Page 7 of A New Chapter in Rosewood Beach

Vivian opened it, her fingers shaking slightly with excitement. Inside the envelope was a gift certificate for a full day at a spa in Providence.

Her eyebrows went up as she stared at the certificate. “Oh, I don’t need this!” she gasped. “A spa day? That seems so exorbitant.”

“You deserve it, Mom,” Alexis said warmly, taking her mother’s hand in hers and squeezing it. “We all want you to have this.”

Tears rose to Vivian’s eyes. “You’re all so thoughtful. Thank you. This means so much to me.”

Her family applauded again, and Ryan whistled.

“We love you, Mom,” Julia said.

Vivian wiped away a tear. She felt an ache of happiness in her chest as she looked at the smiling faces around the table. “Come on, let’s eat before it gets cold,” she said with a gentle laugh.

The meal began, and the conversation soon turned to other subjects. As she listened to her children and their partners talk about all of the details of their lives, Vivian thought about how they must have organized a meeting together to decide what would be the best gift for her. Although she hadn’t admitted it out loud, she loved the idea of a spa day. She never would have chosen such a luxurious present for herself, or asked for anything like that, but she felt deeply touched that her children had wanted to pay for something like that for her.

I can’t wait to go,she thought eagerly as she lifted a forkful of the creamy potato salad to her lips.I have been feeling a bit tired lately. A nice, relaxing day will be just what I need.

She noticed Hazel beaming at her from across the table. Vivian smiled back at her daughter, feeling like the luckiest woman in the world.

CHAPTER FIVE

Faith squinted at the construction site in front of her. It was a bright, sunny day, and light beads of sweat were gathering on the back of her neck. In her hand was a red insulated lunch box, and she was grinning from ear to ear.

She’d taken the time that morning to pack Ryan’s favorite lunch, a ham sandwich with homemade sweet potato fries and cheesy broccoli. Now she was at the construction site where he was working to surprise him.

She caught sight of him a moment later, and a smile crept across her face before she could stop it. Ryan was talking with one of the other construction workers, pointing at a part of the building’s frame that didn’t have a wall yet. She thought that he looked incredibly handsome in his hard hat and work boots, and her heart gave a little flutter.

He hadn’t noticed her yet, and she continued to watch him for a few more minutes. She liked the respectful, amiable way in which he spoke to the other men. She could tell that they respected him through their body language when they were around him.

Ryan had worked big construction jobs in the past, traveling from city to city and always keeping incredibly busy. For a while,he’d been working for one of those jobs virtually while staying in Rosewood Beach. That had allowed him and Faith to start their relationship together, because otherwise they wouldn’t have been in the same state, let alone the same city.

A few months ago, however, Ryan had been approached by a local construction company and offered a job overseeing construction sites in the Rosewood Beach area. He’d agreed immediately, since he missed being on sites in person and he wanted a job that offered a slower pace than the ones he’d been working for the past several years.

Although the pay wasn’t as much, he’d assured Faith that he’d never been happier with a job. The men he worked with were good-natured and responsible, and they were putting up buildings like schools and nursing homes and animal shelters. He liked getting to be a part of making the world a better place through his construction job, instead of simply putting up office buildings or parking garages.

He seems so content,she thought happily as she watched him laugh with one of his coworkers.Even though these jobs are smaller and I know it was a big adjustment for him, it’s like he’s really clicked with this new company.

She found herself thinking about how similar their stories were. She’d left her busy, high-end law firm in Boston to move to the quiet town of Rosewood Beach after she’d had a panic attack so bad she’d mistaken it for a heart attack. Ryan had wanted to leave his work-centered life and return to his hometown, where he could spend more time focusing on the things that really mattered. She knew that it was that mutual desire for a slower pace in life that had first drawn them to each other—well, that and their playful personalities that meshed so well. He ’d been so encouraging when she was first starting to talk to the Owens and she hadn’t been sure if they would want her to stay in town or not. She and Ryan were great at being cheerleadersfor each other, and she found herself wondering how far their relationship was going to take them.

When she’d been a lawyer in Boston, she’d been so caught up in her hectic career that she hadn’t had the time to date anyone, and romance had been one of the furthest things from her mind. Now, however, she wanted a future with Ryan, and it was easy for her to imagine it. She’d always known she wanted children and a marriage someday, and as she watched Ryan, she couldn’t help trying to picture what their future might look like together. She blushed a moment later when she realized what she was doing, but not before she’d imagined a couple of darling, dark-haired toddlers with dimples.

Ryan noticed her a second later. His face lit up in an expression of surprise and delight. He hurried over to her and then drew her into his arms, greeting her with a kiss.

“To what do I owe this wonderful surprise?” he asked warmly, his eyes shining down at her.

“I wanted to bring you lunch.” She laughed lightly and held up the lunch box. “I made your favorites—a ham sandwich, sweet potato fries, and cheesy broccoli.”

“Oh, wow.” He took the lunch box from her eagerly and looked inside it, as if he couldn’t believe she’d really made him those things. When he saw the contents of the Tupperwares inside, he let out a low whistle. “Faith. You’re incredible.”

“Aww, shucks.”

“No, I mean it. I love it when you cook for me, and you just made all my favorite foods. It’s so thoughtful of you.” He kissed the side of her head. “I’ve never pictured myself being in the kind of relationship where my girl would do something like this for me. It means so much.”

She laughed. “You expected to have the kind of marriage where your wife wouldn’t ever bring you lunch? That doesn’t seem very nice of her.”

“Well, that’s just it—I’ve never really pictured myself getting married. But I definitely won’t turn down this kind of treatment. You’re like an angel in a pink sundress.”

She let out a breathless laugh and returned the kiss he was offering her, but internally, her head was spinning. She felt a bit stunned. Ryan had never pictured himself getting married? Did that mean that he didn’t want to get married, and had no intention of changing his mind? And there she’d been, imagining their future together…

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