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Twenty-One

A t the rehearsal-dinner venue, Julia glanced at her slim silver watch. “Where are they? They’re twenty minutes late.”

She huddled with Carson, Alex, and Bo near the bar, sampling the specialty cocktail Carson requested for tonight. Alex approved of the chili-passion martini, a sweet and spicy blend of local passionfruit, chilies, and vodka.

“Probably having sex,” Alex said. “Mom could not stop talking about Jim’s beautiful penis when we were hanging out earlier today.”

Julia coughed as a red-pepper flake stung her throat.

“No more locker-room talk about our parents.” Carson rubbed the spot between her shoulder blades. “You almost killed Julia.”

“I’m fine,” she wheezed.

Alex bumped shoulders with her. “I nearly tossed myself from the golf cart when she said it. Mom said she tried to bring it up with you but you shut her down. Well done.”

Much as Julia enjoyed Carson’s touch, she stepped out of his reach. “So you’re besties again?”

“Yes.” Alex sighed. “God bless Aunt Mary, because she’ll take the brunt of it this weekend. They were giggling so much during the rehearsal. Good job with that, by the way. A fifteen-minute rehearsal is wedding-prep goals.”

“Seconded,” Carson said.

“Thanks.” Happy warmth flooded through her. She was a sucker for her sister’s praise. “It helped that they didn’t want to reveal their vows yet. I hope they’ve written them.”

“They have,” Carson said. “At least, my dad has.”

“Mom will probably extemporize a haiku.” Julia sighed as she tilted her wrist. Now they were twenty- five minutes late. “How do you do this for a living, Carson? Making sure a large group is having a good time is stressful.”

“Don’t look at it that way,” he said. “Most people will have a good time if we provide a fun atmosphere. A few won’t, but you can’t please everyone.”

Alex slipped her arm around Bo’s waist. “What do you think for us? Fancy resort wedding?”

Bo adjusted his glasses. “Nah. Exchange vows while parasailing?”

“You know me so well.” She kissed him lightly on the lips. “Oh, Jules—our houseguest left today. The spare room’s all yours.”

“Oh.” Do not look at Carson. “Thanks, but the couch in Mom’s suite is surprisingly comfortable.”

Was what a person might say if they’d actually slept on it.

“Suit yourself.” Alex lifted a shoulder. “Guests are finally arriving. Time to mingle as blended-family ambassadors.”

She and Bo ventured toward the people picking up their table assignments.

“When will you come to my room?” Carson murmured as he trailed sneaky fingers up the back of her arm. “Immediately after dessert, or should we sneak away now for a quickie?”

Goose bumps fanned across her body.

“Stop that,” Julia said.

“This?” He tickled the diamond inked on the delicate skin of her wrist.

No one’s attention was on them.

“Yes.” She shifted in front of him and brushed her ass against his pelvis. “Stop it some more.”

He chuckled and grazed her exposed back. She’d selected this bright pink sundress because it stood out against the ocean’s bright aquamarine. Tonight, though, she wanted to be seen by one person in particular.

“This dress is something else,” he said. “During the rehearsal I wanted to lick your back.”

“You weren’t riveted by the readings? Love leaping like a gazelle and all that?”

“Frankly, I’m surprised my dad didn’t go with Jimmy Buffett lyrics.” His fingers skated dangerously close to her waistline. “Some people say that there’s a woman to blame.”

She might be able to orgasm from this alone.

“I’ll come to your room as soon as I can.” Julia forced herself to leave Carson’s wandering touch. “Don’t forget to make a list of everything you want to do later.”

“Already did.” He tapped his temple.

She pressed the chilled glass to her face. It might’ve been the red-pepper flakes, but it might’ve also been the heat in Carson’s green eyes.

“Okay, then,” she said as she crossed the room to greet guests.

Damn, she had to work on her sexy goodbyes.

“Julia!” Aunt Mary swaddled her in a hug. “It’s been ages since I laid eyes on you.”

She breathed in Mary’s classic jasmine-and-lily fragrance. “You saw me at the engagement party.”

“But before that it was last Thanksgiving. Ten months ago. I get lonely for you. Come stay with me in LA. We can have sleepovers like when you were a little girl. Though I suppose you’ll be the one working and I’ll be the one on a permanent vacation.”

The universe was not subtle. Aunt Mary was the second person in twenty-four hours to urge her toward LA.

She guided her aunt to their table. “That’s generous, but…”

“You’ve always done better in the sunshine.”

Mary was right about that. Pretty as upstate New York’s autumn was, the harsh winters weren’t it for her sun-kissed soul.

But it wasn’t about the weather. Not really.

In the handful of days she’d been back in Belize, friends she hadn’t spoken to in years had done her favors without hesitation.

She missed that kind of community—people looking out for each other.

“Promise me you’ll consider it.” Mary took her seat. “You’ve always been stubborn about accepting other people’s generosity.”

More people arrived. By her estimates, half the guests were here, but still no Mom or Jim.

“Not stubborn,” she said. “Wary.”

“Of your fairy godmother?” Her aunt hung her purse on her chair’s back.

Of everybody, usually. Carson, though, was making a case for giving people a chance.

“Okay, I’ll consider it. Can we stop talking about this?”

“Yes.” Mary rested her chin on her hands, then followed Julia’s gaze to the corner, where Carson huddled with Jim’s business partner. “Jim’s son is certainly handsome. Successful, too, from what Michelle tells me.”

A thrill fluttered in Julia’s belly. She liked that her mother and aunt thought well of him.

Before she could share what she knew about his company, applause erupted around them.

The guests of honor had arrived.

“Finally.” Julia sighed. Their table started to fill with Mom’s cousins, and the remaining empty seats would be claimed by Mom’s work bestie and Jim’s scuba buddy.

“It’s nice to see your mother happy again,” Mary said. “She lost herself after you and Alex left the nest. Then your father passed, and she didn’t know what to do with her grief.”

Julia finished her martini before asking her aunt, “What do you mean?”

Mom had been sad for her and Alex when Dad had died, had chipped in for the funeral and burial costs, but she didn’t seem to mourn him herself.

“She didn’t feel entitled to it. Xavier was a good man, and she loved him. But since she’d left him, and you girls were bereft, she didn’t burden you with it. Too complicated and messy to explain.”

Julia’s breath shuddered in her chest.

That was an echo of what Mom said the other night. If she’d walled her daughters off from her sorrow because theirs was deeper—what else had she protected them from? Family should make space for messy feelings and situations, not force you to shove them in a closet.

Aunt Mary plucked a martini from a passing waiter.

“Since I’ve retired, giving unsolicited advice is my new hobby.

You and your sister would be happier if you accepted Michelle for who she is and stopped resenting her for not being who you wanted her to be.

Oh, and while I’m on a roll…” She tipped her head and cut her gaze in check it out gesture.

“You’re twenty-six, not sixty-six. Cut loose and have fun.

As the lone single woman here, you’re a bit spoiled for choice. ”

Julia turned in the direction Aunt Mary indicated, and her stomach squeezed.

On his way into the room, Danny Cox’s sharky smile gleamed like the Cheshire cat. Ugh, the only difference between Danny’s vibe now and high school was a pair of overly distressed skinny jeans. She knew he’d be here, but it was surreal to be in a room with two former nemeses.

Thank goodness she’d seated him across the—wait. Why was he heading this way?

Danny plopped into the lone empty chair at their table, be right next to her.

“Mind if I sit here?” he asked as the waitstaff delivered field greens salads to the table. “I swapped ’cause I thought it’d be fun to catch up.”

Oh, she minded. If Aunt Mary and the rest of their tablemates weren’t here, she might stab him in the hand. Instead, she nibbled on a crouton.

“I take it you two know each other?” Mary asked.

“Yes, ma’am.” Danny leaned forward, all smiles and kiss-ass earnestness. “Julia, Alex, Carson, and I went to high school together.”

Ick. Objectively, he was an attractive man, but his ooze negated the handsome. This was exactly his vibe at Bronson Alcott. Friendly with the adults, snarky and obnoxious with peers. Julia jabbed her fork into the lettuce.

“A veritable reunion.” With a wink, Mary scooched back from the table. “If you’ll excuse me, that cocktail ran straight through me.”

Julia was alone-ish with Danny. Fantastic. Super. Everything she never wanted.

“Julia Stone.” Danny draped an arm along the back of her chair. “It is still Stone, yes?”

She’d never had better motivation to sit up straight.

“Yes.” She didn’t owe him politeness, but she didn’t want to make things weird for their dinner companions.

“Good, good, good.” He twirled his fork but didn’t eat a speck of the salad. Annoying, considering she’d sampled three to select this one. “Carson said you run hotels these days?”

This guy made her feel like botfly larvae were crawling out of her skin. He’d been the other half of the Sad Puppy conversation, about which she’d like to never think again.

“I don’t run hotels yet. I’m looking for the right fit, job-wise.”

“Oh, I could provide the right fit.” Danny raised an eyebrow.

Ew. Time for more salad. The resort’s citrus vinaigrette was amazing, and she’d hate to see it go to waste.

“You seem way more interested in that lettuce than me.” He crunched his ice cube. “Nice earrings, by the way. My mom has a pair like that.”