Page 26 of A New Chapter in Rosewood Beach

“What?” Alexis asked as she spooned a second helping of lasagna onto her plate.

“I’ve started to second-guess the centerpieces for my wedding,” Julia said, the words spilling out of her before she hid her face behind her napkin.

Everyone around the table groaned and laughed.

“Oh no, Julia!” Faith shook her head at her cousin, laughing. “Those tealights and the lanterns you picked out are absolutely darling. Why do you want to change it now?”

“Because I saw centerpieces made of colored glass, and these dishes of yours have made me keep thinking about them.” Julia grinned sheepishly as she set down her napkin. “I think it could be so beautiful, especially if we keep the tea lights.”

“Oh, and then the colored glass would catch the light of the candle flames!” Hazel cooed. “That really would look wonderful.”

“Is there a way you could do both?” Alexis asked. “Maybe some tables have the lanterns and some have the colored glass?”

“Or!” Vivian clapped her hands together. “Can you have lanterns with colored glass?”

Faith engaged in the conversation eagerly, and she soon realized that her worries about Ryan had faded from her mind for the first time in days. She was relieved, and she felt a flutter of gratitude toward the women around her, who knew how to pull her out of her funk and make her feel braver and more optimistic again.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Vivian squinted a little as she looked up above the tennis court. Overhead, the sun was blazing, making the blue of the sky seem even more magnificent. It was a hot day, but somehow the heat just made her feel even more energetic and alive.

“Mom, stay focused!” Hazel laughed. “Are you trying to hand me the game here?”

“Right.” Vivian laughed as well and turned back toward her daughter. “Sorry, it’s just such a beautiful day.”

“It’s going to be even more beautiful when I win this tennis game,” Hazel said cheerfully, sending the ball in her mother’s direction.

It was a decent serve, but not one of Hazel’s best. Vivian squeaked slightly and chased after the ball as it bounced across her side of the tennis court. By the time she caught up with the ball it had lost its momentum, and she had to pick it up before hitting it with her racket. It sailed sideways across the tennis court, nicking the edge of the net before landing squarely in a nearby bush.

“Oops.” Vivian ran her fingers through her hair, panting.

“Hey, better that bush than Terrence’s head, right?” Hazel teased as she jogged toward the ball.

At the mention of Terrence, Vivian blushed a little. She still hadn’t spoken to him about the unexpected kiss that they had shared, and if she was honest with herself, she’d been avoiding reaching out to him. At first, she’d told herself that she would simply speak to him about it when their paths crossed again, but it had become clear that he was keeping his distance, probably out of respect. She felt nervous about making the first move, but hadn’t she just given Faith the advice that honest conversations were foundational to relationships of any kind?

But what was her relationship with Terrence? Was it changing?

Hazel picked up the ball from the bush and volleyed it in Vivian’s direction. Vivian managed to hit it that time, and Hazel cheered for her as she scampered to hit it herself.

“Oof!” Hazel grunted as she sent the ball sailing sideways toward Vivian’s net. “Not my best shot.”

Vivian squeaked and chased the ball, but she didn’t get to it in time. Laughing, she picked it up after it had rolled for a few feet.

“Don’t worry, you’re still better than I am.” She chuckled. “Besides, I can tell you’re improving.”

“You are too!”

“As slowly as a glacier melting! But I don’t care. I’m having so much fun.”

“I am too. I should get Jacob to start playing tennis with me. It’s not like he needs the exercise, since he’s always moving around fixing things, but I know he used to be more sporty than I was in high school, so he’d probably love this.”

“You should!” Vivian felt a slight pang of sorrow, since she wished she had her own special someone she could ask to play tennis with her, but she quickly brushed those thoughts aside so that she could concentrate on being happy for her daughter.“This could be a wonderful hobby the two of you could share together.”

“I think it could be.” Hazel grinned as she thwacked at the ball with her tennis racket. “We already love to watch movies together and go on walks, but he’s so into machines and things like that, and I’ve always been more into books and baking. Those worlds don’t overlap all that much.”

Vivian chuckled. “Doesn’t seem to have stopped you two from creating a strong relationship.”

“It hasn’t. Things are going amazingly well—Jacob even suggested that we move in together.” Hazel blushed, and her happiness shone on her face. “He’d move in with me and Samantha, since our house is bigger than his place and we’re so settled into it, you know? He’s just got a few pictures on the walls at his place. It’s very much a bachelor pad.”

---