“Julianne, I …” This time Remi was the one to stop himself. Starting again, haltingly, he looked down at the sand. “I wanted to give you something that wouldn’t change. That you could have forever and no one could take away.” She looked up at him, not understanding.
“That’s why—” He cleared his throat and tried again.
“That’s why I talked to the owners about commissioning you for the mural. I wanted you to have something perfect, and I couldn’t think of anything more perfect than your art.” He reached out and brushed a tear off of Julianne’s cheek with the side of his hand. Julianne’s eyes widened and the slightest hint of a smile flashed across her face. He rested his hand on the nape of her neck, buried under her hair, and pulled her close to him for a kiss. It was slower and sadder than their other beach kisses had been, but Julianne still felt the same electricity crackling between them.
“Remi, I …” Julianne put her hand on his chest, pushing him back. “Thank you. That’s the most thoughtful thing anyone has ever done for me. It’s amazing. But …” Her voice faltered and threatened to break. “Remi, I can’t. I can’t be with you. Not with the house and with work. I can’t do this to Chloe and my dad. I can’t lie to them. I mean, I won’t. Why does it have to be so complicated?”
Before Julianne could finish her sentence, Remi leaned over and kissed her again. For just a second, his warm lips on hers made the entire world dissolve into nothing more than the lapping of the ocean. And this time, Julianne didn’t push him away.
“Julianne, you have no idea how special you are,”
Remi said, gazing at her adoringly as she settled into his arms. “You’re smart; you’re funny. You’re more talented than you think you are. I’ve never met someone who just …”
“You get me.” They finished the thought together.
“I know. You understand me like no one ever has before …” Julianne trailed off.
“It’s like we’re meant to be together,” Remi offered, his shining eyes fixing her gaze. Julianne leaned in and kissed him again.
Lucy’s advice in the art store came rushing back to Julianne . If you’re meant for each other, all the pieces will come together somehow. And Julianne knew it was true. She was meant for Remi, and he was meant for her. Really, truly, and absolutely.
“Remi,” Jules said with renewed determination.
“Everything that’s going on with the building and the beach—it sucks, but it’s not about us. It may be our families, but it’s not us.” She looked over at him and knew he understood. She leaned her head against his strong shoulder, shut her eyes, and listened to the ocean’s heartbeat mixing with his.
Chapter Fifteen
Julianne popped her head around the corner, checking to see if the coast was clear. Turning her head so quickly that she was whipped in the face by her own curls, she decided she was good to go and shimmied up the ladder. Halfway up, she heard a low wolf whistle from below and looked down.
Beau and Randy, two of the guys she worked with, were standing at the base of the ladder, smirking.
“Now, where would you be going in such a hurry, Jules?” Randy teased as Beau sang, “Jules and Remi, sitting in a tree …” under his breath.
“Very mature, you guys.” Julianne grinned. “So glad to have such evolved, professional role models to look up to around here.”
Ever since Mitch had spotted Remi kissing Jules outside the trailer a few days earlier, the news that they were a couple had spread like wildfire. Now it seemed like their relationship suddenly included two dozen construction workers. The “little sister” dynamic Julianne shared with them was now extending to Remi, who couldn’t walk by a member of the crew without a friendly punch to the shoulder or tousle of his hair.
Julianne had never heard someone called “champ” or
“pal” by so many people in such a short span of time.
“Eh, we do what we can.” Randy winked at her playfully before lowering his voice conspiratorially, “Just so you know, Bill’s not in until after lunch today. Just sayin’.”
Beau shook his head at Randy and then turned to Jules. “We should get back to, um, building something.
But you have a great morning, kiddo. If you happen to run into our favorite project manager, do give him our best.” He tipped an imaginary hat at Julianne, then strode off with Randy, chuckling.
Julianne laughed as they walked away, then took one last look around and scooted back up the ladder. She pushed the flat wood panel that separated the crawl space from the rest of the house aside and pulled her body up through the trap-door slat, into the makeshift attic. The wood and plaster for the walls had been filled in over the past few weeks, and Jules was glad to use the space to its full advantage. After a moment of panic, where Julianne’s legs seemed to want to stay downstairs, acting completely independent of the rest of her body, she half-tumbled into the space. Wiping away sawdust, she turned to Remi and smiled. “Good morning.”
Remi was sitting in the crawl space on an old tarp with boxes of Pop-Tarts on either side of him. “Good morning.” He yawned, before reaching for the red ther-mos of coffee just beyond his right hand.
“Ooh, Pop-Tarts!” Julianne laughed, looking over at the boxes. “I just love a man who can cook.”
Remi half-blushed as he ripped open a silver foil pack of Frosted Strawberry. “You’re just lucky it’s not some sort of special occasion. I don’t think you could handle my cinnamon toast.”
Julianne imagined Remi in a chef ’s hat and a checkered apron and had to suppress a giggle. “I think you’re right. I’m not sure I’m ready for that. I may need to
