“Yes please.” Vivian smiled, feeling touched that her daughter remembered how she liked her coffee. “That sounds lovely.”

Julia went off to get them both cups of coffee, and Vivian went into the pub’s cozy little office. It was a space that she shared with Julia, who used it more often than she did. It was comfortably furnished and charmingly decorated, and ever sinceJulia had started using it regularly, it had become impressively organized.

Vivian sat down in the comfortable chair behind the desk. She would have left it for Julia, but they’d taken breaks together like this many times, and Julia always insisted that her mother sit in the more comfortable chair. She let out a sigh of contentment and closed her eyes for a moment, realizing that she was much more tired than she’d thought she was.

“Here we are!” Julia sang out a moment later as she returned to the room. “Two piping hot cups of coffee. This one is yours.” She set the cup that had more cream in it down in front of Vivian.

“Thank you, sweetheart.” Vivian smiled warmly at her. “This will just hit the spot.”

Julia grunted happily as she took a sip of her drink. “I sure need this, and I haven’t even been running around on my feet. I’ve just been in here balancing our books.”

Vivian chuckled. “Hey, math is hard work. Speaking of hard work, how is the wedding planning going?”

Julia grinned. “That doesn’t feel like hard work at all. You know how much I love planning things, and this is the most wonderful thing I’ve ever gotten to plan.” Her eyes shone as she spoke, and it was clear how much she loved her fiancé, Cooper. “And it’s going well. We have most things figured out, I’d say.”

“Wonderful.” Vivian smiled warmly. “Have you decided on what colors of flowers you want yet? Don’t forget you need to get the order to the florist this week.”

“Ahh!” Julia bit her lip as she smiled. “I haven’t forgotten. I just haven’t decided on what colors and types of flowers I want yet.” She laughed, seeming almost giddy in her indecision. “Cooper doesn’t have any kind of preference, and he told me to pick out whatever I want. That’s sweet of him, but I’m having trouble deciding. I don’t know if I want something elaborate andbrightly colorful, or something elegant, with soft colors. Or even something sweet and folksy, like daisies and baby’s breath.”

“I can understand your dilemma,” Vivian said sympathetically. “I know you love flowers as much as I do. Just think about what you feel would go best with the wedding colors you and Cooper have picked out.”

Julia nodded and took a thoughtful sip of her coffee. “I guess I shouldn’t complain about having so many good choices. It’s a much better problem to have than not having any good options.”

“So true. And our local florist is absolutely wonderful. Maybe you should go down there and talk with her again before deciding. I bet she can help you land on the right floral arrangement. And bring Cooper—even if he doesn’t care all that much, he’ll probably still have an opinion and that can help you decide.”

“You’re right.” Julia brightened. “Those are great ideas, Mom, thank you. It’s always nice to have other people give their input. I bet the florist and Cooper will be able to point out things I haven’t thought about.”

Julia and Vivian continued to chat about wedding planning while they sipped their coffee. Once she’d finished her drink, Vivian was feeling refreshed and energized, and she wanted to get back out into the dining room to check on the customers and bus some of the tables.

“Good luck with the budget,” she said to Julia with a waggle of her brows as she left the office.

Julia laughed and saluted her mother as she went back to work.

That girl is such a blessing,Vivian thought as she made her way back into the dining room.I never would have been able to turn our finances around the way she has. Frank always did the bookkeeping when he was alive, and it turns out he did a terrible job.

She sighed, feeling a pang of sorrow. Despite his faults, she’d loved her husband very much. They’d spent many happy years together running The Lighthouse Grill, and not that long ago, she never would have been able to imagine life without him. Now, however, she was facing the rest of her life without a partner.

She thought about Julia and Cooper’s wedding and remembered how giddy she herself had felt before marrying Frank. She’d felt as if she was embarking on some kind of grand adventure, made even more wonderful by the fact that she didn’t have to do it alone.

A wave of wistfulness swept over her. She missed having a partner by her side, someone to go through the ups and downs of life with. She didn’t feel lonely, exactly, since she was surrounded by her wonderful children, but she didn’t have that special person that she could always share her best and worst moments with.

She shook her head at herself as she busied herself with clearing the dirty dishes off one of the empty dining room tables. She was still able to share many of her life moments with her children, and she’d been treasuring every one that she had with them. She felt immensely thankful that they all lived in Rosewood Beach now so that she could be a participant in all of the important events in their lives.

If Julia was still in New York, I wouldn’t get to be nearly as hands-on with planning her wedding as I am now,she thought with a smile.It’s been wonderful to be present to help her decide on all the little details.

Surely she had everything she needed. She had a beautiful home, a wonderful business, and the four best children a woman could ask for. She had to admit to herself, however, that as she thought about Julia and Cooper’s wedding, she found itbittersweet that she would never experience the butterflies of being in love again.

She clucked her tongue at herself as she carried her tray of dishes into the kitchen. She’d already lived through that part of her life. She’d experienced years when everything felt new, romantic, and exciting. Those days were over for her now, and that was absolutely all right. The commonplace and routine were the foundation of her life now. She had stability, and security, so what did it matter if her life was missing the excitement of love?

The afternoon wore on, and Vivian was soon busying herself with taking care of her customers again. She enjoyed the work, and time moved quickly, even when The Lighthouse Grill wasn’t as busy as it usually was during the traditional meal times.

Before she knew it, it was late in the afternoon and time for her shift to end. She went to the office to get her purse and hang up her apron, and she saw Julia pouring over a pool of papers, sipping another cup of coffee.

“Don’t work too hard,” Vivian cautioned gently. “You don’t want to tire yourself out.”

Julia looked up with a smile. “Thanks, Mom. I’m okay. This is a frown of concentration, not fatigue.”

Vivian laughed. “Okay. Well, I trust you to take care of yourself. I’m heading out now, but if you need anything call me. I’ll be at the house making some food for Alexis and Grayson. I want to bring it over to them by dinnertime.” Alexis was in her third trimester of pregnancy, and Vivian was fully in mother-bear mode when it came to taking care of her expecting daughter.