Chapter 23
Afew days had drifted by since Yaya passed away, and Juliette still hadn’t seen Brock.
He was busy, probably overwhelmed, and she wanted to make sure to give him space.
She’d sent him one or two texts just to check in, and all of his responses had been brief and appreciative but nothing more.
Most of the communication had come from Anders in terms of their project management and the beach house timeline.
She’d been grateful for his updates, because it allowed her to continue working without having to distract Brock.
Though a tiny part of her wished he’d at least say something of significance to her.
But as much as she wanted to be there for him if he needed her, which apparently he didn’t, her mind continued to wander elsewhere. Rodrigo would be arriving in Mystic Cove tomorrow with Charity Rhodes, and she’d been desperately trying to mentally prepare for their inevitable reunion.
When she called Gabrielle to tell her the news about Yaya, her sister was heartbroken. She’d cried harder than Juliette expected, but she wondered if that had more to do with Gabi’s stress levels at work and less with Yaya’s actual passing.
While Juliette waited to hear from Brock, she spent her days at the beach house, working solo, though sometimes one of her sisters dropped in to help keep her motivated.
Plenty of remodeling had to be done, and she was slightly worried about being able to showcase the property at its fullest potential, but she was doing all she could to ensure Rodrigo and Charity saw her vision.
She’d drawn up a layout of exactly how the venue would look, down to the specifics of the way everything would flow from the ceremony, to the photos, to the reception.
There was even a backup plan in case the beach was rained out, or in the event of a winter wedding.
She created color boards for each room, spent hours moving through the spaces to finalize the finishing touches, and brought in different forms of art from as many local artisans as possible to support the community.
Even better, the newest additions to the venue, courtesy of Lovely Mud, were ready for pickup.
Juliette parked her car in front of Erin’s store and rushed inside. The wind coming off the coast was exceptionally bitter this morning, and she didn’t care for the way it ripped through her layers of clothing. She pulled open the door and was thankfully greeted with a blast of warmth.
“Hey!” Erin popped up from behind a pile of boxes. “Sorry for the mess. A new shipment of supplies arrived today.”
Juliette winced. “I’m pretty sure I created a bigger mess the last time I was here.”
“Don’t even worry about that.” Erin waved off her apology and strode over to a clay-splattered table where two large brown paper bags sat.
Her logo, two ink-drawn hands working with a pile of lopsided wet clay and the words “lovely mud” scrawled across the top, were printed on both of the bags. “I’ve got your order all ready to go.”
A rush of excitement caused Juliette’s smile to widen. “I can’t wait to see them. They’re going to be perfect in the beach house. I know just the spot for the vase.”
She’d commissioned a pale blue vase with an opening made to look like ocean foam. It would be placed in the entrance as a focal piece where she could easily change the flowers for each season.
“Speaking of spots.” Erin pretended to inspect a shelf of modeling tools, hedging the conversation in a new direction. “Will you be staying in Mystic Cove for a while?”
“I’d like to,” Juliette admitted for the first time out loud. Then she gave a little shrug. “We’ll see how things go.”
“From the looks of it, they’re going well.” Erin winked.
“So far, but Brock and I—” She was about to say they weren’t serious, that they were keeping things casual.
Except she wasn’t really sure if that was true.
Part of her, the part of her that was still young and wildly in love, wanted to think they could recapture what they had before.
She wanted to believe they could relive all those dreams of their youth together.
She knew the spark, the energy crackling between them, was as real and vibrant as ever.
But the other part of her, the more rational woman who had her heart broken before, knew she couldn’t fully be with him until she found out why he’d left her in the first place.
“Brock and I just go way back, that’s all.” A good enough answer, which would have to suffice. She grabbed the paper bags full of pottery. “Oh, and I have another idea. What do you think of tinier pottery pieces?”
Erin’s brows quirked. “Like how small?”
“Wedding favor size?” Juliette shifted the bags in her hands. “Maybe even centerpieces to hold some of the flower arrangements?”
“Oh my gosh, that’s a great idea.” Erin clutched her hand to her chest, and her bracelets jingled. “You’re a genius.”
“Honestly, I just want to display local talent as much as possible.”
“You’re doing an amazing job of it.”
“Thanks, I’m trying.” Juliette paused by the door of Lovely Mud. “Will you be at Maureen’s bonfire celebration of life?”
“Absolutely.”
“Great. See you then.” Juliette smiled, shuffling her grip on the paper bags one more time, then nudged the door open. A gust of wind yanked it from her grip, and she stumbled out into the cold morning, right into the solid form of another human.
“Oh, I’m so sorry. I didn’t even—” The rest of the words died on her lips.
Standing before her, with one hand around her arm to keep her from blowing over, was Rodrigo.
He stared down at her, blinked in recognition, then grinned. “Jules?”
“Rodrigo.”
She’d forgotten he was so handsome. Winter favored him.
He was bundled in a charcoal gray coat with a red scarf wrapped around his neck.
His slacks were wool, and his boots looked as though they’d never met a snowflake.
The cold air flushed his deeply tanned skin.
Jet-black hair moved in the wind like he was on a film set, and his amber eyes twinkled down at her.
She swallowed, grateful she’d at least taken the time to put on some foundation and mascara this morning. “Hi.”
He glanced down at the bags in her arms. “Here, let me help.”
Without waiting for a response, he took both of them from her.
“Oh, um…” She tucked a loose strand of hair back into her messy bun. “Thank you.”
He walked right to her car, and the familiarity of it pinched her heart. “Do you just want these in the trunk?”
“Yes, please. That’d be great.” She popped it open, and he gently placed them in the back for her.
Anxiety crawled over her skin. She glanced both ways down the sidewalk and checked the other side of Shoreline Drive. People were milling about the street, chatting and shopping, but none of them were a tall platinum blonde with a body like a goddess.
Rodrigo closed her trunk and glanced over at her. “Don’t worry, she’s not here.”
Juliette’s cheeks burned hot at being so blatantly obvious, and she rubbed her lips together. “Oh, I wasn’t, I mean…I didn’t assume—”
“She’s in Virginia Beach looking at dresses with her mom.”
Juliette didn’t need to ask what kind of dresses. She assumed they were white, maybe cream, slim-fitting, and probably made of the finest silk.
He joined her on the sidewalk, and she instantly took a step back to put some distance between them. “So, you just…”
“Came down early to check things out and see what’s changed.” Rodrigo shoved his hands into the pockets of his coat, and the intensity of his stare caused her nerves to spike.
Juliette spread her arms wide. “Not much has, I’m afraid.”
“You have.” His warm gaze floated over her with a kind of fondness, like looking back on a photograph from another time. “The beach has always looked good on you.”
He was talking about the time when they first met, when he was an overworked lawyer climbing up the corporate ladder and came to Mystic Cove searching for respite.
He found Juliette instead. For three weeks they spent every moment of every day together.
Then, when it finally came time for him to head back to the city, back to real life, she went with him.
“Thanks.” She fiddled with the sleeves of her coat, wondering if he was remembering their sun-kissed days and moonlit nights. There was a heavy amount of unfinished business lingering between them.
“Hey, would you want to grab a coffee real quick?” He nodded toward Latte & Bean at the corner. “Unless you have somewhere else to be?”
Juliette waited. She waited for the feeling of rightness to fill her, the way it used to do.
The sensation of knowing she was with the right person, and wherever he was, she wanted to be there too.
The spark, as some called it. It could be as insignificant as a wobble of the knees or the skip of a heartbeat.
Sometimes it was more dramatic. Heart-stopping.
Blood rushing. Other times it was subtle, a reminder of comfort, of home.
She had that with Rodrigo once, or at least she thought she did.
Maybe it had all been in her imagination.
Maybe she’d been so desperate to find what she had with Brock, she thought she could find it with anyone.
Only one man caused her pulse to jump. Only one man made her feel like she could never quite catch her breath. And it was not the one standing before her.
“Sure.” She offered a friendly smile. She was freezing, and Rodrigo was just being friendly. This was good. This was normal. There was nothing between them anymore. “Coffee sounds great.”
Juliette would’ve preferred anywhere but Latte & Bean, but unfortunately there weren’t many coffee shop options available. Perhaps she should invest in one.
After ordering coffee and ignoring the rude comments from Evelyn, who was obviously still smitten with Brock, Juliette and Rod sat down at a small table toward the back of the shop. But even in the back corner, she couldn’t avoid Miss Bobbie’s shrewd gaze. That woman didn’t miss a thing.
“I wanted to apologize to you before we met at the wedding venue. I figured we had some air to clear between us.” He popped off the lid of his Americano, a double shot with one pump of caramel and a little cream.
“It’s one of the main reasons I came to Mystic Cove early.
I was hoping to find you and tell you I’m sorry. ”
“You know, it’s fine.” She tried to brush off his concern. If anything, the mortification hurt the most. “We both made mistakes.”
“I was a crappy boyfriend.”
“Not in the beginning,” she countered.
“Thanks for that.” His smile was chastened. “But it still doesn’t excuse my behavior. You deserved better than what I gave you.”
“And you deserved better from me.”
Rodrigo’s brows drew together. “What do you mean?”
“I wanted to get out of here so badly. I jumped at my first chance. I jumped at you, and everything you were and everything you offered, without having a real plan.” A sigh escaped her, pulled from the tightness of her lungs.
“I should’ve been there for you.” Rodrigo reached out and gave her hand a gentle squeeze. “Emotionally.”
Juliette swore she could feel Miss Bobbie’s accusing gaze burning into her back. She shrugged off the intimidation. This was her conversation, her life.
“I should have made more of an effort.” She pulled her hand away. “Then maybe I would’ve been enough.”
Rodrigo’s face softened, his expression taking on that same forlorn look, like whenever he watched one of those sad animal commercials. He cupped her cheek with his palm, his skin smooth from years of white-collar work. “You were always enough.”
She held his gaze steady. “Just not for you.”
It wasn’t really a question, and his silence was the only answer she needed.
Juliette sat there, content with the fact that, after seven years together, she felt…nothing for him. No anger. No resentment. Certainly no love. Maybe she didn’t really know him as well as she thought.
“I want to thank you,” she said suddenly.
“For what?”
“For helping me find myself again.”
“I don’t follow.” Rodrigo pulled back, blew lightly on his coffee, and took a small drink.
“If you hadn’t cheated on me, I wouldn’t have left you when I did.
Who knows, maybe I’d still be stuck in the city trying to find my way.
” Juliette rubbed her hands on her jean-clad thighs, lifted one shoulder, then let it fall.
“But being forced to come back here, to come back home, it’s helped me realize a lot of things. Mostly what I want.”
The corner of his mouth lifted. “And what is it you want?”
She blew out a breath as a clear vision of her dreams, of her future, slipped into her mind. “My own interior design business. My own place. Maybe even a family.”
“You’ve always had an eye for design. I’m happy for you, Jules. Truly.”
Her heart felt a thousand times lighter, as though all the weight and unknowns it had been carrying were lifted. She gave him a small smile, relief filling her, because there was a time she thought she’d never be able to even look at him again. “No hard feelings?”
“None.” Rodrigo stood, then leaned toward her, dusting a friendly kiss on her cheek. “See you soon.”
“Looking forward to it,” and because she had to be brave, “and to finally meeting Charity.”
He grinned. “She’ll love you.”
Then he was gone.
Juliette settled against the hard wooden chair, unable to erase the smile from her face.
For the first time in what felt like forever, it seemed as though peace had found her.
She accepted the path her life had taken, accepted the new direction.
She felt good about helping her ex-boyfriend with his upcoming wedding, and about her feelings toward Brock.
But more than anything, she felt better about staying in Mystic Cove.
For good.