Everyone who thought I was making a mistake.
And it had been a disaster from the moment we’d arrived here six months ago.
My business plan had gone absolutely nowhere, and my relationship had completely changed shortly after we arrived in Paris.
Luckily, I didn’t feel actual heartache or sadness at the realization that it wasn’t going to work with Gabriel, but I was embarrassed that I’d put all my eggs in one basket—one crappy basket that everyone had warned me about.
So I was going to try to learn from this and move forward.
My phone rang, and I smiled when I saw my dad’s name flash across the screen. It was late afternoon in Paris, so I knew they were just waking up. I dropped to sit on the bed in my tiny studio apartment and answered the FaceTime call.
“Hey, guys,” I said as he and my mom appeared. She was wearing her bathrobe and sipping her morning coffee.
I loved my parents so much, and all I wanted to do was make them proud of me.
But I’d come to Paris and fallen flat on my face.
“Hi, sweetheart,” Mom said with a big smile on her face as my father waved. “Are you getting packed up?”
“Yes. I mean, the place is the size of a postage stamp, so it’s fairly easy.”
“Well, I’m still grateful that Cutler is coming there to help you. You fly back to the States in three days, right?” Dad asked.
“Yes. I’ll have a little time to show Cutler around Paris before we leave.”
“We spoke to him yesterday, and he’s so happy you agreed to go back to Blue Sky Bay for a few months,” Mom said. “The home the Chadwicks are building sounds amazing. That’ll be a good project for you to dive into.” She reached for her glass of water where they were sitting at the kitchen table.
In the home where I’d grown up.
I loved that house.
I missed that house.
“Yeah, I think it’s a good idea for now,” I said. My parents had wanted me to come home to Cottonwood Cove until I got back on my feet, but I was not going to run home to Mom and Dad and ask them to rescue me, though I knew they happily would. It was mortifying that I was twenty-eight years old and barely had enough money in my bank account to buy a plane ticket back to the States. I’d been surviving on ramen noodles for the last few weeks, as I was barely bringing in enough money to make ends meet while I was working at the café. I’d gone through most of my savings, and I didn’t want my parents to know how bad things were.
How far I’d fallen.
“I think it’s great you’re going there for a while before you head to New York. Sounds like a very exciting opportunity, but are you sure you want to live that far away?” my father asked.
Johnny was one of the owners of J&J Interiors, where I worked before throwing caution to the wind and moving to Paris. Thankfully he’d offered me a position back at the firm, but it would be in New York City. The opening wouldn’t be available until the end of September, as Beth, another designer, would be leaving on maternity leave, with no plan to return.
So, instead of staying in Paris and barely surviving, I would move to Blue Sky Bay for the next three months, and Cutler had a few design jobs for me while I was there.
“I want to go back to doing what I love. I miss it. And Johnny is the best boss a girl could ask for. I’m just grateful they found a position for me.”
A wide smile spread across my mom’s gorgeous face. “Of course they want you back. And you’ll still come home for Christmas this year, right?”
I’d moved to Paris the week before Christmas last year, my first holiday away from my family. I was miserable and I knew they were sad I wasn’t there.
“Yes. Of course. I will never willingly miss a Reynolds holiday again.”
My family was close. My brother, Burke, was a junior in college back in California, but he’d recently moved to Italy. He was doing a semester abroad in the fall, and he wanted to explore for a few months before he started the program. He and my parents had come to visit me in Paris not that long ago.
“We can’t wait to see you, sweetheart. FaceTime us when you’re with Cutler tomorrow so we can say hello,” Dad said.
“You’ve got it. I’ll talk to you soon. Love you.”
“Love you more, Gracie girl,” they said at the same time, just as we ended the call.
