Page 42 of A New Chapter in Rosewood Beach

Vivian’s heart lifted, and then it sank again. “Oh, I wish I could, Terrence, but I can’t. I’m working the late shift at The Lighthouse Grill tomorrow.”

“We can get it covered!” Julia blurted out, loud enough for Terrence to hear. He started laughing, and everyone else around the room started laughing too.

“Julia!” Vivian shushed her daughter, her eyes wide, and the girls giggled even more.

Julia grinned, unabashed. “We can. So you’re free tomorrow night, Mom.”

“Well.” Vivian cleared her throat. “The pub’s second in command assures me that we can get my shift covered tomorrow. So I guess I am free tomorrow night after all. I’d love to go out with you, Terrence.”

The girls all squealed with excitement, and Vivian waved her hand through the air, trying to shush them.

“Wonderful,” Terrence said. “I’ll let you go—we can talk details sometime when you don’t have an audience.”

She laughed, appreciative of his thoughtfulness. “Sounds great. Have a good night, Terrence.”

“You as well, Vivian.”

They hung up, and she let out a brief sigh of contentment before turning to the girls.

“Honestly.” She put her hands on her hips, laughing. “I distinctly got the impression that you four were eavesdropping.”

“What?” Alexis pretended to be aghast. “We would never.” She winked at Julia, who winked back, and then she went back to work blending the chocolate milkshakes.

“So you have a date tomorrow,” Julia said gleefully, leaning forward across the table. “That’s amazing, Mom.”

Vivian smiled, feeling a rush of excitement again. “I do have a date tomorrow.”

The girls all exchanged ecstatic glances, and Vivian thought to herself that it meant the world to her to have their approval.

“You’re going to have a wonderful time, Mom,” Hazel said warmly.

Faith nodded. “Terrence is such a sweet man.”

“He is,” Alexis agreed. “And we’re also going to have a great time right now. Who wants milkshakes?”

Every hand shot up around the table, and Alexis laughed and began to pour the creamy frozen drink into tall glasses.

Vivian smiled to herself the moment attention was taken off her. She couldn’t wait for her date with Terrence, and she was even looking forward to when he called her again to talk about it.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Terrence pressed his lips together as he looked down at the sea kayak he had just rented. It was a bright, eye-catching shade of yellow and looked sturdy and well cared for, but he was beginning to feel trepidatious about his whole idea.

Maybe I’m in too deep, he thought, looking out at the ocean. It appeared to be a calm, lightly breezy evening, but maybe the waves would begin to feel like too much once he and Vivian were farther away from the shore. It’s not like she asked me to be sporty. Maybe I’m taking this whole athletic thing too far.

Although he’d never liked sports before starting to play tennis with Vivian, he had always been fond of boats. Normally, he preferred large boats that someone else was operating, but he’d felt good about the idea of a kayak until that very moment. Now he was beginning to doubt himself. After all, he wanted Vivian to have a good time but he had no idea how she felt about kayaks.

Playing tennis is one thing, he thought, frowning down at the bright yellow kayak. But taking Vivian for a kayak ride is surely too ambitious. He sighed. But even so, there’s no turning back now.

He glanced at his watch. Vivian had agreed to meet him at the beach at six o’clock for a surprise, and it was now four minutes to. Maybe it wasn’t too late for him to return the kayak and tell Vivian that he’d simply planned a romantic walk along the beach for the two of them.

“Terrence!”

He turned when he heard her calling his name. She was walking across the sand toward him, wearing a long light blue dress and sandals studded with fake amethysts.

She looked so beautiful that she took his breath away. For a moment, he couldn’t think about anything else and he simply stared at her. Then he realized with a jolt that her outfit was not at all suited to a kayak ride.

“Is this—is this the surprise?” she said as she reached him. She gestured down to the kayak.

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