Chapter 15
fifteen
JULIAN
“Sofia, where the hell are you?” I paced my kitchen and peeked out the window. My sister had been hounding me to get a tux and then had the audacity to be thirty minutes late to help me pick one out. “My meeting with my wedding planner ran late. Go without me!”
I sneered. “Goddammit, Sof. Don’t complain when I show up to your wedding in an orange tux.”
“Julian, I swear to—” I ended the call before she got another word out. If there was one thing I hated, it was not sticking to a schedule. I grabbed my keys and rushed out the door, but my schedule was suddenly the last thing on my mind when I saw Mila reading in the middle of the field surrounded by dead flowers. I walked over and sat next to her on the cold, wet grass. “What are you doing out here?”
“Reading.”
“Tell me about it.”
Her smile wrapped me in more warmth than the sun. “It’s the same story just in a different font. Boy likes girl, girl likes boy, but they can never quite figure it out.”
“Until they do,” I cut in.
“We’ll have to wait until the end to find out. It’s a series, so their story is still being written.” I hoped our story was still being written too, but I kept the thought to myself.
She nudged to the keys in my hand. “Where are you going?”
“I need a tux. Sofia was supposed to help me pick one out, but she bailed.” She looked at me, then back at her book before closing it. “I’ll come. Knowing you, you’ll pick out some weird color like orange as her punishment.”
I smiled to myself at how much she still knew me.
* * *
There was only one place to get tuxedos in Willow’s Cove, and that wasn’t saying much by its small selection. Even if I wanted to get revenge on Sofia by getting a wild color, the only choices to choose from were black, white, grey, and navy blue.
Mila approached me with a black one and held it against my body with narrowed eyes. “You can never go wrong with black, and you can put a teal blue pocket to go with the theme.”
I shrugged. “I’ll show up in whatever you pick.” She hid a smirk as she turned towards the wall of ties. “Wait here.”
I couldn’t look away from her as she roamed freely around the store. Doing things with her that were so domestic, like running errands, painting the house, picking out a tux, felt second-nature. It felt like we’d been doing it all this time, which made it hard to forget she was leaving in a matter of days.
Her face lit up when she came back with a teal blue pocket. “Go try this on.”
I smiled down at her. “Yes, ma’am.”
Only seconds went by before she barged in without knocking. “I found a tie to match your—” I watched as her eyes nearly bulged out of her head at seeing me shirtless. Unlike when I’d accidentally barged in on her, I didn’t tell her to get out. “Oh my God, I’m sorry. I didn’t think you’d undress so fast. Uhh…here.” The tie dropped to the ground from how fast she darted out, and I finally let my laughter ring.
“I hear you, Julian,” she shouted from outside the dressing room. “Did you enjoy the show at least?” I teased.
“Just shut up and get dressed.” I didn’t have to see her to know her cheeks were flushed red.
Not only did the tux look perfect, but I wouldn’t have to hear Sofia complain, since it went with her theme. Mila’s blue eyes shined when I walked out and waited for her approval. “You still clean up nice, Perez.” I tensed when she ran her hands along the seams of the fabric.
Her words brought me back to when she’d said something similar. “The last time you saw me in a tux was senior prom.”
“Black tux with a green pocket.” She lowered her head and murmured softly, as if she was hoping I wouldn’t hear her.
“You remember that?” I asked. We were inches away when she looked up at me. “You’re not the only one who remembers everything.” Being close to her was a drug, and I chased the way she made my pulse pound like it was an addiction.
Her hypnotizing gaze made me slip out the question that had been lingering in my mind since she agreed to go to the wedding. “So, since we’re both going to the wedding, do you just want to go together?” I spoke quickly before I could psyche myself out.
“You mean carpool?” For being so smart, she always failed to see when someone was making a move.
I looked down at my feet. “No. We’d be each other’s dates.” I waited with a knot the size of fucking Texas in my stomach, just like I did in high school when I’d asked her out for the first time. It wasn’t every day I asked my ex-girlfriend of six years to be my date to my little sister’s wedding.
I could sense the doubt swirling in her head. “Do you not remember I have a boyfriend?” How could I forget when the thought made my jaw tighten? “If it makes you feel better, we don’t have to label it as a date. We’ll just be saving each other from having to dance with anyone else for the night.” I tried to hide my excitement when she showed a glimmer of interest.
“Okay. It’s not a date, though. Just two friends going to the same wedding. Deal?” I’d take any fraction of her I was given.
“Fine. As long as I get one slow dance.”
Her brows raised. “Now you’re making requests?” I got so close, I could almost taste her cherry lipgloss. “It’s not a request.”
I felt her heart start to beat erratically and found pleasure in how she proved not to be as immune to me as I thought.
* * *
The tux shop happened to be on the same street as the farmer’s market Mila was entranced by.
“You promised we’d check it out.” I still had to grocery shop and cross the last things off my to-do list, but I couldn’t resist her. “Please.” She was like a siren capable of compelling me to do anything she asked with one look. Fuck the list.
“Fine, let’s go.” She intertwined our fingers and dragged us towards the vendors awaiting customers. I shopped there occasionally, so I knew just about everyone, but I saw Mrs. Wyatt’s booth first. She happened to be my neighbor when I lived at home, so I always stopped by to see what she was selling. “Hey, Julian. You haven’t been here in a while.”
I felt Mila’s grip loosen. “I’ve been busy with the new house, but you know I can’t stay away from your lemon squares for too long. Do you have any left?” She baked me and Sofia a batch of them every birthday until we moved out.
“I have two, just for you.”
“We’ll take them.”
She seemed offended when I offered her a ten dollar bill. “When was the last time I charged you, kid?” She looked at me through her round glasses.
“It never hurts to try.” While she had her back turned, I slipped the money into her tip jar. Willow’s Cove was mostly full of people who were just trying to make a living like me, so I never accepted the hand-outs that were offered.
Mila was nowhere to be seen when I turned around, but I knew her well enough to know she was wherever the books were. Right I was when I saw her head stuck in a copy of Persuasion by Jane Austen. “Of course, I found you here. Are you always so predictable, Camilla Vega?”
“Are you always pointing out the obvious, Julian Perez?”
I chuckled before scanning all the books on the table and spotting the stack of hers on display. She was too distracted reading to notice when I slipped the booth owner money for every single one of them.
“Can you do me the honor and sign these?”
Her eyes widened when she realized what was in my hands. “You’re serious?” Her cheeks turned three shades darker than her natural pink as she grabbed the pen and signed every copy.
My heart swelled with pride the same way it did when we laid on her bed and she told me she wanted to be a writer for the first time.
“Why’d you buy all six?” she laughed under her breath.
I was tempted to selfishly keep them all for myself just because they had her signature, but I decided against it and put them back in their original spot. “Whoever wants a signed copy, tell them it’s paid for, Lauren.” Anyone who spent time at the bookstore knew the owner. I was a frequent face, so she and I became acquainted, despite the two weeks of awkward tension after she asked me out to dinner and I said no.
“Thanks, Julian.” She swept her jet-black locks back and batted her long lashes. She never hid her attraction, and while I was flattered, I only ever had space in my heart for one girl, and she was standing next to me, completely oblivious. When I looked over at Mila, she’d gone from bright and bubbly to sour. “I’ll see you around, Lauren,” I said.
“You bet. Nice seeing you again, Camilla.” She shouted as we turned to walk away. “You too, Laurel.”
“It’s Lauren.”
“That’s what I said.” She forgot I knew what she looked like when she was jealous, but she changed the subject before I could question it. “Paying for all those books was really nice of you.”
“It was nothing.” I tried to do things like that all the time, but unfortunately, buying the house and renovating it cost most of the money I saved up while in the military, leaving me with hardly anything.
“Trust me, it wasn’t. I’ve been around people who wouldn’t give water to someone on fire. It’s a nice reminder people still do nice things just because.” She stared ahead at the other booths, but I only looked at her, wondering what kind of life she lived in New York to be around people like that. “Tell me about this boyfriend of yours, Mila.”
Her mouth gaped. The less I knew about him, the better, for my own sanity, but I was curious if he knew just how lucky he was.
“He’s, uh…a Carter, which is a big deal in New York. I met him my freshman year at NYU, but we didn’t start dating until after we graduated. He’s not like the other snobs on the Upper East Side, trust me. I think you’d like him.” He had the girl I was in love with, so I couldn’t like him that much.
“Why’d it take you so long to start dating?” Her face fell when the question slipped out. “I don’t know. I guess I was waiting for it to feel like the right time.” I never believed in “right person wrong time” until Mila and I became victims of it.
“What about you? Any girlfriends after me?” If she knew just how much she occupied my every thought, she’d know it was impossible for me to even look at another girl in our time apart. “It’s still just you.”
Her face twisted. “You’re serious?” I found it funny how she didn’t know she seeped herself into me to the point where I’d rather be alone for the rest of my life than live one without her.
Before I could open my mouth to speak, her face lit up as we passed familiar faces at a booth. “Is that Mrs. Asher?” The smell of citrus from the fresh produce filled my nostrils before we approached them. Everyone in town knew every fruit and vegetable Mr. and Mrs. Asher sold was hand-picked from the property they’d owned for over fifty years. They were known as everyone’s grandma and grandpa. If you lived in Willow’s Cove, you were family, even if you were a complete stranger. They let Mila and I pick oranges from their tree in high school, and they were better than any store-bought ones you could get.
Mrs. Asher rubbed her eyes in disbelief. “Is this who I think it is?”
“It’s me, Mandy.” She was suffocated by her tight hug, but didn’t pull away. “It’s good to see you, sweet girl. We’ve missed you here.” I saw the shimmer in Mila’s eyes as she squeezed Mrs. Asher tighter. The thing about this town was, every part of it embedded itself in your soul—the locals, the cove, the memories you made as a kid. You could talk down about how small it was, and you might even be able to leave, but I know from experience it was easy to remember how it would always be home. Whether she said it out loud or not, I saw glimmers of Mila that wanted to acknowledge it.
“How are your parents, dear?” I looked over and saw her face wash of color. “My mom moved to the city to be closer to me.” We all waited for her to mention her dad, but instead, she changed the subject. “I saw your booth and had to get some fruit before I left town.”
Mandy didn’t think twice about the dodging of the question and pulled her salt-and-pepper hair back into a bun. “In that case, have a sample.” She handed both of us a bright red strawberry, and my knees nearly buckled at how delicious it was when it coated my tongue. For being nearly eighty years old, both she and her husband still had magic hands when it came to growing fruit. I saw the red juice dripping from the corner of Mila’s lips, tempting me to press mine against them and never stop. I couldn’t resist sliding my finger against her warm skin to wipe it away.
She stayed frozen until my touch was gone. “Thank you.”
“We’ll take two baskets of strawberries, some blueberries, and might as well throw some oranges in there too.” I winked at Mila, who found that amusing.
We bought more than we could carry, but hearing her laughter as we struggled to carry it all to the car was worth every penny. “I think you have enough fruit to last you all summer.”“I’ll just have to make us strawberry pancakes for breakfast tomorrow,” I said before my attention was pulled away to a booth I’d missed on the way in. “Could you stay here, Mila? I’ll be quick.”
She spoke warily. “Sure.”
The table was filled with jewelry, but I only had my eyes on one necklace. It wasn’t made of real diamonds, and I was sure she had more extravagant jewelry back home, but I knew the sentimental value she’d see behind it. “How much?” I asked the booth owner, whose face was unfamiliar.
“Twenty-five.” I gave him the last thirty dollars in my wallet and immediately took the chain out of the box.
“Who’s that for?” She eyed it with suspicion.
“You. To replace your old one.” My fingers trembled as I held the silver-studded C necklace out in front of her.
She tried to push my hand away. “Julian, I can’t take that.”
I held her wide-eyed gaze while I clasped it on. “Relax, Mila. It’s not real diamonds. Think of it as something to remember me by when you leave.” Just the thought of it made the air grow thick.
I cowered with embarrassment. “I’m sure you have real diamonds back home, but?—”
“It’s perfect. Thank you.” Tears rimmed her eyes as she held the chain and melted into my arms. For the first time in six years, I felt true peace, and I didn’t want to let her go. I memorized her sweet vanilla scent and the rhythm of our aligned heartbeats while inviting a familiar memory into my mind.