Chapter 13 #2
Faith was in a corner of the room, talking and laughing with Ryan as they set out vanilla ice cream to go with the chocolate lava cake. Julia glanced at her with a conspiratorial grin.
“Well, we’ve officially decided on a Star Trek theme for the party, since that’s Faith’s most recent TV show obsession,” she whispered, her eyes on her cousin to make sure that Faith couldn’t hear her.
“Alexis and I have been working out the details whenever she has the time—but that’s not very often.
Now that her jewelry-making business is back in full swing and she’s got a baby to take care of, she’s had her hands full. ”
“I can imagine.” Noelle laughed.
Julia nodded. “We’ve definitely had some meetings where we both stand at her kitchen sink and wash all her dishes.” She chuckled. “But we’ve worked out the menu for the party, and we’re going to host it at The Lighthouse Grill.”
“What’s the menu?” Noelle whispered, sounding intrigued.
“A smorgasbord,” Julia whispered back. “We’ll have hot and cold meats, deviled eggs, salad, meatballs, rolls, and then a couple of fancy charcuterie boards as well. Alexis found the most incredible cheese spread to go with the seasoned crackers. It literally melts in your mouth.”
“Sounds great,” Noelle said. “I know Faith is going to love that.”
Everyone else returned to the dining room, and Delilah began to dish out the delicious chocolate lava cake.
Julia was amazed by how delicious the cake was, and after everyone had complimented Delilah profusely, they played a trivia game while sitting at the table and eating.
Faith, with her quick mind that was used to memorizing information from her many years of being a lawyer, won the game in leaps and bounds, and Julia made a mental note to include a trivia game at her surprise party.
Once the meal was over, everyone helped clean up. Julia felt full and content, and still a little as if the evening must have been some kind of wonderful dream.
As she and Cooper were helping Macey put on her shoes by the front door, Julia remembered that she’d left Macey’s stuffed rabbit on a table in the living room.
“Oh, no, I’ve got to go get Bernie!” she said. “He told me he doesn’t want a sleepover at Grandma’s house, he wants to stay with you, Macey.”
“Yeah, Bernie!” the toddler exclaimed, looking excited rather than concerned that her favorite toy had almost been forgotten.
Julia laughed and hurried into the living room, where the rabbit was lying on its back, staring up at the ceiling as if lost in thought. Julia had just picked it up when she noticed the sound of voices speaking softly.
“Do you have any time on Sunday afternoon?” one of the voices said.
Julia didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but her curiosity got the better of her. At first, she simply wanted to listen long enough to figure out who the speaker was, since she knew it wasn’t Dean or Grayson, and she didn’t think it was Jacob or her mother’s boyfriend Terrence either.
“Yes, I do.” That voice was Delilah’s. Julia would have known it anywhere.
“Would you like to go for a stroll with me? Maybe along the beach?”
Tom! Julia’s mouth popped open as she realized that the speaker was Tom, his voice sounding lower than usual because of how quietly he was speaking. Tom was asking Delilah to go for a stroll with him—an activity that sounded romantic and therefore suspiciously like a date.
“I would love that,” Delilah said, her tone warm and eager.
Tom, you sly dog, Julia thought, unable to keep from chuckling with delight. Did you just ask one of the most famous movie stars in the world to go on a date with you on Sunday?
It made sense, she realized, that the two of them were aware of a romantic spark between them.
She’d been noticing them smiling at each other and holding sparkling eye contact all evening.
It still seemed incredible to her, though, that an actual relationship might be forming between them.
Julia thought the world of Tom, but she wouldn’t have expected Delilah to be interested in a chef from a small town.
She wouldn’t have expected the down-to-earth, jovial Tom to be interested in a movie star, for that matter.
Not wanting to eavesdrop anymore, Julia hurried back to the front door and handed Bernie to Macey.
“Did something happen?” Cooper asked, noticing his wife’s dazed expression.
“I’ll tell you later,” she said, not wanting to voice her theory in front of Macey. The little girl was too small to understand that there were some things she shouldn’t repeat to anyone else.
As she stepped out into the spring night with her little family, Julia’s thoughts were on Tom and Delilah.
She knew that a romance between the two of them was highly unlikely, but she couldn’t help secretly wishing that it could work out somehow.
She felt strongly that they both deserved happiness, and she wanted everyone to experience the kind of joy that she’d found in her love for Cooper.
A gust of wind blew across the front lawn, scented sweetly with the first blooms of spring flowers and the refreshing tang of the ocean. Julia looked up at the glittering stars and smiled, thinking to herself that there was nothing quite as thrilling as an unexpected romance.