“Quit messing with me!” she said, but he enjoyed doing it. Spending time with her helped—worrying about her problems distracted him from his own.
“In all seriousness, I love that you’re standing up for yourself—in whatever small way.”
“It wasn’t a small way,” she insisted. “He was reallymad.”
Julian laughed even harder. “Good. I’m happy to hear it.”
She glanced at him, a thoughtful expression on her face. “He asked me if I wanted to try again, Jules.”
“And you said...?”
“No.”
“Because you’d never be that naive, right?”
Tears welled up as she pulled into Barista Ted’s Coffee and Confections. “Right,” she mumbled, but that word was barely audible.
“I’m not sensing a lot of conviction here,” he said.
“I’mtrying,” she responded. “I really am.”
“I know,” he said with a sigh.
Once they got inside, they each ordered an espresso before sitting down among the smattering of people who’d come to work on their laptops.
“Do you need me to go with you to get the rest of your stuff from Cliff’s house?” Julian asked. “The day’s young. We could rent a moving van right now.”
“I won’t need a moving van,” Charlotte said. “I’m almost positive everything will fit into my SUV.”
“Seriously? With the kind of money you’ve had over the past few years? I assumed you’d need a fleet of moving vans.”
The barista called out their order, and she got up to retrieve their drinks.
“I’m only leaving with my clothes and a few personal items,”she told him once she’d sat down again. “All the furnishings will be staying with the house.”
“I guess that simplifies things. Still, I say we go over there, get whatever’s yours and be done with it.”
She looked appalled, as if he’d just suggested they blow up the place. “No! I’m not ready to face him again. Besides, I don’t want to get you into a fight. Cliff’sveryterritorial.”
“He’s the one who let you go! Besides, I’m not afraid of him. It would suck for you to have to go there and pack up yourself.”
“The whole thing sucks...”
Julian took a sip of his espresso. “Have you heard from your in-laws?”
“Nope, and I don’t think I will. They’ll be especially loyal to Cliff since he’s the one who pays their bills. His mother raised him as a single mom, had a hard life. I can understand why he wouldn’t want her to continue working as a motel maid. But his father and his sisters always have their hands out, too.”
“That would drive me nuts.”
“It was definitely annoying,” she admitted. “But it was mostly his money. And when you marry someone, you marry their family, too.”
“Someday he’ll regret losing you.” Slouching more comfortably in his seat, he crossed his legs at the ankles. “When you do go get your stuff, let me know. I’d like to see the house.”
“It’s gorgeous.”
“Not tacky?” he said with a taunting smile.
“It probably would’ve been without me—and Sloane. We spent weeks decorating that place.”
