Page 63 of Time After Time (Golden Sands #1)

Geneviève

T he quiet knock on my door barely registered before it swung open, pulling my focus from the laptop. I looked up to find my dad standing there, arms crossed against his chest as he leaned against the frame of my bedroom door, his grin stretching wide across his face.

“Is that Sebastian?”

Just hearing his name made me smile, even as my heart twisted with the ache of missing him. But finally, there were only four more months until he’d be back from his apprenticeship—unless he decided to stay longer for those extra certifications he’d been talking about.

The thought alone made my shoulders fell, and I had to control the corner of my lips.

Knowing his ambitions might keep him away just a little longer was a bittersweet feeling: I wanted him to stay and get them, of course, it has always been his dream, but a small, selfish part of me was hoping he would be home sooner.

“It’s Sylvie,” I said, turning my laptop around.

My dad was met with a bright image of his elder daughter, who greeted him with a cheerful wave and a teasing comment about how he loved my boyfriend more than her.

My dad loved Sebastian and asked about him every day, and sometimes even twice or thrice a day.

He asked to know how he was doing, if he was okay, if the apprenticeship was all he ever imagined, if Reth Inoue was treating him with kindness and so on.

But of course, Sylvie was much more loved by him.

Sylvie was his daughter, and while I was the apple of my mum’s eye, my sister was the apple of my dad’s eye.

“Sweetheart, we miss you.” His voice wavered slightly, and he cleared his throat, trying to mask the emotion behind it, but how he pinched the tip of his nose said everything.

We all felt the distance, but knowing she was living her dream made it easier to bear.

From what she’d told me, she wasn’t completely taken with the city yet, but she was passionate about her job, and that’s all she was focusing on. “When are you coming to visit?”

“I’m hoping to make it before October.” I could sense the frustration in her voice over not being able to visit during the summer break.

Although she’d been offered the chance, Sylvie had chosen to stay behind, driven by the need to prove herself in a field traditionally dominated by men.

Her determination to excel meant working even harder, but if we were honest, we knew she was already surpassing expectations, and I worried that, perhaps, she was trying to prove something everyone could easily see.

While my dad and Sylvie chatted, I seized the moment to check my phone. I had texted Sebastian earlier that morning, aware of the stress he was under with his upcoming tests—his graduation was just four months away, and his schedule was packed.

Seeing no new message notifications, I sighed and set the phone back on my desk.

“Love you, sweetheart. We’ll talk later, okay?

” I pictured Sylvie nodding in agreement as my dad shifted his attention to me.

“You don’t want to be late. We need to head out soon.

” After a quick glance at the watch around his wrist, he leaned down to press a kiss to my forehead before leaving the room and closing the door behind him as I turned back to my laptop, where Sylvie’s wide smile still beamed at me from the screen.

“Send me lots of pictures,” Sylvie said, her enthusiasm making me beam back despite the situation.

I was grateful that, even though she couldn’t be here for this important moment, she had taken time out of her lunch break for a video call.

It helped me. Hearing her say she believed in me and just seeing my sister made me feel stronger.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t be there, but I’m so proud of you, Gen.

” Her voice turned serious, and I blinked rapidly, knowing that a single tear could ruin my mascara. “I miss you.”

“I miss you too.” Sylvie blew me a flying kiss and wished me good luck before we ended the call. I shut my laptop screen, then dashed to the mirror to make a few last-minute adjustments to my outfit.

My hair was down like always, the waves softer and more defined after Mum spent the afternoon helping me fix them just right.

I wore a long white dress that felt perfect for the occasion, formal enough to look put together, but not so formal that I felt out of place.

The top fit like a corset, hugging my shape with thick straps that made it feel a little more relaxed.

I kept running my hands over the fabric, smoothing it down without even thinking, unable to get over how beautiful it looked.

The skirt floated around my legs when I moved, layered with lighter, shorter panels that caught the breeze and made me feel weightless.

I had paired it all with a simple, shiny silvery necklace that rested on top of my collarbones and close to the base of my throat, along with two earrings that matched it.

Soon, I would be receiving my certification in event planning, and I couldn’t be more thrilled.

From the very first online class, I had called Sebastian, my voice rushing with excitement as I told him how much I loved it.

I had been so scared at the beginning, worried I would feel disconnected from the lessons or the teachers, maybe even from the whole idea of studying this way.

But all those doubts disappeared quickly.

It only took that first class for me to fall completely in love with it.

Now, after months of work, there was only one thing left: my final project. Planning an event of my own.

Several months ago, Cora and Robert finally found the perfect location for Cora’s antique repair store. She had been so stressed about not finding the right place, and after almost a year of searching, she finally did. You could see how excited she was right away.

She wanted the grand opening to show everyone exactly what she had pictured in her mind, everything she loved about what she could do. Even before she knew about my final project, Cora had already been thinking about asking me to plan it for her.

And now it was time.

As I walked through the archway, my heart raced at the sight in front of me.

Antique clock faces framed the entrance, and fairy lights twinkled softly overhead.

“Everything looks amazing,” I whispered to myself, hoping my eyes wouldn’t over-analyse and find something to focus on, which would have me spiralling.

The white drapes hung softly, and the warm light made the whole space feel soothing and welcoming.

I couldn’t resist stopping by the window displays, where I found myself marvelling.

Cora wanted the place to make you travel to different decades, so I had prepared sections all over the place, decorated with antique furniture arranged in the hopes of transporting those who walked by into different eras.

Perhaps times they lived once in the past. Times they would like to relive. Time after time.

I walked further into the store, letting my eyes wander across the whole place, taking in every little detail and making sure everything looked just right.

A huge grandfather clock stood right in the middle, its dark wood standing out against the soft white linens that were draped over the furniture nearby.

The brown and white colours tied everything together, showing up in every corner of the store.

It looked perfect. And for a moment, I just stood there, feeling really proud.

Somehow, I had managed to capture a feeling of nostalgia and home that really struck me. I hadn’t lived in any of these eras or seen most of these objects before meeting Cora, even so, a wave of nostalgia hit me hard. It was so powerful that I almost wanted to sit down and just take it all in.

The walls were lined with sepia-toned photographs in elegant white frames.

I saw families gathered around a dinner table, a bustling street scene, and an old man with his equally old dog.

Each picture made you want to stop in front and allow your gaze to roam all over it, to take in every detail and question who were these people?

What were their lives like? What had been of them?

Of course, apart from the decoration I had planned, the store was decorated with antique objects all around. They were pieces Cora had found, most likely not in the best states, but she had taken the time and the care to restore them. Now, they looked new, as if no one had ever used them.

Cora was that talented.

Two hands suddenly rested on my shoulders, almost making me jump.

I quickly reminded myself that jumping in a place like this felt risky.

Everything around me seemed so delicate and precious that I couldn’t shake the feeling that I might accidentally knock something over just by stepping inside the store.

Cora gathered her freshly dyed pastel pink hair into a short ponytail, though a few rebellious strands framed her face, highlighting her features beautifully.

She had lost some weight when Sebastian left, anxious as it was the first time they were apart, and he was on another continent.

Fortunately, her calls with him made her feel calmer, knowing he was alright, and she gained weight back, looking radiant and healthier.

“I can’t get over how amazing this looks, Gen.

” She stepped forward and enveloped me in an embrace, swaying me and squeezing me tightly. “Thank you so much.”

As we pulled apart, I glanced at her with a smile tugging at my lips, shaking my head gently. “Thank you for giving me this chance.”