by Sandy Barker
She glanced at Matt, who was chatting to Thea. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt butterflies, actual butterflies, just being near a guy. And, yes, he was undeniably good-looking and sexy, but he was so much more than that. Just knowing him a few days, Jules could see how caring he was, how fascinating … and he made her laugh.
Maybe the hot Aussie winemaker was the key to shaking her from the doldrums.
Chapter 17
The May Ladies
“Merry Christmas, Lucy!” Jules exclaimed.
Lucy squinted bleary-eyed at her phone, the faces of her best friends grinning up at her.
“Lucy, are you okay?” Jules’s grin fell away. “You don’t look so good.”
“What time is it?” Lucy’s tongue felt thick and furry.
“It’s Christmastime!” Jules saw on the screen that she was slanting to the left—drinking wine nonstop for twelve hours might have had something to do with it—and righted herself.
“Lucy, seriously, are you okay?” asked Chloe.
Lucy pushed herself up to a seated position and cradled her forehead. “Ow.”
“Ohhh,” said Chloe. “Had a big night, did you?”
Lucy nodded, instantly regretting it.
“Luce, you lush!” teased Jules. “Although, I can’t talk. I’ve had a buzz on since this morning, trying to keep up with the Aussies.”
Lucy ignored the commentary, noticing that someone—most likely Will—had left a large glass of water on the bedside table. She sent him a silent “thank you” and took a swig.
“If you look in the medicine cabinet, there’ll be some Tylenol,” said Jules. Lucy looked confused. “Pain killers. Headache tablets. Well, go. We’ll wait.”
Lucy scurried out of bed. “I should have warned her,” said Jules. “A hundred to one, my dad’s hot chocolate is the culprit. That stuff is lethal.”
“I haven’t even really started yet. Christmas lunch isn’t ’til four. Oh, unless you count three pieces of Susan’s Christmas cake. It’s basically sherry held together with dried fruit.” Jules wrinkled her nose; she hated Christmas cake. “You know, I think I’ve had more sherry in the past few days than I’ve had in my entire life.” Chloe realised she was probably a little tipsy too. Although, if she lingered too long on Archer’s news from that morning, it sobered her right up. Just wait ’til she told the girls. Although, they may already have seen the photos.
Lucy reappeared on their screens. She looked paler than usual, but a little better than before. “Hiya, loves, Happy Christmas.” She gave them a weak smile, then shook her head gently at herself. “I can’t believe I let myself get totally trollied on Christmas Eve. What must your family think of me, Jules?” What must Will think of me, more like.
Jules laughed, “Oh they won’t care. They were probably all well on their way too—except Bradley and Bridget, ’cause they’re underage. Although, I caught Bridget sneaking rum last year. She’s not as straight as she seems.” Jules felt an overwhelming longing for home. “So, how is everyone. How’s my family?” she asked, aiming for nonchalance.
“Brilliant. They’ve all been so lovely.”
“What about the eccentric aunty? What’s she like?” asked Chloe. She was stalling, unsure of how to broach her news without killing the Christmas vibe.
“Oh, yeah! How was meeting Aunt Jackie? What mortifying thing did she lay on you? I love her to bits, but I swear that woman’s filter gets worse every year.”
Lucy felt the burning in her cheeks as she relived the moment in the foyer. “Come on, Lucy, spill,” prodded Chloe. “You’ve turned into a strawberry. She said something.”
Lucy sighed, knowing her friends would not let her off the hook until she told them. Damn her tell-tale cheeks. “It was just something about Will and me making lovely babies together.” Chloe’s eyes widened as a bark of a laugh escaped; even she wouldn’t say something like that.
Jules imagined the scene and a throaty laugh took hold. “Oh, my god! That woman is hysterical! You and Will …” She chuckled some more.
“Um, Lucy?” Chloe scrutinised Lucy’s face, which had gone from pink to full-blown red. “Anything else you wanna tell us?”
Lucy’s hand flew to her cheek, feeling the warmth under her palm. “Well, fuck,” she said. Her friends blinked at her in surprise. She didn’t drop that word very often.
“Lucy?” Jules’s eyes narrowed and her smile started to fade. There was a beat while she scrutinised Lucy’s face, then realisation struck. “Oh,” she said, her mouth forming a perfect facsimile of the sound. “You and Will?”
“Nothing’s happened, not really,” said Lucy, racing to reassure her friend. “We just kissed, that’s all.”
“You kissed him? What the hell, Lucy?”
There was no way Jules wanted Lucy, who was completely oblivious to how beautiful she was and what effect she had on men, anywhere near her brother—especially after what had happened with his ex-girlfriend.
“It’s just silly, really … just a bit of fun,” Lucy lied. It wasn’t like that for her, but she would give anything to wipe that look from Jules’s face.
Jules scowled at the screen, her mind filled with thoughts of Will falling hard for Lucy, then Lucy disappearing back to England and abandoning him. Poor Will. “Well, if that’s the case, Luce, then just stay the hell away from him, okay? The last thing he needs—”
“So, Jules,” Chloe cut in, not wanting their Christmas call to devolve into an episode of The Real Housewives. Besides, what was the big deal if Lucy and Will got together? Wasn’t he, like, twenty-seven or something? “How was the orphans’ Christmas?” She was again putting off her news, if only to keep the peace and, thankfully, it seemed to do the trick.
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 get it engraved with ‘Our first married Christmas’.”
“That sounds lovely!” chimed Lucy with far more enthusiasm than she felt.
“That was really sweet, Jules,” added Chloe. She could just imagine Callie gushing over that.
“Yeah, they thought it was awesome,” Jules humble-bragged. She had a sudden thought. “Hey, Chloe, what’s with Ash and Davo, and how come you never said they used to be a couple? Or wait, did you tell me?” Jules added, second-guessing herself.
“Actually, no, I didn’t. That was for Ash to tell you if she wanted to.” Jules nodded solemnly as she remembered how hard Ash had pretended to be cheerful throughout the day, even though Jules had caught her looking wistful on several occasions. “So, how are those two? Have they worked it out yet?” asked Chloe.
“That they still love each other?”
“Yeah,” Chloe replied.
“Well, Ash definitely has. And it seems like he’s pining for her, too, but they spent the whole day in ‘just friends’ mode.” She raised one finger in half-assed air quotes.
“They’ll get there eventually. I hope.”
“Yeah.” The conversation was getting far too morose for Jules. “Hey, so Matt got me the most awesome present,” she said, to brighten the mood. “I mean, so thoughtful. He’s taking me horseback riding in wine country on the weekend. Ash and I are going to his vineyard for a couple of days.”
“Oh, I knew you’d love that.”
“So, you’ve been conspiring?”
“Maybe. I just wanted you to have a good Christmas.”
“Hey, Chlo, I know. You’ve done so much. And Ash; she’s a doll. You’ve both made my first summertime Christmas amazing.” First. Jules wondered if there would be more.
Chloe shrugged half-heartedly. It felt good to know that her plans for Jules were working out, despite Jules’s best efforts to mess them up.
“Just keep an eye on Matt, though. He’s never ridden a horse before. We don’t want a repeat of Cabo.”
“Yeah, yeah. I will,” Jules replied, but Chloe doubted her warning had sunk in.
“It was a little weird waking up to hot weather and eating salads and cold shrimp on Christmas Day,” continued Jules, “but it was a fun day. We played Celebrity Heads after lunch and, of course, there were all these Australian celebs who I had no idea about. Anyway, I can’t remember the last time I laughed like that—probably when the three of us were together in New York.”
At any other time, it was just the sort of comment that would have sent a warm shot of nostalgia through Lucy, but even though she was glad the playful bickering had died down, she was still stinging from Jules’s callous disapproval of her and Will, and she sat in silence.
“And the wine! Matt the winemaker really knows his stuff!” Jules giggled. “His pinot is one of the best I’ve ever had.”
And watching Jules get all gooey eyed over this Matt fellow when she’d just scolded her about Will was making Lucy cross. She wanted to change the subject. “So, what about you, Chloe?” she asked, deliberately redirecting the conversation. “How are Mum and Dad?”
“Honestly, Lucy, your parents are the best. They’ve been so nice to me. And your mum is the most amazing cook. I can’t even tell you how good it smells in here.” She didn’t need to; Lucy knew exactly how it would smell in her parents’ kitchen. “They even got me a Christmas stocking!” added Chloe.
Lucy couldn’t help but laugh at Chloe’s childlike delight. “Mum said she would. Was it filled with all sorts of silly nonsense? That’s what she usually does.”
“Oh, yeah, like, stickers and coloured pens and I even got a rubber duck—you know, like for the bath—and this gorgeous little fluffy sheep. Oh, and so much chocolate. I feel like I’ve been eating nonstop since I got here.”
Lucy imagined her mum fussing over Chloe and wished she could switch places—just for a moment, only long enough to hug her and wish her a happy Christmas. Then she’d want to pop straight back to Colorado. To Will. Honestly, how was she going to get Jules onside? Or perhaps it was Jules who needed to make things right between them.
“I’ll pass you over when we’re done,” said Chloe.
“Sorry?” Lucy hadn’t quite caught that.
“When we’re done talking, I’ll pass my phone over to your mum and dad.”
“Oh, yes, please.” Lucy felt the sting of tears. As lovely a time as she was having, it really did feel odd being away from home at Christmas.
“Right, now I have some news—some good, as in very good, and some not so much, but first … Lucy, I have
a bone to pick with you.” Chloe’s change in conversation was abrupt, as it often was, but Lucy wasn’t prepared to have both her best friends mad at her. What had she done now? Chloe continued, “When were you going to tell us that Archer Tate grew up across the road from your parents?”
Jules, who was succumbing to the wine and had nearly nodded off, sat up, fully alert. “Hold on, what? Seriously?” How had Chloe kept something this juicy quiet until now?
It took Lucy half a second to catch on. “Ooohhh, right, Alan … yes, sorry, but I didn’t think of it to be perfectly honest.” Lucy knew—of course, she did—that he was incredibly famous now, but to her he was just the boy she knew from the village.
Predictably, when she was old enough to succumb to typical teenaged angst and longing, she’d had a crush on him. She’d been about thirteen, if she remembered correctly.
It was right about the time when she’d stretched to her current height and he to his. There was a sort of solidarity in being extremely tall teenagers amongst their peers, even if she was a fluffy-haired redhead with constantly pink cheeks and he already looked like someone out of a boy band. He was too young for Take That and too old for One Direction, but he’d had that carelessly handsome look, even back then.
What had sealed the crush, however, was how kind he was—just a very nice boy, really. She blinked the memories away. “So,” she ventured carefully, not knowing if she was still in trouble, “have you met him yet?”
Chloe nodded. “Yes, actually I have met him. And he’s an absolute sweetheart.” Lucy sighed, hoping she was off the hook. This conversation was almost more than her sore head could bear. “But here’s the thing—”
“This is like if there was a Hemsworth living down the hall from you and Ash,” interjected Jules. She lingered on the thought, considering which one she’d prefer, Liam, Chris, or Luke? Liam. Definitely Liam.
“Sure, Jules, but I—” Chloe made a second attempt to explain her current, confusing situation.
“Hold on,” said Lucy, “But how did you meet him? And where?” Lucy had a sudden image of Chloe peeking through the windows of the Tates’s house and stifled a giggle. “You didn’t find out and then go skulking about the village to ‘accidentally’ run into him, did you?” The giggle took hold.