mood to party. I guess I was trying to gear up for it. But I’ll do my best, for Mel’s sake.”
He gave her a long look. “You’re a good friend to my sister. I appreciate that.”
She hadn’t been but she didn’t want to argue with him.
“Do you need a few more minutes out here?”
She mustered a smile. “I think I’m ready.”
When he opened the door, the noise blasted through, a bluegrass band that wasn’t half-bad. She followed him inside, wondering if she was betraying the sisterhood by finding so much comfort and security in the presence of the big, tough fire chief. She couldn’t help thinking that any threat would have to go through Cooper first and nobody in their right mind would want to tangle with him.
Of course, he had been right next to her that day in the hospital cafeteria and she had still panicked. But she would try to do better.
They found Melody and a group of about six others at a table in the back. Cooper’s sister looked happier than Olivia had seen her since returning to town.
“There you both are,” she exclaimed. “I was afraid you wouldn’t make it.”
“Sorry, sis. We had a call just as I was walking out the door.” Cooper kissed his sister and waved to everyone at the table before taking a seat across from Melody.
I was here ten minutes ago but was busy trying to get up my nerve to walk inside.
Olivia didn’t want to admit that, so she smiled instead. “Happy birthday, darling. I’m so happy I can be here to celebrate with you.”
“So am I.” Melody beamed. “Everybody, you all know Olivia Harper. Juliet’s daughter.”
“Oh, how is your mother?” someone she didn’t know asked.
Olivia forced a smile at the question that was becoming entirely too familiar. “She’s fine. I think she’s feeling better every day.”
“I was so sorry to hear about her accident,” another woman said.
“I didn’t know until yesterday and felt awful that I haven’t been by yet,” the first one said. “Is she home now? Is she up for visitors?”
“Yes. She’s been home about a week. And she’s had a nonstop stream of them since the accident. She would love to see you, I’m sure. If you don’t have her contact info, let me know and I can put you in touch with her.”
“Sit,” Bea Romero urged. The only empty seat at the big table was next to Cooper. After an awkward little moment of hesitation, she sat down.
Now that they were inside The Sea Shanty, she wasn’t eager to be this close to him for the entire evening when she was fighting this ridiculous attraction. She couldn’t see a choice, though, unless she asked someone else to trade places with her.
A server she thought she recognized as a previous neighbor came over and set down cocktail napkins in front of them. “What are we drinking?”
She gave her order and Cooper did the same.
“I haven’t been here in forever,” she commented after the woman walked away. “Oddly, I don’t think it’s changed at all. I think they even have some of the same posters on the walls they had when I was in college.”
It wasn’t exactly a dive. In fact, The Sea Shanty gave off a distinctly retro vibe that would have made it a hit among Seattle hipsters. She settled in to enjoy the band and being with friends, though she kept one eye on the door the whole time.
“How’s your social media business going?” Beatriz asked. “Your mom has nothing but good things to say about you whenever I ask. According to Juliet, you’re becoming the go-to social media marketing maven in the Pacific Northwest.”
Her mom had said that? She blinked, not sure how to respond. “I wouldn’t go that far. But things have been good. I stay busy.”
She actually had far more work than she could handle, though she was very selective about her client list. She was going to have to either add more consultants or start contracting out some of it.
“You were a great help spreading the word about our Arts and Hearts on the Cape project last year,” Bea went on. “Our likes and shares went up like crazy on social media after you stepped in to handle it. Aunt Stella was thrilled!”
Bea’s aunt ran a nonprofit aimed at helping encourage and support foster families. Each year the organization hosted an arts festival in Cape Sanctuary that drew in tens of thousands of people.