She gave him a pat on the arm.
"Good. That's what I like to hear. Enjoy dinner, everyone."
Before closing the front door, Alice yelled back to Emmie.
"Emmie Miller, make sure you head to bed early tonight. I'm going to be here bright and early in the morning to take you to your tennis lessons."
"Yes, Ma'am."
Emmie and I resumed veggie prep while Cole cranked up the grill.
"Alright, ladies. I'm an expert at operating the grill, but I still need to learn more about prepping the food. Do you have any tips?"
"For starters, never season the food while you're distracted," I said.
Emmie looked at the fish.
"Looks like Payton poured a lot of seasoning on the salmon. That's okay. We can rinse it off. Don't worry, I know just what to do."
I had to laugh. You know it's bad when an eleven-year-old has to take over in the kitchen.
"Where did you pick up your cooking skills, Emmie?"
"Grandma. She taught me everything I know."
"Well, maybe I could learn a thing or two from you and your grandma.”
We wrapped everything in foil and turned the grilling responsibilities over to Cole.
"Thanks for being here tonight. I'm so sorry about earlier. I didn't know she would…"
"It's okay. I know. Just make sure you follow your mom's advice."
We were talking around the subject as not to say too much in front of Emmie.
"Look, guys.” Emmie pointed toward the sunset. Watching the sun dip below the horizon was absolutely breathtaking.
"Isn't it pretty?" she said.
"I'm going to get my sketchpad. Hey, Payton, would you like to do a few sketches with me while we wait for the food?"
"I'd love to!"
"Cool, maybe we can sketch the sunset before it goes all the way down. I'm going to get my supplies. I'll be right back."
When Emmie left, Cole took the opportunity to sneak in a kiss.
"I've been waiting to do that ever since lunch."
"You better stop before you get busted." I teased.
"Emmie knows how much I love you. When she pointed out the sunset, a thought came to mind."
"What was the thought?"
"I think this would be a beautiful setting for a ceremony someday."
"Really? What kind of ceremony did you have in mind?"
His face turned a little flush.
"The kind of ceremony where two people come together and publicly confess their love for one another."
Emmie returned with her art supplies. I wanted to respond to Cole but thought it would be best to save it for our alone time. Instead, I kicked up my feet on the deck and began to color with Emmie.
"Okay, this is going to be tricky. I have to leave just the right amount of room on the page for the ocean and the sun setting behind it."
"If you don't get it the way you want the first time, I have plenty of paper,” she said.
"Emm, you have a few minutes, and then you'll have to work on the rest of your sketch later."
"Okay, Dad."
"Payton, will you stay for a while after dinner?" Emmie asked.
"I sure will. I never eat and run."
"Good. That way, we can finish our sketch and have girl time."
Cole chimed in. "Hey, since when did this become a girl's party?"
"I'm sorry, Dad. Of course, you're invited too."
She leaned over as we continued to sketch. "We'll have to have girl time on another day, so Dad doesn't get jealous."
I nodded in agreement. Emmie truly was a sweet girl with the biggest heart for everyone she knew.
"Wait a minute. We forgot the baked potatoes,” Emmie said.
"Yikes, we sure did."
"No worries. Grandma taught me a microwave trick for potatoes, so technically, we're good."
I showed her my best attempt at a few ocean waves. I was trying, but drawing was not my area of expertise.
"Emmie, it's a good thing we're not entering a contest."
Later that evening, after dessert and more drawing, Emmie retired to her room, and I had to head home. I was down to one day of prep time left before the grand opening, and I wanted to make sure everything was perfect.
"I wish you could stay a little longer," Cole said.
"I do too, but I'll be useless in the morning if I don't get some sleep."
"I'll walk you to the car,” he offered.
We walked hand in hand to the driver's side of my car before pausing to say our goodbyes.
"About the whole Lexi thing. I promise nothing is going on between us. Is she being overbearing? Absolutely. There was a long period when I didn't have anyone special in my life, so I really didn't give much thought to her interacting with Emmie."
"Cole, it's clear that Emmie likes her. I don't want to interfere with that."
"Yeah, but it's also clear that Lexi is using it as a way to get under your skin. I'll deal with her. Besides, the job should be winding down soon anyway. Then there's the fundraiser, but I'll find a way around that too."
"Thank you."
"There's something else I wanted to talk about,” he said.
"What's that?"
"I was serious when I said this would be the perfect setting for a ceremony. The truth is, it wouldn't matter to me if it were here or anywhere in the world. But, I can definitely see myself spending the rest of my life with you. Emmie and Mom love you too. You're a perfect fit for us, Payton."
I didn't know what to say. It felt good to hear, but I was nervous at the same time. There were so many significant changes going on in my life. Last year there was the divorce, moving back home, and meeting Cole. Then there was the whole ordeal with selling the Inn and Dad's health, and now the store. I don't know how many more changes I could handle.
"You seem hesitant. Most people say when you meet the person you want to spend the rest of your life with, you just know. For me, it's pretty clear."
I knew I couldn't just stand there without responding.
"I love you, Cole. You and Emmie and Alice mean everything to me."
"But you're not ready to talk
