Page 7 of A Breeze Over Rosewood Beach
“True.” She smiled, glad she hadn’t inconvenienced anyone besides herself with her lateness. “How’s she doing? Back to normal?”
“That starter is as good as new—as a matter of fact, it is new. You shouldn’t have any more car problems for quite a while. We did a full inspection and nothing else seems to be the matter or in danger of falling apart any time soon.”
“Wonderful.” She loved peace of mind when it came to vehicles. “Thank you, Dean.”
She was happy to see the young man looking so energetic. Dean had recently been diagnosed with early onset osteoarthritis, which had been a terrible blow to him and his whole family. His troubles had a wonderful silver lining, however—it was his fatigue and muscle aches that had led him to physical therapy, where he’d met Noelle Calhoun, who was now his fiancée. Noelle was just about the sweetest, kindest person in the world in Sally’s opinion, and Dean was head over heels for her. Of all of the Owens family couples, Dean and Noelle were the two most likely to be found in a corner, whispering and laughing and staring adoringly into each other’s eyes.
Noelle was no longer Dean’s physical therapist, since he’d switched to a man named Chip before starting to date her, but his physical therapy work along with his reduced labor hours at the shop had done wonders for his osteoarthritis symptoms. With Noelle and his family’s support on top of that, he was now thriving in all areas of his life, and Sally couldn’t have been happier for him.
Dean printed out Sally’s paperwork and she had just finished paying her bill when the front door of the shop opened. Along with a gust of cold air, Noelle tumbled into the lobby. The beautiful young redhead was wearing a bright pink hat with a pom-pom on the top and a puffy coat that was nearly the same color as the hat.
“Hey!” Dean lit up like a firework when he saw her and hurried around from behind the front desk to give her a bear hug. “What are you doing here?”
“I wanted to surprise you with lunch,” Noelle said. Dean’s jaw dropped in an expression of delight, and Sally had to chuckle quietly, it was so charming. The love between Dean and Noelle was really something special, she thought.
Noelle held up a brown paper bag. “I didn’t have time to cook, but I swung by The Lighthouse Grill and got you a tuna melt with coleslaw and waffle fries. Tom made it special for you—he remembered you mentioning that you prefer your coleslaw extra tangy, and he added a touch more vinegar just the way you like it. He also said to tell you that the anti-inflammatory spices in the tuna melt should help with your joints on a cold day like today.”
Sally smiled warmly at the mention of Tom’s thoughtfulness. She didn’t know the man well, but she knew he had been working at The Lighthouse Grill for years, and it sounded like his reputation for going above and beyond as a chef was well-deserved.
After handing over the bag to Dean, Noelle turned to Sally, and her face lit up with a smile when she realized who she was. “Hey, Sally!” She hurried to give her a hug. “You’re here picking up your car?”
“Yes, ma’am.” Sally held up her key, which Dean had handed to her a few minutes before. “She’s good as new, and I can’t wait to be warm during the rest of my travels today.” She laughed.
“Oh, I’m sure you can’t.” Noelle pretended to shiver. “It’s really nippy out there today.”
“How are wedding plans going?” Sally asked with a sly smile, unable to hold back the question any longer.
Both Dean and Noelle’s faces shone with love as they glanced at each other.
“It’s going great,” Noelle said, grinning. “There’s so much to do, but we just got a preview of the process with Julia’s wedding, and that makes everything easier. And she literallygave me a copy of her to-do list that she’d made.” She laughed. “It’s amazingly helpful—it’s even ordered in terms of what things need to get done first.”
Sally chuckled. Julia was incredibly organized, and it made sense that a wedding to-do list that she’d constructed would be a major blessing when planning an event like that.
“Have you decided on a color scheme yet?” Sally asked. “I remember you two were discussing that the last time you came into Ocean Breeze Café.”
“We have!” Noelle said cheerfully. “It’s purple and silver.”
At the same time, Dean said, “Blue and gold,” as if it was an established fact. After speaking, they turned to each other and groaned.
“I thought we’d said purple and silver,” Noelle said, laughing.
“I was sure we’d said blue and gold,” Dean said, shaking his head.
“We’d brought up blue and gold, but then I’d said I didn’t like it that much. Don’t you like purple and silver?”
“I like the idea of a metallic hue and a cool color, but that’s why I thought we were doing blue and gold.” Dean was grinning, amused by their predicament.
“But not the gold, remember? We said silver. And I think blue and silver together is too cool, don’t you?” Noelle said.
Dean shrugged, laughing. Sally laughed as well.
“It sounds like the two of you still have some discussions ahead of you. If you want to talk it over at the café, be my guest. Quite literally—I’ll get you a couple of your favorite Monte Cristo sandwiches on the house.”
“Oh, that would be amazing.” Noelle smiled at her warmly. “Thank you. Sounds great to me. I feel like these kinds of conversations are always better in a busy place. It helps me feel energized.”
“And coffee helps me feel energized.” Dean chuckled. “So the café sounds like the perfect place for us to revisit the troubling question of our wedding colors.”
“Sounds wonderful.” Sally grinned at them. “Looks like you already have lunch for today, Dean, but whenever you two come in, just let my staff know you’ve got the Sally Special if I’m not there.”
