Page 33 of The Lake House (Southern Charm #2)

Chapter Thirty-Three

The next day, Julie decided to go fishing.

It was something she’d done as a child whenever she needed to get away from the stresses in her life, and she hadn’t done it in years.

So, she rose early, went to the bait shop, and bought live bait.

Then she sat down near the water’s edge in a wicker chair and tossed her line into the lake.

She probably wouldn’t catch anything, but it was the action that mattered.

Or the lack of it, in this case. She would simply sit, stare and think.

It was the perfect activity for a Sunday afternoon while Rita napped inside the house.

The sun was warm on her skin, the air clean and the lake perfectly still.

After a while, she heard a door shut and then footsteps nearby.

She turned to see Matilda walking in her direction.

She straightened in her chair, heart pounding.

She’d meant to go and see Matilda at some point, but still hadn’t gotten around to it.

If she was honest, she was avoiding it. Avoiding her.

Matilda stood beside her, looked at the lake. “Catch anything?”

Julie forced a smile and stood up. “No, nothing yet.”

“Can we talk?”

“Sure. I’ll grab you a chair.”

She handed Matilda the fishing pole to hold while she jogged up to the back deck to fetch another chair. Then she set it next to her own, and the two of them lowered themselves to sit side by side.

“What’s up?” Julie finally asked.

“I know you went to Australia and met my siblings.”

Julie nodded slowly. “That’s right.”

“You didn’t say anything.”

“I’m sorry. I should’ve told you.”

“But you were angry…” Matilda replied.

Julie looked at her. “I was angry with you, but I know it’s not your fault. So, I’m sorry for that.”

“You’re not angry now?”

“Nope. Not angry now.”

Matilda issued a deep sigh. “I’m glad.”

“Stella and your brothers are really nice. I liked them a lot.”

“They’re your brothers too now, I guess.”

Julie blinked. “Yeah, you’re right. I’m still trying to wrap my head around that. I always wanted siblings. Now I have them.”

“I know you and I aren’t actually siblings, but it kind of feels like it.”

“I suppose that’s true.”

“I mean… we could pretend we are. Everyone else around here is related.” Matilda snorted.

“That’s true.”

“You know, Stella went through a phase when we were young where she collected grasshoppers. It was a really scary time in my life. I never knew when an insect was going to leap onto me.”

Julie laughed. “That sounds horrifying.”

“It was. I’m still traumatised. I hate grasshoppers.”

“What else can you tell me about them?”

They sat together for an hour talking. Matilda told Julie all about her childhood—what her parents were like, how it was to be raised with three siblings.

And then Julie spoke about her mother, how her mother had coped after her father died, how they’d always been each other’s everything.

They both laughed, cried a few tears, and Julie found herself with a lump in her throat by the time Matilda waved goodbye to traipse back across the newly laid sod to her own house.

“It looks great, by the way!” Julie called after her.

Matilda nodded as she shut the gate behind her. “Thanks.”

As soon as the door closed, Julie decided to pack up. The sun had dipped towards the horizon, it was starting to get cold, and not a single bite so far.

A car pulled into the driveway, its tyres crackling on the gravel. She glanced up to see James’ car. He climbed out and looked around, his gaze finally resting on her. Then he walked in her direction. She set the fishing pole in the boathouse and was putting the tackle box away when he reached her.

“Hi,” she said.

He nodded. “How are you?”

“Fine. You?”

“I’m okay, but I’ve been trying to reach you all afternoon. You haven’t picked up the phone.”

She dipped her head in the direction of the lake. “I was fishing.”

“I see that. Can we sit?”

She nodded. They each sat. He pulled his chair close so that his knees were almost touching hers. She inhaled a quick breath. “So, what is it? What do you need to talk about so urgently?”

He frowned. “I think you know.”

“The kiss?”

“The kiss, us, the fight we had. All of it. We need to talk about these things. You can’t just ignore it and hope it goes away. Hope I’ll go away.”

“I don’t want you to go away.”

He reached for her hands and held them. “I’m glad to hear you say that.

I know I need to explain. After what you said, I realised that I’d given you mixed signals.

I never meant to do that. I wanted to take things slowly because I care about you.

You were family to me for a really important part of my life, and I didn’t want to mess that up by jumping into something too fast. Does that make sense? ”

“I get it,” she said. “But I wish you’d told me. I was so confused—I thought we were on the same wavelength, but then I wondered if maybe I was imagining it. I couldn’t figure you out.”

“I’ve been looking for you for so long.”

She frowned. “You have?”

“I don’t mean literally. I mean, I’ve been searching for someone to spend my life with.

Every woman I’ve ever dated, or come close to dating, I’ve compared to you.

I thought about you all of the time. Every now and then I’d try to look you up, but I never found you.

And for a long time, I didn’t realise that when my girlfriends didn’t measure up, it was because they weren’t you. ”

She didn’t know what to think about that. They’d been so young.

“Don’t get me wrong—it wasn’t a romantic thing.

You were just a kid, and so was I. But I was comparing them to you—their character, sense of humour, the way that you cared about other people—all things I admired in you.

I held other women to that standard, and they couldn’t measure up.

So, when I saw you, I just wanted to be your friend.

I had to spend time with you, get to know you again, because I missed you.

But then my feelings changed, and I realised I wanted more than that.

I didn’t know if I was completely out of line, though. ”

“I can understand that. I felt the same way.”

“It was a big step to take. And I hated to ruin our friendship because even though we haven’t known each other for long as adults, your friendship means a lot to me. I never thought I’d get the chance to see you again, and now that I have you in my life, I didn’t want to mess that up.”

“But the job in Boston…?”

He sighed. “I applied for that job soon after we met up that first time. I didn’t know how things would go between us, and it’s a great opportunity.

But I realise now that you’re so much more important to me than any job.

If you care about me even half as much as I care about you, I’ll happily turn the job down and stay here for the rest of my life.

Will you give me a chance to prove my feelings for you? ”

Her soul leapt. She grinned at him. “You’d turn down the job?”

“In a heartbeat.”

She leaned forward to kiss him gently on the lips. “Then I guess you’d better start showing me how you feel.”

“You’re all I want.”

They came to their feet, his arms were around her, and he pulled her into him, his lips pressed to hers.

Her hands snaked around his neck, fingers wound through his hair, as his lips explored hers.

Electricity coursed through her veins and her mind went blank as the two of them pressed against one another.

She could see her present and her future all in one long, uninterrupted kiss.