With Chloe’s interruption, Jules’s mind switched gears, away from thoughts of Colorado and her brother, homing in on the memory of Matt and his goodbye kiss. Yes, it was a cheek kiss, but it had lingered even longer than his Merry Christmas kiss, almost like a promise of something to come. A smile slid slowly across her face as she conjured an image of his dimples.
Lucy, however, felt as though she’d been slapped. She knew that Jules and Will were close, but she’d never seen this side of Jules before—not directed at her, in any case. How in the world was she going to make things right with Jules?
“Jules! Are you off with the fairies or something?” Chloe’s voice pulled both Lucy and Jules back into the conversation.
“What? Oh, yeah, the orphans’ Christmas was great,” replied Jules.
Lucy, no longer in Jules’s crosshairs, took another big sip of water. The headache tablets were easing the throbbing into a dull ache, but now her heart was racing. Was Jules really angry about her and Will? Of course, she’d been concerned about how Jules might react, but she hadn’t anticipated that it would be so viscerally.
“Um, hello, perhaps you could elaborate?” asked Chloe.
“Sorry. I’m a little fuzzy. It’s late here.” Jules concentrated, picking back over the memories of the day to draw out the highlights for Chloe. “Okay, well, it was a super fun day and the food was incredible and everyone loved their gifts …” She grinned in self-congratulations at her excellent gift selection. “Your friends really made me feel welcome, Chlo.”
Chlo was less than impressed. “Really, Jules? Details, please.”
Jules, fatigue getting the best of her, replied snippily. “Well, okay, here’s a detail. How come you didn’t tell me that Christmas lunch was formal?”
“I told you that.”
“No, I don’t think you did.”
“I told you to pack a nice dress and heels.”
“I thought that was for going out!”
Lucy tutted to herself. How did they always end up bickering like siblings? Or, at least, what she guessed was like siblings. Still, the attention was off her for the moment, so she thought better of mediating like she usually did.
“So, let me guess, you rocked up in a T-shirt and shorts and Ash set you straight,” Chloe teased.
Jules, not wanting Chloe to know how accurate her guess was, replied, “Something like that. Anyway, it doesn’t matter, because I did have a dress, ’cause my bestie told me to bring one. Thank you, Chloe,” she sing-songed.
Chloe grinned, chalking up Jules’s pseudo concession as a win.
“Actually, Matt was wearing the same colour as my dress—pale blue—well, his shirt was anyway, so that was … And, your tree is decorated in all pale blue, so there we are, both matching the tree …” She snorted a tipsy giggle. “Anyway, it was funny.” And he looked incredibly sexy … That smile … delish! The fluttery feeling came back.
A sly smile curled the corners of Chloe’s mouth. She’d heard from Ash and knew all about the thing brewing between Matt and Jules. What she hadn’t known was Jules’s take on it, but that dreamy look on her face said everything.
Lucy watched intently, not sure what was going on. Had something happened between Jules and this Matt person? And if so, why was Jules so stroppy about her and Will? Wasn’t it practically the same thing?
“Matt’s the best,” Chloe wanted to see how Jules would respond to such a generic comment.
“He’s a good guy, yeah,” Jules replied, not wanting to give too much away. She still didn’t know if Chloe and Matt had ever hooked up. The whole “Matt” thing could be a no-go.
“And hot,” prodded Chloe.
Well, crap, thought Jules. She might as well come right with it now. “Chlo, did you and Matt ever, you know …?” She let the thought trail off, hoping it was clear what she meant.
Chloe laughed. “Hah! I knew it. Trying to be all cool like that. You’re into him.”
“I might be.”
“Well, to answer your question, no. Matt is like my brother. Actually, in some ways I’m closer to him than my brother.”
Chloe loved her younger brother, Drew, but he lived interstate and they only really caught up when he was visiting her parents. And he was seven years younger than her. His arrival had been a rude awakening, as it had meant she was no longer the only grandchild on both sides. She realised, half-tipsy on Christmas cake, that this may have been the reason they’d never really got close. How had she not thought of that before? She vowed right then to make more of an effort with Drew.
While Chloe was ruminating on what a terrible sister she was, Jules rested her head against the bedhead, savouring a moment of relief that Chloe and Matt had never been a thing—until her stomach plummeted. If Matt was single and he and Chloe had never hooked up, then she had a clear path. Did she want a clear path?
“So, Jules,” Lucy, uncertain what to make of the odd expressions on her friends’ faces, bravely leapt back into the conversation. “You said something about everyone liking your presents?”
“Oh, yeah,” replied Jules. Presents were a welcome break from thinking about her and Matt. “So, I’d brought this gorgeous snow globe for Callie and Thea, like beautiful. And when I got here, I found out this was their first Christmas as a married couple—”
“Hang on a minute,” Chloe interrupted, “You definitely knew that. You liked my photos of the wedding on Insta.” Why had she even bothered prepping Jules for her Aussie Christmas? Seriously, for an engineer, Jules was the most disorganised person.
Jules scoured her brain and realised Chloe was right. “Oh, right, sorry Chlo. Anyway, Ash helped me
