Once he was by the boat, he crouched down and started to work with his hands. Likely retying and retightening the ropes, but I wasn’t sure.
What Iwassure about, even from far away, was that he handled the thick ropes with skill, his fingers working expertly and quickly. The sun shone down on him like a spotlight andhighlighted the tee stretched across his back and how his strong arms flexed with ease.
His jeans hung on his hips and hugged his muscular legs as he stood back up. He unlatched the boat’s side gate and stepped onto the deck. Each movement was natural, without any hesitation; he knew what he was doing. He likely had the same routine every summer.
I wanted to walk away from the window, but I couldn’t. My feet were glued to the floor. Something was pulling me to the mystery man. His confidence and how at ease he looked on the boat was how I wanted to feel in life.
We hadn’t run into each other since I moved in. Maybe that was a good thing. I wasn’t looking for any distractions over the summer. I couldn’t help but wonder, though, where his reaction came from and why he was all prickly and grumpy.
I was pulled away from the window when my phone rang. I slowly made the walk over to where I’d been sitting at the kitchen table. I accepted the call and put the phone on speaker, starting to paint my fingernails with the light pastel-pink polish named “summer love”—the very thing I would not be having.
“Hey, Grant,” I greeted.
“Hey, Jules. You settling in okay?” my brother asked, not missing a beat.
“Yeah, settling in just fine. The drive wasn’t too bad, and I’m pretty much all unpacked. The cabin was furnished, so I didn’t have to worry about moving my stuff from storage. I’ll figure out what to do with it all once I decide what I’m doing long-term. I’m focusing on the summer for now.”
Grant hummed as he listened. “And how about everything else?”
Wasn’t that a loaded question.
“Good enough, I guess.” I sighed. “There haven’t been any new articles, so I’m hoping people are already forgetting. Ihaven’t checked social media. Figured it’d be best to stay off of it for now.” I looked out the kitchen window that faced the back deck and the lake, hoping Grant hadn’t heard my sigh. I thought back to my conversation with him earlier in the week. “And I’m not running away from my problems. I’m taking a much needed break.”
“I shouldn’t have said that. I was just…worried about you. You were staying here one day and then all packed up and on the move the next. You deserve the break. But be careful, okay?”
I could’ve used that reminder a few months ago before going onParadise Love.
“Yeah, I’ll be careful,” I assured him. “I’ve already made a friend in Golden Falls. Her name’s Lily, and it’s her parents’ cabin I’m staying at, but she’s the one who manages it.” I filled Grant in on what I knew from Lily about Golden Falls and how we were working together on her café.
“Not surprised you’ve already made a friend. You always had a talent for meeting people and connecting with them, Jules. Don’t let what happened deter you from that.” I appreciated Grant’s words, because lately, it hadn’t felt like much of a talent. It felt like I’d been opening my heart and trusting the wrong people. But I knew with Lily I was finally trusting therightperson. Talking, working, and spending time with her was natural—as if we’d been friends for years. That didn’t come easily, especially not as an adult.
But then my mind wandered to my mysterious neighbor, who I hadn’t seen since my first day in Golden Falls. For the first friend I made, it seemed like I’d made an enemy, too. Well, enemy might be too strong of a word, at least on my end. I had no clue what he thought of me.
“It’s been a while since I’ve been this inspired,” I admitted. “In a way, going on the show gave me perspective on what I want to do differently in my day-to-day life. Which, actually, since I’llbe in Golden Falls for the summer, do you think you could get me out of my lease? I want to find an apartment with a different property company when I get back to Chicago.”
“Sure, I’d be happy to,” he said. “If anything else comes to mind you want me to look at, let me know. I’m more than willing to help. I’d say that to anyone, but especially you, Jules. You’re my sister, and I hate to see you hurting.”
Grant was a lawyer—one of the top in Chicago for labor and employment law. He quickly made a reputation for himself by advocating and helping clients with wrongful termination, discrimination, harassment, and other issues related to the workplace. In addition to working at a law firm, he focused his time on pro bono cases. His dedication and efforts, especially on those cases, landed him on theForbes30 under 30 list a few years ago.
Grant and I were four years apart and hadn’t always been this close. We foughta lotgrowing up, usually over small things, and it wasn’t until he went off to college and law school that we got closer. Likely because we weren’t living in the same house.
When we both ended up in Chicago, we started to spend more time together. We, of course, still bickered a lot, but it was different. It definitely made our parents happy that we were getting along. Our parents recently moved from the Chicago suburbs, where we grew up, down to Florida, looking to escape the Midwest winters for warm weather and sandy beaches. Not a bad deal.
I’d considered going down to Florida for the summer, but it didn’t feel right. I wanted to figure out my next steps on my own.
“Thank you for caring so much, really. I know you have a lot on your plate, and I appreciate you making time for this. I know I’ve been a little distant with everything, but it’s only because I don’t want it to be a big deal. I just want to move on and enjoythe summer. I don’t want people to pity me for trusting the wrong person and getting my heart broken.”
“I don’t think it’s that people pity you,” Grant clarified. “I think some of them relate to what happened. At least from what I’ve seen on social media. Plus people are saying you deserve better, which I completely agree with.”
I hadn’t thought of it that way, that people might be thinking of their own breakups and relating to what happened between Tony and me. I’d been focused on how embarrassing it was, but everyone got their heart broken at some point. I’d eventually, a long time from now, find the person I was meant to be with.
“Wait, since when are you checking social media? You always complain about it.”
Grant let out a heavy sigh. “Since I’ve been trying to get in touch with Scarlett.”
Nowthatcaught my attention. Grant hadn’t uttered her name in years. I finished painting my nails and carefully closed the bottle of polish, laying my hands on the table to dry.
“Scarlett? Why are you trying to get ahold of her?” I asked.
