and when to plan it, and she’d been comfortably confident that everything was going to run smoothly. Now, however, she thought that perhaps she didn’t have the whole lead-up to the wedding in the bag after all.

She shook herself, telling herself firmly to give it some time. She would probably feel much more calm about the whole thing in a day or two, once she’d gotten used to the idea.

She left the back rooms of the pub and went back toward the booth she’d been sharing with Alexis. She’d already finished her avocado toast and honey bacon, but she still had some coffee left, and she found herself in need of it.

As she approached the booth, she saw something new on the table. It was a large basket, filled with various items. At first, she thought it was a basket of jewelry-making supplies for Alexis, but then she realized that it was a gift basket.

“What’s this?” Julia asked curiously, sliding into the booth. “A gift basket?”

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