Juliet slapped him on the arm. “Ian!”
He looked genuinely confused. “What?”
“You so don’t know how to do girl talk.” She shooed him from the room and dragged Willow onto the deck. “Tell me all about your day. I want the details. All the grit. Was it life-changing?”
Yes. It was, Willow thought, but instead of saying it out loud, she just rolled her eyes. “It was really nice, but life-changing?” She shook her head. “I work in New York and he has a restaurant here and we’re both apparently married to our jobs.” She turned away, surprised by the surge of bitterness that clenched her jaw.
“Hey…” Juliet put a hand on Willow’s back. “I was just trying to have some fun.”
Willow studied the water and took a deep breath. “I know. I don’t mean to be weird. I’m just feeling way off balance.”
“Do we need to trade in our coffee for something with a little more kick?”
“I think that’s the only way through this.”
Juliet took Willow’s mug and disappeared into the kitchen, reappearing moments later with two very full glasses of red wine.
“I thought this might be a double serving kind of conversation.” She smiled and gestured for Willow to follow her off the deck toward the beach. “Grab those chairs. I’ve found that heavy topics don’t feel quite so heavy by the water.”
They set up the chairs so they could watch the tide roll out while they dug their toes into dry sand. Willow wasn’t sure where the bitterness was coming from and she told Juliet as much. Julz nodded and stared off toward the horizon.
“Does it have to do with Harry?”
“No.” Willow shrugged. “Maybe. I’m not sure.” Juliet stayed quiet and Willow sighed. “We kissed today and it was wonderful. In fact, the whole time I was with him was wonderful.” She turned to her friend and raised an eyebrow. “Don’t judge, I know we barely know each other and I fully recognize I’ve gone off the deep end here.”
“Believe me. I’m the last one to judge. I stumbled across the love of my life six months ago and we’ll be married at the end of the week. I know how it feels to stand next to a man you’ve only just met and wonder if you’re crazy for wanting more time with him.”
Willow wiggled her toes, enjoying the way the sand moved between them. “Not just more time. All the time. I want to spend all the time I have with him.”
“I get it.” Juliet lifted her glass in agreement then took a long drink.
“But I can’t do that. I have my career to focus on, a career that I’ve invested my entire life into. And it’s not like I can just pick up and find another job here. I don’t even think South Carolina has a ballet company, let alone a ballet company like ACB. And then, there’s his business. It’s not like he can pick up and move to New York either. So, then I wonder if it’s silly to be spending any time with him at all? Especially when it’s destined to fail.”
“Willow.” Juliet held out her hand. “You don’t have to plan your whole life with the guy in order to enjoy spending time with him while you’re here.”
Except when I’m with him, it feels like I’ve found my forever. Like finishing my life with him is an inevitability.
“I guess. It’s just…well…” She searched for the best way to explain what she was feeling. “Harry makes me feel like I’m more than a ballerina. Like I’m more than what I do. Like…”
“Like you make more sense when you’re with him.”
“Exactly.” Willow took a drink of her wine and sighed heavily, the truth of the admission tangling with the impossibility of the situation.
“And you’ve spent an entire life living on not enough of everything and never knew it until he showed up and suddenly you understand what it means to have it all?”
“Yes, exactly like that.”
Juliet raised her glass. “Well, my friend. Experience has taught me one thing. Sometimes our best laid plans go awry.”
“You can’t quote Robert Burns and think that makes you sound smart. I know all about you and your thirst for inspirational quotes!”
“Just because I didn’t write the quote doesn’t mean I can’t get credit for knowing when to pull it out.”
Willow laughed and took a sip of her wine. Maybe Juliet was right. Maybe her life didn’t have to march along to some pre-determined plan she’d laid out when she was a kid.
Julz shifted in her seat, folding her legs under her as she twisted to meet Willow’s eyes. “Here’s the thing, and I’m vamping off something someone really smart once said to me. If this guy makes you feel that good, then fuck it, spend this week with him.”
“Are you distilling my great advice to you about Ian down to fuck it, spend a week with him?”
“Yep. And it’s as awesome now as it was back then.” Juliet pursed her lips and made a face that dared her friend to argue with her logic.
Willow took that dare. “If you say so.”
“I know so. Sometimes you have to take a big breath and do the shit that scares you.”
“Says the woman living her happily ever after.”
“Exactly.” Juliet raised her brows. “See how well it worked out for me?”
Chapter Fifteen
Willow
After another, albeit smaller glass of wine and a short, fiancé-chauffeured car ride, Willow, Juliet, and Ian walked into Harry’s restaurant. Willow teetered over the threshold and choked back a giggle as Juliet clutched her arm to help keep her upright.
Maybe we had a little too much wine, she thought, hoping there would be bread or something at the table to sop up the alcohol in her system.
The hostess led them to a table with a gorgeous view and Willow quietly crossed her fingers that Harry would be working so she might see him again. If the decor of the restaurant had any amount
