“I just had a quick addition to my schedule, that’s all.” He smiled and chuckled before kissing her cheek, but she got the impression that his laugh was a little forced. “Thank you again for making me lunch. It’s so sweet of you.”
“Of course.” She smiled, pleased that he was so grateful for the lunch even though the wheels of her mind were still turning, wondering why he was behaving so oddly. “Here you go. It’s still warm.” She watched as he rummaged through the bag eagerly. “You’re lucky you got back before I put it in the refrigerator.”
“I’m lucky in a lot of ways.” He grinned at her. “I’ve got a beautiful girlfriend who made me all of this delicious food. This is quite a feast here. Do you have time to stay here for a while and split it with me?”
“You sure you don’t want to save some of it for later?”
“No, I want to eat it with you.” He smiled at her in the sweet, boyish way that had always made her heart do a somersault, even back in high school when she’d had a raging crush on him.
“Okay.” She smiled back at him and sat down on the edge of his desk while he started to dish the food out evenly onto two paper plates.
Why had he closed his laptop like that? Why hadn’t he told her he had a job in the northern part of town?
“Here you go, beautiful lady,” he said, handing her one of the paper plates. “Thanks for eating with me.”
“Thanks for inviting me.”
They shared a quick kiss before beginning to chow down on the food. Hazel enjoyed herself as they ate, since she was an excellent cook and Jacob entertained her by telling stories about his more eccentric clients, but she couldn’t stop wondering about his curious behavior.
CHAPTER EIGHT
“Yes, that’s perfect. Thank you so much.”
Julia hung up her phone and breathed a sigh of relief. She was sitting at a booth at The Lighthouse Grill, and there was a half-eaten plate of a cheeseburger and waffle fries in front of her. She’d decided to come out into the dining room during her lunch break that day, since the energetic atmosphere of the restaurant often helped her focus.
Next to her plate of food was her trusty planner, and after triumphantly popping a waffle fry in her mouth, she scratched “order flowers” off her wedding to-do list.
So far my plan of preparing for the wedding during my lunch break is going beautifully,she thought contentedly.That florist is a dream. She’s getting me the exact bouquets that I want, and for such a reasonable price.
She sighed in satisfaction and took a bite out of her juicy cheeseburger. She was hoping to get more things done before her break was over. She was starting to feel more on track with all of the wedding planning, and it made her feel immensely relieved. She was a highly organized person, and there was nothing she hated more than feeling as though she was behind in her workload.
“Hey there, young lady.”
Julia looked up to see Sally approaching her booth with a smile. The café owner was sporting sparkling turquoise hair clips that day, and even though Julia herself wouldn’t have worn clips like that past the age of ten, they made her happy and she was glad that Sally felt confident enough to wear whatever she thought was beautiful.
I love that she wears fun things in her hair like that,Julia thought warmly.Those clips are the kind of thing I could stare at for hours at a time. Look at how they sparkle in the light!
“Hey, Sally. I love your hair clips.”
Sally touched her hairdo appreciatively. “Thank you. I love them too. I’ve had them for ten years.”
Julia smiled. “They look beautiful on you. What brings you into the pub today? Are you here for lunch?”
Sally shook her head. “I might grab some coffee or a milkshake or something, but I’m here to talk with your mom. We’ve been swapping business strategies. She’s a very clever woman, that mother of yours.”
“That she is.” Julia grinned proudly. “And from what I hear, you’re pretty clever yourself.”
“Aww shucks.” Sally looked down and noticed Julia’s planner. “Ah, doing some wedding planning, huh? How’s that going?”
“It’s going well.” Julia laughed breathlessly. “I love doing it, but it’s definitely a lot to juggle.”
“I can imagine. One of my friends from college got married fifteen years ago, and she told me all about how much hassle it was. And from what I can tell, weddings are even more of a big to-do now than they were then.”
Julia chuckled. “You might be right about that. I really want a special day with Cooper so that we can celebrate with all of our friends and relatives, but sometimes I get overwhelmed by howmuch work there is to do, and I wish we were just showing up to a cute little justice of the peace’s house like they used to do in old black and white movies. You know, just walk in and make the vows and walk out again.”
Sally laughed. “I can understand the appeal of something seeming so simple. But I know that your wedding is going to be just beautiful—and then all of this hard work that you’ve been putting in is going to be worth it.”
“You’re right.” Julia smiled warmly at the older woman. “It’s going to be so worth it.”