Chapter 23
Chapter Twenty-Three
ELI
Jules disappeared into the darkness, her silhouette fading against the inky blackness. My gut twisted, the taste of our interrupted kiss still lingering on my lips. I wanted to run after her, to explain, to make things right. But Mom’s laser-focused glare pinned me in place.
“Elias James Coleridge,” Mom’s voice cut through the night air like a blade. “I can’t believe you lied right to my face!”
I plastered on my brightest smile, the one that usually got me out of trouble. “Come on, Mom. It’s not—”
“Don’t you dare try to charm your way out of this,” she snapped. “Do I ask that much of you? I only ask one thing of everyone who works here. And not only did you break that trust, you went behind my back. That’s what really hurts.”
My smile faltered. “Mom, I—”
“No excuses. I want an explanation. Now.”
I rubbed the back of my neck, buying time. How could I explain something I barely understood myself? “Look, it just happened, okay? We didn’t plan it.”
Mom’s eyes narrowed. “And that justifies it? Lying? Sneaking around like this? Eli, after everything we went through, don't you understand the kind of chaos this invites?”
“It’s not that serious,” I insisted, my voice rising. “We’re just having fun.”
The moment the words left my mouth, I knew I’d made a mistake. Mom’s expression hardened, her lips pressing into a thin line. “Then it should be easy to end it.” Her tone left no room for argument.
My stomach dropped. “What?”
“You heard me. End it.” Mom’s voice softened slightly, but her words still hit like a physical force. “Julianne is a vital part of our team. Do you realize you’ve put her job at risk?”
I felt like I was drowning, gasping for air. “Mom, please—”
“No. My God, Eli. You two aren’t teenagers. So stop acting like it! There’s no more to discuss—this ends tonight.” And with that final proclamation, she whirled and went back toward the house.
It was on the tip of my tongue to yell at her to stop treating me like a kid, except for one thing. She was right. Jules and I had been acting like stupid teenyboppers. And I’d been avoiding telling her simply because I didn’t want to face a scene like we’d just had.
The finality in her voice shocked me to my core.
I’d seen Mom angry before, but this was different.
This was the voice of the woman who’d kept our family together through Dad’s betrayal, who’d fought tooth and nail to keep the resort afloat despite the betrayal of people she trusted.
And now, that same determination was aimed squarely at me.
I opened my mouth, searching for words, but found none. The weight of her disappointment crushed me, coming squarely from the woman who’d always been my biggest supporter.
For the first time in my life, I had no idea how to fix this.
Chase stepped into the glade, his hazel eyes filled with concern. “Hey. We all heard that. Everything okay?”
“No. Not even a little.” I hissed a breath out through my teeth. “She never shows at these things! Why tonight, of all nights?”
“Uh, well, she does live fifty feet away, you know. What are you going to do now?”
I paced the sand, my bare feet kicking up tiny arcs of moonlit granules.
Mom’s words echoed in my head like a goddamn broken record.
The resort was everything to her, her life’s work.
One rule. Just one stupid rule about workplace relationships, and I’d blown it spectacularly with my inability to keep my hands off Jules.
“Mom’s pissed at me,” I muttered. My hands were shaking—actually trembling—which never happened. I wasn’t the guy who got nervous. I was the guy who could talk his way out of everything.
But not this time.
Jules was different. Smart. Complicated. The exact opposite of every woman I’d ever dated. And I needed to talk to her. Fix this.
“Yeah, Helen was pretty angry. That came through loud and clear.”
I shot a glare at Chase. “Workplace romances happen all the time! I’m not sure her stupid rule is even legal.”
“So what? What are you going to do? File an official grievance against your own mother?”
“I need to convince Mom that times have changed. And I’m not some random employee she hired. I’m her son, for God’s sake!”
“Hey, maybe we should take a breath here,” he said, his voice calm and measured. “Helen’s rule about employee relationships is there to protect the resort and everyone who works here.”
I whirled to him, betrayal burning in my chest. “Seriously? You’re taking her side?”
Chase held up his hands. “I’m not taking sides. I’m just trying to provide some perspective, okay?”
I slumped, all the air going out of me like a balloon. “I need to call Jules and tell her we need to be super careful for a couple of weeks. Let this blow over, then things will be fine.”
He stared at me evenly. “Isn’t that what got you into this mess? And how do you think Jules would feel about that idea?”
My anger flared back up as I resumed pacing. “She’ll agree with me. This isn’t a big deal.”
Chase’s brow smoothed, incredulity washing over his face. “This is a pretty goddamn big deal, Eli.”
“You’re saying I should give up on something good because it scares Mom?”
“No. That’s not what I meant.” Chase grabbed my arm to stop my pacing. “Look, man, I know you. When things get tough, you tend to… well, you sabotage yourself. I’m worried you might be doing that now.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
The tension between us crackled like a live current. Chase knew me too well—knew exactly how to push my buttons. And right now, he was dangerously close to striking a nerve.
“You always do this,” he said softly. “When something matters, you act like it’s a not big deal. That way you don’t have to take responsibility.”
His words hit me like a slap. The accusation stung because deep down, I knew it was true. But admitting that felt like admitting defeat.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” I growled, pulling my arm away. “None of you do.”
Without another word, I stormed down the beach, sand kicking up behind me.
The sound of the waves against the shore matched the roaring in my ears.
My chest felt tight, panic clawing at my insides as the reality of the situation sank in.
I could meet with Mom after we’d both had a chance to cool off.
Jules? I needed to talk to her.
But as I reached for my phone, I had no idea what to say. How could I explain this mess? For the first time in years, I felt completely and utterly lost. My trademark charm and easy humor had deserted me, leaving nothing but raw, aching vulnerability in their wake.
I fumbled with my phone, my hands shaking as I pulled up her number. The first ring felt like an eternity. By the third, my heart was pounding against my ribs.
“Come on, Jules,” I muttered, pacing along the shoreline. “Pick up, pick up…”
Voicemail. Damn it.
I hung up and immediately redialed, desperation clawing at my throat. When it went to voicemail again, I called back. Again.
“Please, baby,” I whispered, squeezing my eyes shut.
On the fourth ring of my third attempt, she answered. My breath caught. “Jules? Thank God, I—”
“What do you want, Eli?” Her voice was ice, sharp enough to slice through my momentary reprieve.
I faltered, thrown by her tone. “I… I wanted to explain. About what happened with my mom—”
“There’s nothing to explain,” Jules cut in, her words clipped and professional. “It’s clear where things stand.”
My stomach dropped. “No, listen. We can figure this out. We just need to—”
“We don’t need to do anything,” she interrupted again. “Your mother made her position quite clear. And after thinking about it, I agree with her.”
I stumbled to a halt. I gripped my phone tighter, a horrible tightness clenching in my gut. “You agree? Jules, please. We don’t have to end anything. We can keep this quiet for a while, only until things settle down. Just for a while longer.”
“No.” Her voice was firm, unyielding. “I’m not interested in a relationship I have to hide, Eli. That’s not who I am.”
My heart hammered against my ribs. This was all falling apart too fast. “But we’re not hiding, not really. We’re just being discreet until Mom cools off. There’s a difference.”
“Is there?” Jules’s tone was cool, detached.
“Because from where I’m standing, it looks a lot like sneaking around and lying.
And I’ve had enough of that. It doesn’t matter anyway—your mom knows now.
And she’s not happy about us, in case you didn’t notice.
It’s over, Eli. Somehow, over the past couple of months, I seem to have forgotten who I was.
Maybe I should thank your mom for reminding me. ”
Something inside me snapped. Fear turned to anger, hot and desperate. “So that’s it? You’re going to throw away everything because my mom freaked out? Real mature, Jules.”
“Don’t put this on me,” she shot back. “This is exactly why workplace relationships are a bad idea. The complications, the drama—”
“Oh, spare me the HR handbook,” I spat, pacing on the beach, panic gnawing a hole in my stomach. “We can make this work. We just need time—after Lacey’s wedding, after we sort out the resort improvements…”
“And how long will that take?” Jules interrupted. “A month? Six? A year? No! I won’t live like that.”
The fight drained out of me, replaced by a cold, sinking feeling in my gut. Jules’s calm logic was like a bucket of ice water, dousing the flames of my anger and leaving me shivering.
“Jules, please,” I said, my voice quiet and pleading. “We can figure this out.”
“Let’s look at the facts, Eli.” She sighed, and I could picture her pinching the bridge of her nose, the way she did when reconciling particularly tricky accounts.
“Your mother, who ran this resort for years, explicitly forbids relationships between employees. And she has good reason for that—which you and I have both been ignoring. The resort is facing major financial decisions that require our full, unbiased attention. And Lacey’s wedding is in two weeks, and I’m her goddamned maid of honor! ”
My mouth opened and closed, but no sound came out.
“I’m not trying to hurt you,” Jules continued, her voice softening slightly. “But these are the realities we’re facing. Continuing this relationship would be irresponsible and potentially disastrous. Especially for me. I like working at the resort, Eli.”
I closed my eyes, feeling the weight of her words. “So that’s it? We’re just… done?”
There was a long pause before Jules spoke again. “It’s for the best, Eli. We both need to focus on what’s important right now.”
“You were important to me,” I murmured, hating how small my voice sounded.
“I know,” Jules replied, and for a moment, I thought I heard a crack in her composure. “And I was fall—never mind. That doesn’t matter. This isn’t going to work. Good night, Eli.”
“Jules, wait,” I said, but the line went dead.
I stared at my phone, my mind struggling to process what had just happened. The screen dimmed, then went dark, mirroring the hollow void spreading through my chest.