The Wish Series Boxed Set by Barbara Freethy

Author:Barbara Freethy [Freethy, Barbara]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Fiction, Retail, Romance
Barnesnoble:
Publisher: Fog City Publishing
Published: 2012-11-17T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

Alexa was breathless by the time they turned the corner. Braden stopped abruptly in front of a boutique. On display were beautiful pieces of colorful glass, illuminated by small lights. The sign on the building read The Glass House.

"What's this?" she asked, mesmerized by the shimmering colors of the glass figures. There were doves and swans, owls and hawks, and a glass tree with thin, delicate branches. Moving her gaze to another display case, she saw several necklaces lying against black velvet.

"The jewelry is made out of sea glass," Braden said. "The other pieces are hand-blown, I believe."

Her breath caught in her throat. She felt both happy and incredibly sad at the same time. This was her dream. This was what she had always wanted to do. But someone else had actually done it. "Who is the glassmaker?"

"Mary Mulligan."

She shook her head at the unfamiliar name. "I don't think I know her."

"You used to call her the bird lady."

She looked at him in surprise. "The woman who used to feed the birds on the beach every afternoon?"

"And collect glass. You were always afraid she was going to beat you to the best pieces."

"Obviously, she did."

"Her daughter helped her open the shop a few years ago. She'd apparently been making the figures for years in her garage, but it was just a hobby. Half the time she'd just give away her pieces."

"They're beautiful," she said, gazing back at the glass. A wave of emotion hit her again. She felt like she could see her life in the glass, the innocent dreams of a young girl that had never come to fruition.

"I didn't mean to make you sad," Braden said.

She blinked back a shocking tear. "No, my eyes are just watering. It must be the breeze."

"There's no wind, Alexa." He turned her to face him, putting his hands on her shoulders. "What's wrong?"

"It's weird seeing my dream come true, only I didn't do it."

"You still could. It took Mary forty years to open her shop."

"I wonder if she makes any money. If you calculate the rent and the number of pieces, and how much she would have to sell them for, it's doubtful that she's turning a profit."

He smiled. "Stop. We're not being practical tonight. This is just for you to enjoy."

She drew in a deep breath, glanced back at the glass and said, "I do like it, Braden. Thank you for showing it to me."

"Well, you're not the only one who gets to psychoanalyze."

"That’s fair. You know, I don't have any friends from my childhood, except for you. Everyone I know now I met as an adult, or at least in college. But I don't spend time with anyone who knew me before my family fell apart."

"So you can get away without revealing too much of yourself."

"Yes. I'm just Alexa the accountant to them. They don't question why I don't make necklaces out of sea glass. In fact, they'd probably think I was nuts if I mentioned I wanted to do that.

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