Page 22 of Moonlit Harbor Nights

He laughed loudly, and Vivian laughed with him, pleased that he’d been amused by her joke. “The egg, of course,” he said. “And I hope that your daughter decides to eat all of the macaroni and cheese you bought her.”

Vivian shrugged. “If not, we can make it a special on the kids’ menu. When you’re little, no pasta tastes better than this stuff. Or so my children assure me.”

For a moment, they stood there smiling at each other, and then he glanced at his watch.

“I should let you go,” he told her. “I’m sure you’ve got a busy day ahead of you as the owner of such a fabulous restaurant. And I’m quite busy myself this morning.”

“Yes.” She nodded, wanting to ask him what he had going on that day, but refraining. After all, he’d just said he should get going and she didn’t want to appear over-eager.

“I’m happy I ran into you again.” He started to turn away, then added, “I’ll make another trip to eat at the pub again very soon.”

She felt a thrill of expectation go through her. She realized in that moment how severe her crush was, but she tried to brush the revelation aside.

“Well, we will look forward to it,” she said, smiling warmly at him.

“I’ll have to get that Monte Cristo sandwich again,” he said, shaking his head. “I still can’t get over that secret sauce. So delicious.”

He waved to her as he left the aisle, and she waved back. Once he’d disappeared, she stood there staring into space for afew moments. He’d seemed just as attentive and eager to talk with her as he had when he’d been at the pub, and she felt more convinced than ever that the friendliness between her and Alan might be the start of a budding relationship.

She looked down at her list, noticing that she hadn’t included all the ingredients necessary for the secret sauce. They were usually well-stocked on those ingredients, but she’d neglected to do a proper inventory before going shopping. On a few occasions, when they’d been especially busy, they’d run out of the sauce for a few hours until someone could get the ingredients and the cooks could whip up another batch.

I can’t let that happen on the day that Alan comes back, she thought, beginning to write down the ingredients on her list with a pencil she had tucked into her purse.He mentioned the secret sauce specifically. I’ll have to make sure we have enough so he doesn’t have to go without.

She also wrote down the ingredients for the Monte Cristo sandwich. It wasn’t something they served every day, but Alan had said he wanted to try it again. Even if it wasn’t on their menu when he came back, she would make sure that he would be able to order it.

Humming softly to herself, she tucked the pencil back into her purse and continued her shopping. She thought to herself that she hadn’t enjoyed a grocery shopping trip that much in a long time. Even though she was suddenly quite spacey, and had to retrace her steps more than once, she had a cheerful, lighthearted feeling that put quite a bit of spring in her step.

CHAPTER TEN

Julia leaned back in the armchair she was sitting in at Main Street Auto. She tried to get a glimpse into the garage through the window that looked into it from the lobby, but her view was obstructed by a couple of customers. She was there waiting for Dean to be available to work on the AC unit in her car. Cooper had made an appointment for her, which she’d thought was sweet of him.

She glanced at her watch. She wasn’t in any kind of a hurry, but she felt restless. Ever since her last conversation with Cooper about the garden, she’d been distracted and starry-eyed. She felt as though she’d started to move through life in a kind of pink, dreamy haze.

“Thanks for stopping in, folks. We’ll give you a call when your car is all set.”

She looked up and saw that Dean had joined the teenage receptionist at the front desk. He glanced at Julia and waved to her with a smile.

The people dropping their car off stepped back out into the cold, and Dean came over to Julia and gave her a big hug.

“Good morning, sister,” he said. “Are you here so that I can work some automotive magic on your vehicle?”

She laughed. “Yes please. I know it seems silly to get the AC unit repaired in the winter, but Cooper wanted to make sure I was all prepared for spring and summer.”

Dean shrugged. “Always a good idea to get ahead on things. Besides, it sounds like he likes you or something.”

Julia nodded, feeling almost giddy. Cooper was treating her the way she’d always hoped a partner would, with care, respect, and love.

“You want to come with me into the garage?” he asked her. “You can watch me fix it. It won’t take long at all.”

“Sure.” She grinned. When they were kids, Dean had always loved an audience for his various projects. Even when he was little, he’d loved to fix things up or figure out how puzzles or 3D models went together. He’d always appreciated having someone there to watch him and cheer him on, and she thought that it was sweet that he still felt that way as an adult.

She followed him into the garage, where the air was filled with the sounds of banging and thumping, and the smells of grease and oil. She wasn’t a huge fan of the smells, but she knew Dean enjoyed them. She shook her head, reflecting that there were some things about men that she would never fully understand.

Since she’d already given her key to the receptionist, who’d given it to one of the other mechanics, her car was in the garage waiting for them. She gave it a quick pat on the side when they reached it, as if it was a horse, and Dean chuckled.

“You’ve got a good car,” he said as he climbed into it, getting ready to start working on her AC unit. “A lot of people have some serious issues with theirs. Well, I guess more expensive than serious, since there isn’t anything we can’t fix. It just takes time and money.”

“I’m glad to hear you have such a high success rate, doctor,” she teased.

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