Chapter 12
JULIA
J ulia glanced over her shoulder as they rounded the final curve in the trail around the pond.
Memories of her last time walking this trail with Luke danced through her mind.
The warm vivid memory now clashed with her heartache as she spotted Grant trailing at the back of the group.
Her heart sank as the tug between past and present threatened to tear her in two again.
As they reached the end of the trail, Julia dropped back until Alicia stopped her. “Hey, sis, how about dinner tonight? Just the gang, like old times?”
“Oh,” Julia hesitated, her heart a swirl of conflicting emotions. She glanced back at Grant, a part of her longed for the comfort of her shared moments, yet echoes of her past with Luke whispered promises of a different life. “I’m not sure.”
“It’s just dinner,” Alicia said. But her brief glance at Luke hinted at hopes that went beyond sisterly concern.
Grant approached as the warm, golden late afternoon sun shone through the trees.
“Grant wouldn’t mind, would you, Grant? You wouldn’t stop your wife from spending time with her family and friends, would you?”
Grant shifted his eyes between Julia and Alicia, his eyes clouded with an emotion she couldn’t read before he shook his head. “Of course not.”
She clapped him on the shoulder. “I knew you wouldn’t mind. That’ll give you some time to spend with your own family.”
This time, Julia couldn’t mistake the hardening of Grant’s features. Alicia wasn’t being fair. She was certain that while he understood the importance of family, she preferred not to be shut out of her world. “Why don’t you all come?”
Grant eyed her for a second.
“Oh, he doesn’t want to come with us and talk about old times in Harbor Cove,” Alicia said with a chuckle.
“Ally,” Julia murmured with wide eyes.
“What? Come on, I’m being serious. Plus, I’d really love to spend some time with my sister.”
“Ah, yeah, I don’t mind at all,” Grant said. “Have a nice time. I’ll see you when you get home.”
Julia shifted her weight as she studied him. She felt awful doing this, but she did want to go to dinner with her sister. “It’s fine, you can come with us.”
“Maybe we should go. We don’t want to spend our vacation sitting alone, right?” Kyle said.
“Kyle, I think we should let them have some family time.”
“But–” Kyle started as Grant offered him a shake of his head.
Alicia tapped him with a play punch. “See, he gets it.”
“Well, I think–” Julia began.
“Don’t think,” Alicia said as she looped her arm through her sister’s. “Just go with it and have some fun with your family.”
Julia shot Grant a glance over her shoulder as Alicia tugged her away, his silhouette framed by the fading light.
The heaviness in his posture made it obvious he wasn’t pleased, though she could only guess at the silent struggle within him.
She desperately wanted some downtime with her family, but not like this.
“Ally, wait,” Julia said as she slowed her steps.
“No, Juju. Let them go back to the house. I think you can have one night with your family.”
“But–”
“But nothing,” Ethan said, wrapping his arm around her. “Come on. It’s only a few hours.”
“I’ll ride with Juju, meet you boys there,” Alicia said as she waved them off. She wrapped her arms around Julia, hanging tightly onto her as they walked. “Oh, it’s so good to have my sister back.”
Julia’s heart melted as she pressed closer to her sister. “I’m so glad to see you.”
“Aw, Juju, it’s been way too long. And I’m sorry if I came across as rude before, but I just…really wanted some time alone with you.”
Julia stiffened a little, pulling away as her car came into sight.
“Juju?” Alicia asked.
Julia shot her a glance before she circled around the Jeep and climbed in. Alicia joined her, her gaze questioning as the long shadows cast from the lowering sun.
Julia shifted in her seat her finger hovering on the start button. “I missed you, too, but…”
“But? You didn’t miss me?”
“No, I did. I do. I just…please stop with this agenda.”
“The agenda to spend time with my sister?”
Julia offered her an unimpressed stare. “No, Ally, the agenda to push Luke and me together or cut Grant out entirely.”
“Julia,” Alicia said with a slump of her shoulders, “I’m not…”
She stopped, heaving a sigh. “I’m not doing anything that’s out of line. Look, this relationship with Grant is…fake, right? And, to be honest, fake or real, I don’t like it.”
“That’s not your decision to make, though,” Julia said.
“No, it isn’t. But here’s the thing…if all it takes for you and Luke to reconnect is a dinner with your sister and brother-in-law, maybe this fake thing with Grant isn’t where you should be.”
Julia tapped her fingers on her steering wheel as she shook her head. Her emotions scattered in a thousand different directions at once. She fought the urge to cry, instead, firing the engine.
“Fine.” As she backed from the parking space, she added, “Although this is far more than a dinner with you and Ethan, and you know that.”
“I don’t know what you’re saying.”
Julia pulled onto the road, aiming for Luke’s restaurant. “I’m saying you and Ethan have been pushing us together since you found out I was back in town.”
“We have not been.”
“Oh really? Showing up at the Pelican and taking over our dinner then setting up that dance wasn’t part of your plan?”
Alicia flicked her gaze at the passing scenery. “Just nostalgia taking over. Come on, sis, I haven’t seen you in how long? Sue me for wanting to see you as much as I can right now.”
Julia heaved a sigh as she came to a stop at a crossroads. “And what about you and Ethan?”
“What about us?”
“Are you serious?” Julia glanced at her sister before returning her eyes to the road. “You were calling me in tears. Now, suddenly, you two are fine?”
“We’re not fine, but we’re better.”
“How did that happen?”
Alicia heaved a sigh. “Maybe it’s you. Maybe you’re our good luck charm. Maybe you should just stay in town so my marriage works out.”
“Ally…”
“All right, all right. But I’m only half joking. I mean, since you’ve been back, I guess we’ve been so focused on…”
“On?”
“You,” Ally said, setting her gaze on her sister. “Our problems are melting in the background because we’re focused on helping you.”
“I don’t need your help, Ally.”
“Don’t you? You’re married to a guy for all the wrong reasons, his son is into you and has also kidnapped you, his ex-wife lives with you. And you ran from Luke for this?”
Julia let her elbow rest against the car’s door, sliding her fingers into her hair. She didn’t want to explain it. She wasn’t even certain she could. And she wasn’t certain how she felt about anything anymore.
“Never mind,” Alicia said as the restaurant came into sight. “I don’t want to lecture you. I don’t want to get into it until you’re ready. I just want to have a nice evening out with my sister and our friends. Okay? Let’s drop it.”
Julia pulled into a parking spot and threw the shifter into Park with a nod. “Okay, that sounds good. And for what it’s worth, I’m glad your problems aren’t as prevalent. Maybe you can work past them, then.”
Alicia offered her a fleeting smile before she swung her door open. “Let’s go.”
Julia slid to the ground, tugging her phone from her purse.
“Juju?” Alicia called.
“I’m coming, just a second.” She swiped into her text app, thumbs hovering over the keyboard. After a second of wavering, she typed out a quick message to Grant and sent it. We’re at the Pelican if you change your mind .
Something about the way he’d looked when she last saw him made her send it. She wasn’t sure why, but the trip didn’t seem to suit him.
“Hey, what are you doing?”
She glanced up to find Alicia hovering in front of her. “Oh, uh, texting Grant…just in case he changes his mind.”
Alicia screwed up her face. “Julia…”
“What? I’m married to him.”
“Not really. I don’t like this at all.”
“I thought we were dropping it.”
“I am, but…”
Julia slid her phone into her purse and arched an eyebrow. She wasn’t going into the restaurant with her sister until she finished that statement.
“I’m just saying that he is an adult with two adult children with him, by the way. I don’t think he should be guilting you if you want to spend a night with your family.”
“And my ex-fiancé.”
“So?” Alicia said with a shrug of her shoulders.
“So, I’m married,” Julia repeated, flashing her ring.
“Yes, everyone in the entire town can see the hundred-carat ring, Julia. But that’s not…real. If you want to reconnect with Luke, he has nothing to say about it.”
“Actually,” Julia said as she took a step toward the building, “we agreed on no extra-marital affairs, so he does.”
“Has he lived up to that?”
“Yes.”
Alicia barked out a laugh. “I doubt that, Juju. The guy’s a womanizer. The faster you’re away from him, the better you are. The way his ex-wife was acting, I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s not with her.”
Julia heaved a sigh as she recalled his anger when he’d found out she was the driving force behind DG Industries. Grant, reconnect with Lydia? Doubtful. That was one woman she didn’t need to worry about. “Actually, Ally–”
“Shh, I agreed to drop it,” Alicia said as they entered the dim light of the bar, leaving the cool evening air behind as they entered the warmth of the space. “Let’s drop it. Tonight is about old memories, and maybe making some new ones.”
She grinned at her sister as she tugged her to a table in the back corner. As they sat down, Luke arrived with drinks, including a Marina Mist for Julia.
Julia shifted in her seat as she smiled up at him.
“Wait, wait,” Alicia said, “you’re joining us, right?”
“Absolutely, but…I have an in with the cook, so…figured I could get our order processed faster if you know what you want.” Luke grinned at them.