Chapter 25
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Alexis smiled as she watched the early morning sunlight flicker across the countertops of her and Grayson’s kitchen. It was a beautiful Sunday morning, and through the window she could see the leaves of the trees flickering in the wind. The sunlight was making their vibrant shades of red, orange, and yellow even more resplendent, and for a moment she paused to stare at the beautiful sight.
A yawn overtook her, and she stretched, thinking to herself that it was nice to have the day off from work.
Maybe Grayson and I could go for a walk later , she thought. I’d love to enjoy this beautiful weather. I know it’s supposed to be chilly today, but nothing a warm sweater wouldn’t take care of.
She began to hum quietly as she opened the cupboards and took out a bag of coffee grounds. She scooped some into a coffee filter, inhaling the rich, nutty aroma with a sigh of pleasure. She loved the smell of coffee, and soon the coffee maker was gurgling cheerfully, filling the kitchen with the scent.
She turned on the radio, and the soothing sounds of jazz poured out of it. She glanced upstairs as she heard the sound of a door closing. When she had first come downstairs to the kitchen, Grayson had been sitting at the kitchen table working, but then he had gone back upstairs for a while. She smiled. She liked listening to the sound of him moving around their house—it was a comfortable sound that made her feel safe.
She walked across the kitchen to the windows behind the kitchen table. She opened one of them and took a deep breath of the fragrant garden air. It was as chilly as she’d thought it would be, so she didn’t leave the window open, but she liked to smell the fresh air and the lingering sweet smells of the garden.
After she’d shut the window and was turning back to the main part of the kitchen, she noticed Grayson’s laptop sitting open at the table. The screen was facing the wall, and she hadn’t been able to see it while she was busy making the coffee.
The screen showed what looked like a website that was in the process of being made. The colors of it were beautiful—deep purple, sage, white, and navy. She squinted at the screen in confusion, wondering why Grayson would be putting together a website, especially a website that was constructed with such feminine colors.
At that moment, Grayson stepped into the kitchen. He saw Alexis looking at his laptop screen and hurried across the room.
“Let me just close that up,” he said, smiling briskly but looking flustered. He shut the laptop and swiftly tucked it under his arm.
“What are you up to?” she asked, her suspicions aroused by his behavior.
“Nothing.” He hurried over to the doorway that led into the living room and went through it. He set his laptop down on the coffee table and returned a few seconds later. “What are we making for breakfast? I was thinking blueberry pancakes, what do you think?” He wrapped his arms around her and gave her a big kiss.
“Oh, no,” she said. “You’re not changing the subject that easily, mister. What’s going on? Why are you acting so oddly about your laptop?”
“It’s just something for work.” Grayson stuck his head in the refrigerator and began to rummage around. “We do have blueberries, don’t we? I was sure I saw some in here the other day.”
“Those were unusual colors for a finance company to be using, weren’t they? Don’t businesses usually operate using more neutral colors?”
“Oh, not all the time.” Grayson’s voice was muffled because his head was stuck so far inside the refrigerator.
“I’ve never seen such a pretty business website before. That purple was really kind of a feminine color, wasn’t it?”
“There’s navy too. And sage.”
“Sure, but with the purple?”
“It’s just a website, not any kind of a big deal.”
She took him by the shoulders and gently yanked him back out of the fridge. “Grayson, I can tell you’re hiding something from me. I’ve never seen you burrow so far into the refrigerator before. You’d think you were trying to live in it or something. Come on. Tell me.”
He let out a long sigh. “It was supposed to be a surprise. I wanted to surprise you.”
She frowned, confused. “Surprise me with what?”
“Okay, come here.” He took her hand and led her into the living room. He sat down on the couch and she sat down beside him, wondering what he was about to show her. He opened his laptop, revealing the website page that she’d gotten a glimpse of before.
“What you saw was a fairly unfinished page, but I’ve got most of the website basically ready to go.” He clicked a couple of times, revealing a gorgeous home page. Across the top was a banner that read, “Designer Jewelry by Alexis Bennett.”
She gasped, clapping her hands to her mouth. “You—what—oh, Grayson, this is absolutely beautiful.”
He grinned, looking thrilled. “Do you like it? I know dark purple is your favorite color, and I wanted it to look like something that goes along with the color schemes you often use for your jewelry. I’ve been taking pictures of the pieces you’ve already made, and there’s a gallery page… here.”
He clicked again, revealing a beautiful page that featured several of her best jewelry designs. “So this page here is just to show people what you make. But if they click any of these links, here or here, it takes them to this page where they can order any of your pieces.”
Alexis leaned forward, feeling in awe of what she was looking at. Seeing her work portrayed in such a professional way made her feel significantly more confident in herself. Her jewelry really did look incredible. Grayson had been able to see that even when she couldn’t, and he’d believed in her. Now, her dream was about to become a reality because of the faith he had in her and her work.
“Thank you.” She took his face in her hands and kissed him. “This is… I don’t even have words, really. This shows me how much you care about me. It’s really wonderful. Thank you so much.”
“I do care about you.” He set the laptop down and wrapped his arms around her. “These are the kinds of things I do well, so of course I’m going to do them for my favorite person. I want to make sure that you have the head start you need to make your dream become a reality.”
“I wouldn’t even have dreamed of trying to sell my jewelry like this if it weren’t for you. You believed in me and made all this possible. Thank you so much, sweetheart.”
“Of course.”
For a while, they sat there with their arms around each other, and Alexis felt a surge of happiness.
“You want to see the rest of it?” Grayson sounded almost as eager as a schoolboy wanting to show off. “I’ve put in some cool things I want to show you.”
“Absolutely.” She laughed and nuzzled his nose.
He opened his laptop again and began to show her the website in more detail. “See here, the home page immediately gives a potential buyer a sense of the different kinds of pieces you offer. There’s pictures of earrings, bracelets, and necklaces, and this side bar here makes it easy to click on the sale galleries. And then once you have reviews, those will go right here, immediately showing people how well-respected your work is.”
“If I get any good reviews.” She wrinkled her nose.
“Oh, you will. And see how I’ve tried to organize everything with buyer intent in mind? This set-up should promote maximum sales. I know you’re going to succeed at this, sweetheart.”
She felt tears spring into her eyes. “I’m so touched, Grayson. Why does this mean so much to you?”
He looked into her eyes. “You spent so many years supporting my ventures, especially when I was just getting started, and I want to do the same for you.”
She squeezed his hand, feeling overwhelmed. “Thank you, sweetheart. You’re so good at all this stuff, and I couldn’t do it without you.”
“Oh, I don’t know about that.” He smiled at her. “But I’m happy to support you the way you’ve supported me. I think that’s such a big part of what marriage is about—supporting and encouraging each other’s dreams. I want you to be able to have a job that brings you joy.”
“It sounds incredible. I would love to do what I love for a living.”
He leaned over and kissed her cheek. “I’m excited to see all of this start to gain traction. It’s going to be a rollercoaster, but in a good way.”
“I can’t wait. And speaking of supporting each other’s dreams, I believe you mentioned something about blueberry pancakes?”
“I did. You want to make some blueberry pancakes with me?”
“Yes, I do. With scrambled eggs and bacon on the side.”
“Did you hear my stomach grumble as soon as you said the word ‘bacon’?” He laughed. “Come on, let’s get to it.” Grayson stood and helped Alexis to her feet.
They went into the kitchen together and began to prepare breakfast. As they worked, Alexis kept thinking about the beautiful website her husband had made for her and feeling eager for the future.