Page 12 of A New Chapter in Rosewood Beach

“So am I.” She laughed a little breathlessly. “It could have been much worse.”

He nodded, not even wanting to think about it. “Let me go ahead and change your tire, so you can get home that much sooner.”

“Okay. Thank you. I probably could have done it myself if I looked it up online, but it’s been years since I had to change a tire, and?—”

He held up his hand with a smile. “I’m happy to do it for you. I actually quite like changing tires.”

She burst out laughing, which surprised him, but he couldn’t help smiling to see her so amused.

“What?” he asked, chuckling as he went around to the back of the car to retrieve the spare tire.

“Just… you.” She shook her head, smiling at him warmly. “I don’t know anyone else who would say they liked changing a tire, even Dean.”

He grinned at her as he got to work. “What can I say? I like to make things right.”

For a few minutes, they were quiet as he worked. A gentle breeze ruffled against them, and they could hear birds singing in the trees bordering the road.

“It’s a nice day,” Vivian said finally. “It’s almost relaxing to be out here, now that you’ve arrived.”

He was turned away from her, so she couldn’t see the delighted smile that leapt onto his face. “I’m very happy to hearthat. It is nice out here.” He paused to grunt as he worked. “Speaking of relaxing, did you enjoy your spa experience?”

There was a short pause before Vivian said, “Yes, it was very relaxing. It was so thoughtful of my children to give me that certificate.”

She was smiling as she said it, but he couldn’t help notice something a bit bittersweet about her tone, almost as if something about her wonderful day had made her sad. He decided not to press her, however. She was already feeling shaken, and if something had made her sad, he wanted her to be able to stop thinking about it.

“There,” he said finally, standing up and wiping his hands on one of the clean handkerchiefs he always kept in his pocket. “You’re all set. How are you feeling?”

Vivian still seemed a bit shaken up. Her face was now flushed instead of pale, and she seemed to still be trembling slightly. “Oh, I’m fine.”

Without thinking, Terrence reached out and touched her cheek, wishing that he could remove the flush of worry he was seeing.

All at once, Vivian was standing on tiptoe and placing her lips on his. With a jolt of excitement as sudden and shining as a lightning bolt, Terrence realized that she was kissing him. Actually kissing him. Vivian Owens was kissing him. His heart began to pound wildly.

The kiss was short and quick, and over almost as suddenly as it had begun. When Vivian drew back from it, her eyes were wide, and she looked almost as shocked as Terrence felt.

“Uh, thank you for coming to help me,” she stammered. Her cheeks were still flushed, but the flush looked rosier now. “I really—it means a lot to me.”

“Of—of course.” Terrence swallowed. “Can I do anything else for you?”

She shook her head. “No. Thanks, I—I guess we’d better be getting on home. You want to follow me?”

“Sure.” He liked the idea of getting to watch her during the drive back, since that way he could ensure that nothing bad happened to her.

“Great. Well. Thank you again.” She spoke hurriedly, and a moment later climbed into her car. Terrence blinked at her as she started the engine and began to drive away.

Feeling confused and elated, he got into his car and started to follow her back to Rosewood Beach.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Faith leaned back in her office chair and rubbed her temples with her fingertips. She was sitting in her cozy home office, where she now made a living by doing sporadic legal work. There was a glass of iced lavender matcha at her elbow, and she was dressed comfortably in one of her favorite sundresses.

Ordinarily, she had no trouble concentrating on her work, and she’d been greatly enjoying working from home. It allowed her to feel relaxed and serene while she made a living. She liked being able to wear whatever she wanted, even sweatpants sometimes. She liked being close to her kitchen so that she could easily get up to make herself tea or coffee or grab a snack from the cupboard.

Additionally, the place she’d found to live in Rosewood Beach was charming and cozy, with windows that opened out onto beautiful flower gardens. She liked to keep the windows open whenever it was cool enough, so that blossom-scented breezes could blow into her office.

Ordinarily, under circumstances like this, she focused extremely well. Today, however, she just couldn’t seem to apply her mind to the task before her. Try as she might, she seemedunable to think about anything besides her recent conversation with Ryan.

She felt worried by the fact that he’d said he never pictured himself getting married. She’d simply assumed that he would be open to the idea if their relationship progressed that far, but now she was wondering if perhaps he would never be willing to consider it. How could they have come this far in their relationship without ever really discussing the future in that context?

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