Chapter 20
CHAPTER TWENTY
Cooper glanced up at Vivian’s charming house as he walked up the front sidewalk. He felt butterflies dance in his chest, and he took a deep breath. He’d been to the house a couple of times to pick Julia up, but he’d never been inside it before. Now he was about to spend time with Julia and her family in the house.
She’d invited him to come over for dinner early that morning, and he’d accepted eagerly. He was looking forward to spending time with her, but he also felt nervous about going to dinner at her mother’s house.
Still, I feel better than I did the other night , he thought to himself with a chuckle.
He’d hired Callie to babysit for him again, and it was clear that she and Macey already had a bond. When he’d returned home from bowling with Julia the other night, Macey had been sound asleep and smiling happily. The next day, she’d kept talking excitedly about what a fun time she’d had with the babysitter.
He smiled to himself as he stepped up to the front door of the house. He was feeling better and more confident about everything—about his abilities as a single father, about leaving Macey with a babysitter, and about his blossoming relationship with Julia.
He rang the doorbell, feeling a surge of excitement overcome his flutters of nervousness. In the next second, Julia ripped the front door open and tugged him inside.
“Hi,” she said breathlessly. “I need to talk to you.”
“Oh, uh—” For a moment, he felt worried that something had gone wrong, but her eyes were bright and there was a smile on her face. “Sure.”
Taking his hand, she led him into the living room. He got a quick glimpse of cream-colored walls covered in family photographs and a vase filled with fresh flowers on the mantelpiece before Julia practically pushed him onto the couch.
“Sit here. I have an idea.” She stood in front of him, her cheeks flushed and her hands gesturing enthusiastically as she started to talk. “I think I know how we’re going to save the pub. I had an idea when I was out with Alexis this morning, and now I’ve formed a plan. We’re going to have a fundraiser to save the pub.”
“Oh, that’s a great idea!”
“Thank you. I’m still working out all of the details, but what I have so far is this. First, we advertise for the fundraiser in coffee shops, other restaurants, banks, and libraries. Also by word of mouth—that’s huge here in Rosewood Beach. We’ll need to spend some money on fliers, but not too much. I can cover those costs myself, as far as that goes.”
He had to repress a smile, feeling charmed by the way she was describing her plan as if she was giving a presentation at a business meeting. Even though she was wearing jeans and a comfy sweater again, he could just picture her standing at the front of a long table in some work meeting, energetically outlining her ideas. She continued to speak, her eyes sparkling as she told him about everything she’d come up with.
“And the fundraiser itself will have to be planned out carefully. We want to make it a fun event that doesn’t cost much to put on. We’ll have plenty of games, a raffle, and a donation box, of course. I’ve already told a few people outside my family about the idea and everyone seems very excited about it. Our town loves The Lighthouse Grill, and I really think a fundraiser will give us the money we need to get things back in order and fill the holes—well, cover everything that’s missing in our finances.” Her cheeks flushed harder for a moment. “So, what do you think?”
His lips parted. She’d started to speak so quickly that he was still catching up to her, trying to process what she’d been saying. He hesitated, wanting to tell her how much he admired her but feeling as though that might be coming on too strong at that stage in their relationship.
Julia’s expression fell, and she seemed to read his hesitation as a bad sign. “Sorry. I guess I seem pretty over the top to you.”
He stood and took her in his arms. “Everyone should be over the top for their family.” He smiled at her, and she grinned back at him. “What can I do to help?”
She lifted her face up to his and kissed him. “Thank you for being so wonderful.” Her voice was a little breathless, and her eyes were starry. “If you would help with setting everything up, that would be most appreciated.”
“You got it.” He nodded, feeling a sense of excitement over both the plans for the fundraiser and their kiss.
“I can’t wait to break the news to my mom!” Julia grinned, practically wiggling in his arms.
“Can’t wait to break what news to me?” Vivian stepped through the doorway of the living room, looking excited.
“Mom! This is Cooper. Cooper, this is my mother.”
“Very pleased to meet you, ma’am.” He shook Vivian’s hand, smiling at her.
“You as well. Julia’s told me all kinds of great things about you, Cooper.” Vivian’s eyes were warm as she smiled back at him. “Dinner’s all ready. Let’s go eat and you can tell me about this news of yours.”
“Cooper and I will tell you all about it during dinner, Mom,” Julia said, linking arms with both her mother and Cooper. “You’re going to be just as excited as we are.”