Page 23 of The Lake House (Southern Charm #2)

Chapter Twenty-Three

After a whirlwind week, the trip to Australia was over in a flash, and Julie was seated on the plane enjoying a business-class meal while watching yet another movie.

She and James had spent the first few hours of the flight talking.

Not about anything in particular, but everything and anything.

Politics, religion, the weather, friendships, dreams, silly childhood stories.

They never ran out of conversation, and it was the most relaxed friendship she’d had in years. Maybe ever.

The only thing that bothered her was the fact that he hadn’t tried to kiss her.

Not once. They’d held hands, very naturally, several times during the trip.

He’d even placed his palm on the small of her back once when they were navigating a crowded sidewalk.

But other than that, nothing. Maybe she was imagining the chemistry between them.

Perhaps it was entirely one-sided. That made sense, actually, since he was a handsome, successful, kind and charming doctor while she was an unemployed hot mess with no idea what her future held, and long, straight hair that never seemed to quite fit any particular style.

Soon the plane landed, and they made their way through customs. The entire way James made jokes that had her laughing, even though she was utterly exhausted and they almost couldn’t find their luggage when directed to the wrong baggage carousel.

He made everything fun.

“I have a car coming to pick us up,” he said as he tapped away on his phone.

“Oh, that’s great. I thought we’d have to take an Uber or something, and I’m too tired to think clearly about where I’m going. I forgot Rita’s address for a moment.” Julie yawned so widely, she thought her mouth might crack open at the edges.

“No need for that. I’ve got you covered.

” He grinned at her. His blue eyes sparkled as they held hers.

The way he looked at her, with so much affection, took her breath away.

She couldn’t look anywhere else but at him.

She was certain he would take a step forward and cup her face with his hands. But he didn’t.

Then he broke their connection with a cough. “I hope I’m not coming down with something. You feel okay?”

“I’m fine. But the plane definitely gave me a dry throat.”

“We should hydrate when we get home.”

“Good idea,” she said, very aware of how hot her cheeks had become. They were probably bright pink.

As they climbed into the car, she relaxed against the leather seat with a sigh. “It’s good to be home again.”

“Did you enjoy the trip?” he asked.

She swivelled her head around to look at him. She hadn’t slept much on the plane and was beginning to get to the stage where even a blink sent her into a semi-sleeping state. “I loved it. I had such a great time. It was a dream come true. I only wish we’d had more time.”

“Me too,” he replied. “I should’ve thought to book a vacation after the conference. But at least we had a couple of days together to enjoy ourselves when I was done.”

“That hike through the rainforest to see the waterfalls was one of the highlights for me. That, plus the walk on the beach and dinner at that seafood restaurant. It was divine.”

Their car pulled away from the curb.

“What about meeting your family?”

She nodded. “That was incredible. I guess I went into it not expecting much. I didn’t know what they’d be like, or if they’d even want to meet me.

I was prepared for the worst, I suppose.

But they turned out to be so lovely and open to knowing me.

And I had no idea how much like me they’d be.

It really felt immediately like family.”

“I liked them too,” he said. “Hopefully you’ll be able to stay in touch.”

“I’m definitely going to do that. I want to go back and spend more time with them someday. And maybe they’ll be able to visit here as well.”

“What do you think Matilda will say about it?”

Julie’s heart skipped a beat. She hadn’t really thought much about it. In her mind, none of this had anything to do with Matilda. Of course, that was nonsense. “Do you think she’ll be upset?”

“She might be. You didn’t mention anything to her about it, did you?”

“No, I didn’t.”

“So, I guess be prepared that she could be upset about it. You didn’t tell her you were going to meet her family. And you told me you’ve kind of been freezing her out, right?”

She nodded. “I have.”

He offered her a sympathetic look. There was nothing more he needed to say.

She could tell from his expression. Ignoring Matilda, shunning her and then rushing off to meet Matilda’s siblings without telling her might have hurt her feelings.

And she would be completely justified in being angry with Julie about it.

The thought made her anxious. Before the trip, she didn’t care what Matilda thought.

She was the one who was hurt and angry. But now that she’d met the family in Australia, she realised how selfish she’d been.

For the rest of the drive, she sat in silence, pondering what she’d done and how she might talk to Matilda about it.

Whether she should say anything to her, or just simply leave it alone.

It would be much easier to pretend nothing had happened, although it was likely Stella had already told Matilda about her visit—the two of them seemed to be close.

When they pulled into the lake house driveway, it was pitch dark. There was a light on over the front porch, but the rest of the house was quiet and dimly lit. No doubt Rita was already in bed, since it was late. Julie couldn’t wait to climb into her own bed in the guest room.

James walked her to the door with her luggage.

They stood beneath the yellow porch light, looking at one another.

Julie’s hands were linked together in front of her cardigan.

James’ hands were on his hips. He took a step closer to her until there was barely any space between them.

His gaze found hers, and the smile on his face faded. His eyes seemed to flash.

“Thanks for the trip. I can never repay you for it,” Julie said quietly with a little bubble of laughter.

“No need to repay it. It was my pleasure. I had a really good time with you. You made the trip much more enjoyable than it would’ve been without you.”

“Do you have work tomorrow?” she asked.

“One more day off. I’ll probably sleep and do laundry.”

“Enjoy…” Her voice faded away. She kept waiting for him to kiss her, or hold her, or at least close the small gap between them.

He took a step closer again until she could feel his body heat. He raised a hand to her cheek and cupped it for a single moment, then leaned down and kissed her other cheek.

Her lips tingled, waiting, waiting. But the kiss never came. When he stepped back, his gaze flitted away. “Have a great sleep.”

Then he walked back to the car. She watched it pull out of the driveway, her body still tingling from top to bottom. Then, with a shake of her head, she unlocked the door and stepped inside.