Page 26 of A Breeze Over Rosewood Beach
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Sally looked around The Lighthouse Grill with a smile on her face, enjoying the delicious smells and the homey sights all around her.
I love coming here,she thought. Next to my own café, this is my favorite place in town. Vivian really knows how to run a place that’s warm and welcoming.
She was seated next to Alexis at a booth, and Vivian was sitting across from them. Cash was strapped to Alexis’s chest, and he was grabbing at her long reddish braid with both hands as if it was his new favorite toy.
The three of them were enjoying breaded mozzarella sticks dipped in garlic aioli and The Lighthouse Grill’s secret sauce, which was a top-secret Owens’ family recipe.
“This is my favorite appetizer we have,” Alexis said with a sigh as she dipped another mozzarella stick into the dish of secret sauce. “Well, this and the spinach artichoke dip. And the Swedish meatballs.”
Vivian chuckled. “I’m glad you like so many of our appetizers. Maybe we could invent another one that involves peanut butter, in your honor.”
Alexis groaned. “I’m never going to live my peanut butter obsession down, am I?”
“Hey, peanut butter is one of mankind’s best inventions, as long as you’re not allergic to it,” Sally said with a chuckle. “We used to have a chicken sandwich at Ocean Breeze Café that had just a little peanut butter spread on the bread, and it was delicious. Hmm. Maybe we should bring it back.”
“Sounds like your peanut butter obsession has done Sally some good, Alexis,” Vivian said with a grin.
“I’m glad,” Alexis said, patting Cash’s back as if he was a tiny drum and she was playing a song on him. “But it was only an obsession while I was pregnant. Now it’s a normal, logical preference—except everyone is still teasing me about it.”
All three women laughed, and Alexis shook her head as she reached for another mozzarella stick.
“Speaking of pregnancy, how is Julia doing?” Sally asked, taking a mozzarella stick herself. She chose the secret sauce over the garlic aioli, even though she adored garlic aioli. The Owens’ secret sauce was just that good.
“She’s feeling like she’s on a roller coaster,” Vivian said, shaking her head with a smile. “There have been some tears, for sure, since she feels a bit apprehensive about how quickly things have progressed. She and Cooper are both thrilled about growing their family, but she’d been planning on them waiting a couple of years or so before having another baby. Getting pregnant right away like this was not part of her five-year plan, that’s for sure.”
Sally shook her head sympathetically. “We all know that Julia is very much a five-year plan kind of girl. It must be hard for her to have her future turned upside-down like this.”
“But she’s had her plans disrupted before, and that led her home to Rosewood Beach,” Alexis pointed out. “She got fired because of a lying coworker right before Dad died, and that’spart of why she decided not to go back to New York. I know she has absolutely no regrets about how everything turned out, so she knows that sometimes surprise life upheavals can take us exactly where we’re meant to be.”
“So true,” Sally said, nodding. “But it’s one thing for Julia to know that’s possible, and another for her to feel as though she’s totally ready to raise a baby and a toddler at the same time.”
Vivian nodded. “You’re right. I can understand her being nervous—I was nervous when I was pregnant with her!” She chuckled. “But it all works out. Love helps us get through challenging things, and a lot of the time our love can be so strong that we don’t even feel like the challenging things are all that bad.”
“I hear that,” Alexis said, kissing Cash on the head. “This little guy gave me plenty of sleepless nights at first, but under all of it there was this feeling of happiness and privilege because I love him so much.”
“And I know Julia will feel the same way,” Vivian said, beaming at her daughter and grandson. “I think she’s reeling from the shock right now, and she just needs a little time to adjust before she realizes just how great of a mother she is already, and how well-equipped she is to handle having a baby.”
“And Cooper’s such a great guy, he’s going to support her every step of the way,” Sally said, her mind creating a whimsical analogy, as she liked to do. “She’s like the arrow that plans and achieves, always full of energy and movement, and he’s like the soft target that catches everything. A steady, stable target that can handle a lot of adventure.”
She swirled another mozzarella stick in the garlic aioli, unable to resist the siren call of her other favorite sauce. She smiled as she thought about what a great couple Julia and Cooper were. They were very different people, but their differences worked together to make them an excellent team.
“What about Dean and Noelle?” she asked. “How’s the wedding planning going for them?”
“Really well!” Vivian set down her coffee cup with a grin. “Noelle’s grandmother Gloria has been helping us so much with all of the organizing, and she’s an absolute wizard about all of it.”
“Don’t you mean a witch?” Alexis teased.
“No, I—oh, you know what I mean.” Vivian laughed. “Planning weddings can be stressful, but Noelle is so gracious and enthusiastic, she makes everything a joy. And Gloria is just the right blend of level-headed and fun. We’ve all been collaborating together, and that’s been great. It’s so nice to work with a team of like-minded women on an important project.”
Just then, a tall man with salt-and-pepper hair and kind blue eyes emerged from the kitchen, carrying a plate with what looked like a small chocolate tart. He had on a chef’s apron over his comfortable clothes, and his face lit up when he spotted Cash.
“Well, hello there, little man,” the cook said warmly, approaching their table with a gentle smile. “I hope you enjoyed your visit to The Lighthouse Grill today.”
Cash gurgled and reached out his tiny hands toward the friendly stranger, making everyone laugh.
“Tom, you’re so sweet,” Alexis said, adjusting Cash on her chest.
