Juniper
Juniper sighed. She didn’t blame his mother for the assumption that she would move to Sydney. It was clear as crystal that William’s commitment to his family and their business meant him living in Sydney. “That’s okay, it’s not their fault. It’s a reasonable assumption to make.”
He was quiet for a moment, and she glanced up at him. There was that shuttered expression so she couldn’t be sure what he was thinking. Then he looked down at her and smiled. “We’ll figure it out.”
She took the reassurance, even though she couldn’t really see how exactly they would do that. She kissed him. “I love you.” She would never get sick of seeing that light in his eyes when he heard those words from her.
“I love you, too.” The light turned to a wicked gleam on a heartbeat. “Maybe we could go for a swim after this? I can lock up the pool house so no one can come in. We can skinny dip.”
She laughed. “Sounds good to me.”
“Alright, you cute kids, look over here for me, would you?”
They both turned to see Cassie pointing her phone camera at them. “Just a quick snap for Aunty Laura, if you don’t mind.”
“Sure.”
She took the picture, then told William that their dad wanted a word with him. Stepping up next to Juniper at the railing as William moved away, she pushed her fingers through her long, brown hair. “I can’t tell you what it means to us to have you here.”
“Oh, thank you. It’s a pleasure for me to be here and finally meeting all of you. William’s told me so much about you.”
“It interests me that he hadn’t told us too much about you and Billy before today.” She surveyed her brother for a long moment. “Still waters run deep, as the saying goes.” She turned to study Juniper, her astute brown eyes missing nothing. Juniper returned her gaze calmly, quite enjoying this frank, open woman who obviously loved her brother very much. Cassie grinned then, saying, “Mum’s itching to get over here and talk to you so I’m going to stand here a little longer, pretending to be deep in conversation, to torment her a little.”
Cassie proceeded to chat amiably for the next few minutes, much to Juniper’s amusement. “Right, she’s ready to slay me, I’d better be off.” With that she moved over to sit in James’s lap, finally giving her mother the chance she was desperate for. Gwen jumped on it quickly, bringing two glasses of chilled white wine with her. Handing Juniper one of the glasses with a smile, she didn’t speak at first, instead turning and watching William and his father. Juniper followed her gaze, seeing them sitting side by side, deep in conversation. The respect and affection between them was so obvious it caused Juniper’s heart to flutter nervously. There was simply no way William could not live in Sydney. His father needed him too much. She turned away, looking out over the harbor, letting theidea play out. The idea of moving to Sydney. Of packing up her shop, selling it and the house, of dragging Billy away from everything he knew and loved. The idea sat like a ball of lead in her belly, but if she was honest with herself, she couldn’t really see another way. If they wanted to be together, one of them would have to make the move and it was becoming increasingly obvious that of the two of them, it was more of a possibility for her than it was for him, logistics wise.
“He seems different.”
“Does he?” Juniper asked, recognizing that Gwen was referring to William.
“Yes. In the best possible way.” She turned away from watching her husband and son, looking Juniper full in the face, her blue eyes shining. “It’s because of you, of course. I can’t tell you how happy it makes me.” She reached out and rubbed her hand affectionately up and down Juniper’s arm. “I’ll be honest with you. I’ve been a bit worried about him over the last few years.” She paused, taking a sip of wine and leaning against the railing. “What would it have been, maybe three or four years ago? Yes, that feels right. I just noticed something was off with him. I’d ask about it and he’d just smile and say he didn’t know what I was talking about. Then of course, Robert’s stroke changed everything, taking all of my focus. Taking all of ours’, really. And William was just amazing throughout. He’s our rock and we’re grateful every day for him. I know that sounds dramatic, but I don’t think it can be overstated. After the initial shock of Robert’s stroke wore off and we settled into the new normal, understanding that how he is now is pretty much as good as he was likely to get, it was awful. The one thing that grounded Robert and kept him holding on was the family business. He and I have spent decades building it up and being able to bring the kids into it when they were old enough, to be able to give them that security in life, meant so much to us. The idea that withhis stroke we would have to let it go, was crushing. But William said no, we’ll work around it. We’ll change things up. He works so hard to make sure Robert is still as involved as he can be in the day to day running of it, knowing that it gives Robert that purpose, that focus that he needs.” She paused and the silence spun out a little before she said, very quietly, “I’m not sure he can do that from Blessed Inlet.”
“I understand.”
Gwen sighed with relief. “I just so hope you can sort it out, darling, because I don’t think I’ve ever seen William so happy. Or content is probably a better word. At peace. I look at you both and I just want you to be happy, to be able to build a life together.” Her eyes welled with tears. “Oh god, now I’m being melodramatic. I’m sorry.” She reached over to the nearby table and, grabbing a napkin, dabbed at her eyes.
“Don’t be sorry. It’s lovely that you feel that way.” Juniper spent a fleeting moment comparing William’s mother’s wishes for him, versus her own for her. They were light years apart and the realization made her feel a surge of affection for Gwen. On impulse, she reached out and put her arms around Gwen, who hugged her right back.
“You are just the most beautiful girl.” She pulled back, kissing Juniper on the cheek. “Now I’m going to leave you alone before I freak you out anymore.” She moved over to Robert, letting him know that it was time to go and rest before the evening’s function. After Gwen and Robert left, Juniper and William sat with Cassie and James for a while, eating tri-chocolate terrine for dessert, chatting and enjoying the afternoon sunshine. Then William was pulling Juniper away, down to the indoor pool. He locked the door and of course they made love, just as he’d planned.
CHAPTER 24
Juniper
Juniper sat at the little dresser in the bedroom wearing her bathrobe, with a towel wrapped around her head, carefully applying her makeup. A bit heavier than what she’d worn for lunch, so it needed a bit more work. She hardly ever wore makeup these days, the consequence being that she felt out of practice, and it was making her nervy. William was pulling on his tuxedo jacket, and she paused to watch him. He looked very dashing as he slid the black bowtie around his neck. He caught her watching him in the mirror and smiled. “Gotta love a monkey suit,” he said. He did look very dashing, yet somehow, weirdly, unfamiliar. She smiled wordlessly and turned back to the mirror. He came over and pressing a kiss to her cheek, said he’d be waiting in the lounge area for her.
Some forty minutes later, she felt more than a little flustered. Her hair had been impossible, no matter how much product she put in it. She just couldn’t seem to get the curls under control, so she had settled for a tight, low bun, containing them as best she could. Added to that, she’d put a ladder in her stockings as she pulled them on so there was no choice but to go without, which feltweird. Taking a deep breath and forcing her fingers to unclench, she opened the bedroom door and stepped into the loungeroom. William looked up from his seat on the couch and gave a low whistle.
“You look amazing.”
She smiled, turning a circle in front of him as he rose to his feet. “Weekend wardrobe courtesy of Leah. I don’t have anything in my closet even remotely appropriate for this sort of thing.” She caught a glimpse of her reflection in the tall windows. She wore an off the shoulder column dress in a shimmering silver fabric and silver strappy heels. For a fleeting moment she had the feeling that she was looking at a complete stranger, so she turned away. “Should we go?”
“Yep, if you’re ready.”
She was as ready as she would ever be. As they stepped into the elevator, she shivered. Because the event was being held in the function hall in the hotel, she hadn’t thought to include a wrap or cardigan with her outfit. She held tight to William’s hand as they walked across the lobby and through the doors into the function room. It was exactly as she expected. A stage at the far end was set up with a band playing, the bluesy notes floating lightly over the crowd. The women in glittering jewelry and beautiful gowns, the men impeccable in tuxedos and shiny shoes. The soft murmur of conversation, the delicate clinking of glasses. A waiter clad in a white jacket glided up to them with a tray of glasses filled with champagne and Juniper took one gratefully. The time to schmooze was upon her and she needed all the fortification she could get. Her heart was thudding painfully against her rib cage, and she just managed to resist the urge to press her hand there to try and calm it.
Cassie spotted them and came over. “Juniper! You look smashing!”
“So do you.”
