14. Julie
Julie
“There is no remedy for love but to love more.” – Henry David Thoreau
Three months later…
T hree months and a million changes later, I’m walking toward the three cottages on the beach that sat untouched and uninhabited for at least a decade before three new residents showed up in Loverly Cave.
Joy, Grace, and Hope Levine—who is my best friend now—are those three new residents. Three sisters who were forced into our town by their mom, Jenny Levine and of course, the rest of the scheming committee.
I’ll admit, it was one of the most elaborate, wacky plans they’ve ever come up with and I still can’t believe it worked.
Jenny used some very, um… creative techniques to get her daughters to come visit Loverly after being estranged for ten long years. What was supposed to be a quick visit ended up with all three making up, falling in love, and staying here forever.
Because if there’s one thing Love Hive doesn’t mess around with, it’s love. And once again, what Love Hive wants Love Hive gets.
That same night Jacob found me in the garden, he also found his future wife at Love and Peace bar.
Joy Levine was the feeling he had to follow, and I couldn’t be happier for them.
Those two are as different as night and day and yet a perfect match.
She’s also in the process of having her own monument here in LC for putting up with him.
Hope is happily engaged to none other than local town flirt, Alec Colson.
But the biggest surprise comes in the form of my brother’s other best friend, Luke Colson, who, by either a lucky coincidence or more scheming, arrived in Loverly Cave that very same day as well and the local grump is now happily dating the sweetest and youngest of the sisters.
It may seem like too much has happened, but I welcome the chaos. It’s a lot better than weeding my garden until midnight, plus I got three new friends out of it.
I take a step out of my shop when I nearly collide with someone. “Oomph, I’m so sorry, honey. I didn’t see you come out,” Isabella, Griffin’s mom, says.
“That’s all right. I wasn’t paying attention either.” I smile. “How are you?”
“I’d be better if my only son wasn’t hiding from me.” She purses her lips. “You don’t happen to know where he is?”
“No, sorry, I can’t say that I do.” A distant, almost dull stab screeches against my chest.
I haven’t been aware of where Griffin has been for three months since he cut off nearly all contact with me as if I have the bubonic plague.
He’s still in LC, I catch glimpses of him here and there since we have so many friends in common but that’s all I’ve got. Just glimpses.
Izzy’s face twists as she murmurs something underneath her breath, but it sounds awfully a lot like “I knew we should’ve intervened sooner.”
I’m almost tempted to ask what she means by that, but Izzy beats me with a question of her own.
“Well, if you see my stubborn son, could you tell him I’m looking for him, please?”
“Of course, no problem.” I can make as many promises as possible to Izzy, the problem is I won’t fulfill them. Not because I don’t want to, but because Griffin is that good at avoiding me.
She brings me into a hug before heading into Fifi’s store next door, still mumbling about stubborn mules and all that fun stuff.
Chuckling noiselessly, I resume my walk.
The weather is slightly overcast but warm, perfect for surfing, that the girls and I are planning to watch from Grace’s front porch. None of those men might be mine but no one said I can’t appreciate the fine male anatomy alongside their girlfriends. Plus, I won’t be the only ogler today.
Joy’s friend, Zoe, from Chicago has come for a visit so I’ll have some company. But I have a feeling there is more to her visit than mere curiosity. If I’m right, then Zoe has found herself in the best place to heal. Loverly Cave could mend even the hardest of heartbreaks.
I’d know, I’ve done it twice already.
Nope…not going there today. Today is all about peace and ocean and my girlfriends and fine men who are not Griffin Owling.
I don’t get many days off and I’m not going to waste today on pointless thoughts.
Instead, I focus on the new mini pies I’m experimenting with for the fall menu.
So far, the cherry-pecan one is my favorite but that’s no surprise—between those and figs, I could die a happy woman.
But I want something new, something original.
A blend of herbs and fruits that I haven’t tried yet.
I’m so lost in my own thoughts, my eyes half closed, I only feel the contact with another body when it’s too late.
On so many levels…
Oh no.
I don’t have to open my eyes to know exactly who I’ve run into. Whose scent has filled my nose. Whose chest my hands are plastered against.
Crap!
Quickly, as if I’m whipped, I tear away from Griffin, putting a few feet of space between us and only then do I make eye contact. With the hard planes of his bare chest. The perfectly cut abdominal muscles with a small strip of hair and that V-line leading down…down…sweet daisies…
I swallow hard, hoping no one saw that little mishap. But there is no controlling it, not when he’s standing in front of me, naked from the waist up and the bottom half that’s covered is doing very little to hide him.
Why is Griffin wearing a surfing suit?
No, universe! No! I’m a nice person! I’m a kind person! Can’t you go pick someone else to torture?
I feel the burn in my cheeks and the heaviness to my breasts before I can even attempt to hide my reaction.
There is something I’m supposed to do right now. Something I’m supposed to say, but he’s too close. He’s standing too close to me and his scent is effectively turning my brain into mush.
Three months ago, I vowed to put all these feelings I harbored into the memory box. I vowed to move on and forget—only the more I tried, the harder my body reacted whenever Griffin Owling was in sight.
They are. They are in a box, so I force my gaze up, meeting his brown one. But it’s not cold or distant as I’d thought it would be.
It’s liquid, almost like whatever is going on inside his brain is burning too hot and the heat is spilling everywhere, melting everything.
Griffin just stands there, his heavy stubbled jaw locked tight as he watches me with penetrating intensity. I almost feel naked, standing in front of him. But not in an uncomfortable way.
Oh no, that would be too easy of torture for me. No, it feels like he can see my every line and curve. Every tingly feeling inside and the ache that spreads like wildfire anytime he’s nearby.
As covertly as possible, I inhale a lungful of the salty air around us. “Um, hi. Sorry, I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going.” I finally respond with a feeble smile on my face. I’d give it a solid three…with a minus.
Griffin clears his throat. “Hey, it’s okay, I didn’t see you coming either.” He tries to smile back but it dies a quick death when his eyes drop back down to my body.
“So you’re surfing today?”
“What?” Griff looks up again and there’s almost a sheepish expression on his face. Like he got caught red-handed. “Oh, um, yeah. Luke badgered me until I couldn’t say no.” Griffin sighs but I know he’s happy to have at least one of his best friends back home again.
“I remember you guys doing it all the time back in the day.”
“That was all Luke as well,” he delivers dryly, almost pouting, and I can’t help the small giggle bubbling out of me.
Griffin lifts his eyebrows at my little slip, amusement dancing in his eyes. “My misery is funny, isn’t it?”
I roll my lips to stop another giggle. “Nope. Not at all. And there’s no misery, don’t pretend you’re not good at it.”
The corners of his lips twitch as if trying to smile but falter before it could take flight. “I haven’t done it in a while,” he admits, that note of vulnerability coloring his tone and I’m caught off guard.
I sigh, knowing I shouldn’t care but will never stop either. “If I was you, I’d get into that water whether you’re ready or not because Izzy is searching for you.”
Griffin’s eyes grow wide, and then he’s pulling on the sleeves of his wetsuit in a mad rush.
I laugh, shaking my head. You’d think I just threatened him with jail time or something.
“Um, could you…” Griffin turns around, pointing at his back. “Could you zip me up, please?” he adds quietly, and I’m glad he can’t see me. Can’t see the shuddering breath I take as I lift my fingers up, clasp the zipper, and pull it.
I’m not touching him, but the heat of his body still sears right through my fingertips.
“There.” I swallow, plastering a smile on my face.
“Thanks.” Griffin turns around.
“Have fun,” I say and hightail it before he can add anything else.
This was already too much. Too close. Too warm.
Hurriedly, I speed walk toward the last, bright yellow cottage on the beach, trying to put the feelings he made me feel back into that box.
Girls put in so much work into making these inhabitable again.
From simple painting to replacing entire parts of the rooms. But alas, all three stand proudly at the edge of the beach, marram grass surrounding them from all sides.
At the backs, there are car ports, and in the front, a huge bonfire pit we light up at least once a week.
“Hi.” I smile brightly—a definite ten—when I see them and Zoe sitting on the couch already.
All three of the Levine sisters shared a few similar features like variations of brown hair, tall frames, and penchant for dramatics. Although each one shows it differently.
But that’s where the similarities end both physically and internally. Where Hope has almost identical body size to mine, Joy has curves for days, the kind that makes men go feral. My best friend, point in case.
And Grace is so small and fragile, I’m surprised the wind doesn’t get her every time. She’s also the only of the sisters to inherit blue eyes from their father.