She’d commissioned a pale blue vase with an opening made to look like ocean foam. It would be placed in the entrance as a focal piece where she could easily change the flowers for each season.
“Speaking of spots.” Erin pretended to inspect a shelf of modeling tools, hedging the conversation in a new direction. “Will you be staying in Mystic Cove for a while?”
“I’d like to,” Juliette admitted for the first time out loud. Then she gave a little shrug. “We’ll see how things go.”
“From the looks of it, they’re going well.” Erin winked.
“So far, but Brock and I—” She was about to say they weren’t serious, that they were keeping things casual. Except she wasn’t really sure if that was true. Part of her, the part of her that was still young and wildly in love, wanted to think they could recapture what they had before. She wanted to believe they could relive all those dreams of their youth together. She knew the spark, the energy crackling between them, was as real and vibrant as ever. But the other part of her, the more rational woman who had her heart broken before, knew she couldn’t fully be with him until she found out why he’d left her in the first place.
“Brock and I just go way back, that’s all.” A good enough answer, which would have to suffice. She grabbed the paper bags full of pottery. “Oh, and I have another idea. What do you think of tinier pottery pieces?”
Erin’s brows quirked. “Like how small?”
“Wedding favor size?” Juliette shifted the bags in her hands. “Maybe even centerpieces to hold some of the flower arrangements?”
“Oh my gosh, that’s a great idea.” Erin clutched her hand to her chest, and her bracelets jingled. “You’re a genius.”
“Honestly, I just want to display local talent as much as possible.”
“You’re doing an amazing job of it.”
“Thanks, I’m trying.” Juliette paused by the door of Lovely Mud. “Will you be at Maureen’s bonfire celebration of life?”
“Absolutely.”
“Great. See you then.” Juliette smiled, shuffling her grip on the paper bags one more time, then nudged the door open. A gust of wind yanked it from her grip, and she stumbled out into the cold morning, right into the solid form of another human.
“Oh, I’m so sorry. I didn’t even—” The rest of the words died on her lips.
Standing before her, with one hand around her arm to keep her from blowing over, was Rodrigo.
He stared down at her, blinked in recognition, then grinned. “Jules?”
“Rodrigo.”
She’d forgotten he was so handsome. Winter favored him. He was bundled in a charcoal gray coat with a red scarf wrapped around his neck. His slacks were wool, and his boots looked as though they’d never met a snowflake. The cold air flushed his deeply tanned skin. Jet-black hair moved in the wind like he was on a film set, and his amber eyes twinkled down at her.
She swallowed, grateful she’d at least taken the time to put on some foundation and mascara this morning. “Hi.”
He glanced down at the bags in her arms. “Here, let me help.”
Without waiting for a response, he took both of them from her.
“Oh, um…” She tucked a loose strand of hair back into her messy bun. “Thank you.”
He walked right to her car, and the familiarity of it pinched her heart. “Do you just want these in the trunk?”
“Yes, please. That’d be great.” She popped it open, and he gently placed them in the back for her.
Anxiety crawled over her skin. She glanced both ways down the sidewalk and checked the other side of Shoreline Drive. People were milling about the street, chatting and shopping, but none of them were a tall platinum blonde with a body like a goddess.
Rodrigo closed her trunk and glanced over at her. “Don’t worry, she’s not here.”
Juliette’s cheeks burned hot at being so blatantly obvious, and she rubbed her lips together. “Oh, I wasn’t, I mean…I didn’t assume?—”
“She’s in Virginia Beach looking at dresses with her mom.”
Juliette didn’t need to ask what kind of dresses. She assumed they were white, maybe cream, slim-fitting, and probably made of the finest silk.
