“Wow. I wasn’t expecting that, but thanks for telling me. Now I’m more worried about you living alone in that old house.”
“I’m fine. I’ve got my cat,” she joked, but her voice was thin and her laughter hollow. She felt safe there for now, but how long until he figured out where she was? There was no way of knowing if he’d come after her again. She only hoped he wouldn’t.
“You should get a gun.”
Her eyes widened. “I’m not really a gun person. I wouldn’t know what to do with it.”
“You should learn. This is gun country. You’re around gun people now.”
She shook her head. “I just wouldn’t be comfortable with that, but I could buy some pepper spray, I suppose.”
“That’s a start. I’ll get some for you,” he said, his jaw clenching.
Their Uber pulled up, and they climbed in together. He held her hand tightly. “I wish there was something more I could do.”
“You’re doing it,” she said, resting her head on his shoulder.
In that brief moment, she felt safe. It wouldn’t last, but it was something. She hadn’t felt safe in a long time.
Chapter Seventeen
Julie stood in a room above the chapel and stared at her reflection in the mirror. Her makeup and hair were done. She’d chosen not to wear a veil — it seemed like an old fashioned tradition that she wasn’t sure she wanted to perpetuate. But she wasn’t in her dress yet. Somehow, she couldn’t bring herself to put it on. Not right now. There was something nagging at her. She still hadn’t talked to James about her concerns over getting married. She’d pushed through the wedding preparations, with the help of Rita, Matilda and Sophie. And now the day had finally arrived. Her bridesmaids were in the other room, fussing over bouquets, but she’d needed a quiet moment to herself.
She picked up her phone and dialled James’ number.
“Hey,” he said, quietly. “You’re not supposed to be calling me right now. Is everything okay?”
“I don’t know. Can we talk?”
“On the phone or in person?”
“In person…” She swallowed hard. What would she say? She didn’t want to hurt his feelings, upset him or make him worry. But they needed to talk.
“Okay, I’ll meet you in the garden behind the chapel.”
“I’m coming down now.”
She brushed her hands over her white, buttoned blouse, and with one last glance at her glowing makeup, she hurried out of the room without telling a soul.
Downstairs, she pushed her way out through a creaking door and into a small courtyard that was a little overgrown but in a cute, English-garden kind of way.
James grabbed her from one side of the door, pulled her to him and kissed her passionately, stealing her breath away.
She laughed as she pulled back, wiping her fingertips over her lips. “You’re ruining my makeup.”
“Good,” he said, with a grin.
“Thanks for… doing this.” She was nervous. Shy.
“What exactly are we doing? Are you okay?” He looked concerned now, as he pushed a curl of hair behind her ear. “You look stunning by the way.”
She blushed. “I’m fine, really. But I wanted to talk about this… us… getting married.”
“Uh oh,” he said.
She pursed her lips. “No, it’s nothing like that. But we haven’t really talked about how this will go.”
“How what will go?”
