Chapter 3
Julie gasped awake the next morning. Light was streaming through her window, and she’d surely overslept her alarm.
As she slapped the nightstand, trying to find her phone, she slowly remembered she wasn’t at home.
She wasn’t expected at the office today.
In fact, she wasn’t expected for a couple of weeks.
Blearily, she swiped away a few notifications and emails that’d come in overnight.
A few work tasks needed to be addressed, but they could wait until after she’d had a big cup of coffee.
She yawned and stretched, blissfully aware that it was cold outside but warm and snuggly under the covers.
Dylan and Stacey’s house was more comfortable than any hotel she’d ever stayed in.
She took a moment to brush her hair and splash her face before she made her way to the stairs, ready to tell her hosts that they ought to open a bed and breakfast.
“You know, if a recipe says it takes thirty minutes, it should take thirty minutes.” Dylan’s deep voice was easily identifiable as it floated up the stairs. “They never include all the prep time in these things, and it all adds up.”
“Are you saying it takes too long to break a couple of eggs?” That was Stacey’s voice, pleasant but teasing.
Julie had noticed her friend was far less stressed now that she wasn’t at Martin Marketing.
It was hard to imagine the pedal-to-the-metal ad exec doing anything relaxing, but her new life on the Cape suited her far better than Julie ever would’ve thought.
“No, but by the time I crack the eggs, cut open the English muffins, chop the onions, wash the spinach, blah blah blah—”
“It’s not like we’re on a time limit, honey.”
“But your muffins are done!” he countered.
“That’s only because I got up earlier than you did.”
Julie smiled to herself. They sounded like such a typical couple, and it was cute as hell. She stepped around the corner. “Good morning.”
“You’re just in time.” Stacey’s blonde hair was done up in a loose bun on the back of her head. Her Christmas pajamas were covered in flying reindeer, which matched her slippers. She took a mug down from a nearby rack. “Coffee?”
“Definitely.”
Dylan was bent over the English muffin sandwiches he was making, but his head snapped up at her answer. “Did you have a hard time sleeping? If that mattress is too firm we can move you to another room.”
Though it had originally surprised Julie to see that Stacey and her family lived in such a big house, she could now see why. The Brighams were never lonely for company. “I slept wonderfully, thank you. I just love coffee.”
“Or maybe you were just tossing and turning, dreaming about Will all night,” Stacey said, one eyebrow raised as she took a stack of plates from a cabinet.
“Hey, now.” Julie’s face flushed, but she couldn’t deny those allegations.
“Don’t be shy.” Stacey was grinning, the tip of her tongue caught in the corner of her mouth. “You guys are into each other.”
“I’m not here to find a man,” Julie reminded her. “I’ve got all the men I can ask for back in Boston.”
“Sure, but you don’t want any of them,” her friend pointed out. “I wouldn’t call you out like this, but I think it was pretty obvious to everyone here last night.”
“Oh, god,” Julie groaned. She pressed her hand to her forehead as she sank into her chair. “How embarrassing.”
“Hey, you can’t blame her,” Dylan said. “He’s my twin.”
Stacey slapped the back of her hand against his stomach. “It’s not about you, Dylan.”
Something warm and wet traced across Julie’s toes just then. “Ah!” She shoved her chair back to see a furry face waiting under the table. “Barney? What are you doing here? I thought you lived next door with Carol.”
Dylan put a loaded plate in front of Julie. “He does, but someone suckered me into putting doggie doors on both houses and the fence between the yards. Barney loves coming over here because the kids are always dropping food on the floor. But he loves running back to Carol when he needs a break.”
“Or when he wants the gourmet dog biscuits from her bakery,” Stacey added. “Sorry he scared you.”
“No, that’s okay.” Julie scratched the dog’s head, feeling bad that she’d yelled.
“Now, then.” Stacey, with her own plate, parked herself in the chair next to Julie’s. “Dish it all out before the kids get up.”
“There’s nothing to dish,” Julie insisted.
She and Will definitely had chemistry. She hadn’t been sure that their first encounter, when he’d been wearing that crazy Santa suit, had been anything more than a guy being silly.
It could just be part of the act, and why should a rugged fisherman like Will want anything to do with her?
But then he’d been more than happy to spend time with her as they decorated the Brigham home, and she’d seen the intrigue in his eyes.
Julie had flirted with him, sure. She thought he was attractive, but that didn’t necessarily mean anything.
Then there’d been that kiss, though. He’d left her lips feeling alive for the rest of the evening and long after she’d gone to bed and turned off the lights.
“He’s not my type,” she finally replied, knowing Stacey wouldn’t be satisfied until she gave her some sort of answer.
“Pfft.” Stacey dismissed that answer with a quick vibration of her lips. “What’s your type, anyway? Stuffy jerks who earn too much money and think they’re better than everyone else? Who needs that?”
“You’re really trying hard here, aren’t you?” Julie asked, poking her friend in the arm. “You found happiness, and now you’re taking it on your shoulders to find it for everyone else.”
“Ooooh, she got you on that,” Dylan said with a grin.
Stacey picked a loose cranberry that’d come off her muffin and threw it at him. “Like you’re any better!”
The back door slid open, and all of a sudden, the jittery feeling in Julie’s stomach had nothing to do with drinking coffee before she’d eaten anything. Will walked in, a bit damp. Ignoring any chance for crumbs, Barney immediately ran to him.
“Well, look what the dog dragged in. Romeo, himself.” Dylan waved his brother toward the stove. “I made English muffin sandwiches with frittata, salmon, and spinach. There’s also cranberry almond muffins that Stacey made.”
“That’s a lot of muffins. It sounds like the two of you should open a bed and breakfast.” Will had read Julie’s mind and gave her a wink as he headed over to fill up his plate.
“You’re right,” Dylan replied, “but then if we have two guests from diverse backgrounds smooching in the upstairs hallway it’ll look like a Lifetime movie around here.”
Will rounded on his brother, surprised. “So you’re spying on me now? If you’re that bored, you could always try minding your own business.”
Julie tried to hold back her laughter at the way the two brothers teased each other, but it just came out as a snort. She stuffed her mouth with a bite of muffin, hoping that might work a little better.
“You can’t blame me,” Dylan replied easily. “Ross was going to head up to the attic and see if we still had any of those old decorations Mom used to put out in the yard when we were kids. He saw you when he started up the stairs.”
“Snitch,” Will retorted, but he was grinning. His eyes were shining as he looked over his coffee cup at Julie. “Since my family is so nosey, maybe the two of us could go up to P-town for the afternoon. We can walk around, maybe catch a bite to eat. It’d be a good time for you to see my boat.”
“Will, you’re the only one around here who’s crazy enough to swim out to that trawler and back this time of year,” Stacey noted pointedly.
“You swam in?” Julie realized that she hadn’t even thought about how Will was getting back and forth between his boat and the house.
It was anchored a short way out in the bay, and there weren’t any docks nearby.
That explained why he was wet right now, but she couldn’t imagine jumping into that frigid water.
“It gets the blood flowing,” Will reasoned, “but you’re right. That’s why Dylan can row us out there.”
“Thanks for volunteering me,” his brother remarked.
“Anytime.”
The friendly banter going on all around her was pleasant and fun.
It was nice to see that they could be themselves in front of her instead of feeling like they had to put on a song and dance routine just because she was in the house.
In fact, Julie had been enjoying herself enough that she was caught off guard by Will’s invitation.
A war instantly started up inside of her.
He was attractive. Hot, actually. He had the good looks that seemed to run naturally in the Brigham family judging by what she’d seen so far, but it was also about the way he carried himself.
He was confident, just on the edge of being cocky.
He’d wanted to know more about her, but he’d also been more than happy to take what he wanted with that kiss on the landing yesterday.
Will walked a very fine line, and she found herself wavering on it.
Her phone buzzed, giving her the out she needed.
Something deep inside her wanted to spend more time with him, but this was just a holiday vacation.
She wasn’t looking for a boyfriend, and she really wasn’t interested in a random hookup, either.
It only made things more complicated when she considered that Will was one of Stacey’s in-laws.
“That’s nice of you, but I’ve actually got work to do. ”
“Work?” Stacey was the one to protest. “It’s Christmas!”
“Technically it’s not Christmas just yet,” Julie reminded her. “Besides, I can keep adding to my stockpile of vacation days if I work remotely every now and then. Everything I do is on a computer, so it’s not like they really need me there in person.”
“Be careful with that,” Stacey warned. “Doing too much remote work will burn you out. Just ask me. What are you going to do with all that vacation time?”
“I haven’t decided yet,” Julie admitted.
She’d had thoughts of flying over to Europe to visit Molly, but her daughter was busy enough with school and friends that it might be difficult to squeeze her mother into that schedule.
There were plenty of places in the world she’d like to see, but she didn’t really want to go alone.
“Maybe the perfect opportunity will come up at some point.”
“What smells so good?” Vivian danced into the kitchen, leaping gracefully from the doorway to the edge of the counter. She scrunched her face up as Dylan explained the sandwiches he’d made. “Salmon? For breakfast?”
Elijah was on her heels, immediately loading his plate with cranberry almond muffins instead of the sandwiches. “Did you know that when salmon grow up and want to make babies, they go back to the same stream where they were born?”
Stacey’s eyes widened slightly. “It might be a bit early in the day for salmon breeding facts, buddy.”
“But they do! They use their sense of smell.” Elijah sniffed his plate as if to demonstrate. “I wonder if I’d be able to smell the place where I was born.”
“I’m going to guess not,” Stacey replied, hiding her smile behind her napkin as she got up to get the kids each a glass of milk.
Julie slowly ate her breakfast and drank her coffee.
It was lively there, with something happening constantly.
She was enjoying it, and she was glad she came.
This was much better than sitting at home in her apartment, where she’d be feeling guilty about not spending the holiday with Molly even though there was nothing she could do about it.
When her plate and mug were empty, though, Julie excused herself. “I’d better get some work done.”
She purposely ignored the look she got from Will as she slipped off to get her laptop.
There was definitely something about him, and she’d have to figure it out at some point, but right now she just needed to look into a few problems and answer some emails.
It would be lovely to sit out on the deck and listen to the water while she worked, but it was far too cold for that.
Instead, she settled down next to the Christmas tree in an overstuffed chair.
Julie opened her laptop. One of the execs was having issues and had decided to contact her directly instead of going through the company’s tech office. At least that meant she knew she was needed. She started looking through a few things, but her eyes wandered over to the Christmas tree beside her.
A construction paper snowman dangled from a branch. Where its head should’ve been, there was a photo of Elijah’s head instead. It looked like it must’ve been his school picture, maybe from a year or two ago.
On another branch, Vivian’s school photo had been glued to a little sled made of popsicle sticks held together with big blobs of glue and a generous amount of glitter.
A bit of wistful sadness took over Julie.
She didn’t want to be home alone, but maybe coming there hadn’t been quite the right idea.
Being around Vivian and Elijah and seeing how happy Stacey was in her family life only emphasized how lonely she’d become.
Molly had slowly started pulling away from her in junior high, which was to be expected, and the changes had come more rapidly once she’d gotten into high school. Then, all of a sudden, she was gone.
“I thought you were supposed to be working.”
Julie startled, surprised to see Will standing in front of her with a mug of coffee in his hand. “I was lost in thought. I didn’t even hear you.”
He put the mug on the end table next to her. “I just figured that if you had to work, you might need a little extra fuel.”
She glanced at it, noting that it was exactly the right color for the amount of creamer she liked. Surely, this guy hadn’t been paying that much attention. No, Stacey must’ve told him. “Thank you.”
“Don’t give me too much credit.” Will stepped back from the end table where he’d set the mug and tipped his head back slightly as he regarded her. “My motives are purely selfish.”
Why did that send such a thrill through her body?
Selfish guys were supposed to be bad. Red flags.
Turn and run. Hell, some of the men she’d dated here and there over the last few years were selfish, only wanting what worked for them.
It was a huge turn off, yet as she listened to Will, it felt completely different.
Julie watched him carefully, waiting for the other shoe to drop. “How is that?”
He rolled his shoulders casually. “I figured if you got your work done early enough, you just might change your mind about taking a boat ride with me to Provincetown.”
Julie glanced at those ornaments that’d caught her attention a moment ago. It was nice to be there, but she was having such a hard time not thinking about everything she was missing out on with Molly. “Actually, yeah. Let’s do that.”