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 thermos 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 work up to it.”
Their laughter was interrupted by the sound of work boots clomping underneath them. They both froze, holding their breath out of habit. The footsteps lingered, and Julianne was afraid she would pass out from holding her breath so long, but she was more afraid of making any noise by breathing out. Next to her, Remi had frozen in mid-reach, twisted up like some sort of human pretzel.
“Don’t fall!” Julianne whispered under her breath as the footsteps started to fade away.
Remi, already shaking a little from the effort of squeezing himself into hiding mode, did exactly that. He stayed sprawled out on his back, silently shaking with laughter for the next couple minutes. Julianne crawled over and placed herself gingerly next to him, careful not to make any noise that could draw unwanted attention to the attic, just in case the guys were wrong about Bill. She knew that the crew had their backs, but she also didn’t want to test that theory. She rolled over in almost mimelike slow motion to look at Remi. “Next time,” she breathed, “I think we should just go out for bagels.”
For the second time in one summer, work was turning into Ocean’s 14. Jules and Remi spent all day waiting for stolen moments to see each other. Julianne used her well-honed spy skills to scout out any opportunity to catch Remi alone—even for five minutes. Remi requested lots of “consultations” with Julianne to discuss her progress on painting the ivy in the courtyard. Every time Julianne walked into the trailer, the guys hooted and hollered. Most of the time, though, despite the support of the crew, they avoided even looking at each other. Julianne and Remi were both afraid that if they made eye contact, they wouldn’t be able to stop staring, and they’d never get any work done ever again. In the trailer, they tried to keep things as professional as possible, but even the accidental touch of their hands caused them to forget all the official business they were supposed to be plotting out.
Between their warring families, and the constant procession of lawyers, co-workers, and even Bill, it seemed like every bit of their time was spent trying to deal with what other people’s reactions to their relationship might be. Neither Jules nor Remi was sure what, exactly, would happen if their respective families found out that they were together, but they were both sure that it would turn their summer romance into a Shakespearean tragedy.
Chapter Sixteen
Julianne tiptoed toward the front door. Even though it was early evening and still light out, she felt like she was making an escape under cover of darkness. She already had one hand outstretched toward the waiting doorknob when she heard a quiet sound—almost a purring—over her right shoulder. She wheeled around to find Chloe there, clearing her throat softly.
“And where are you going, young lady?” Chloe’s voice was light, teasing, but Julianne could tell the question wasn’t entirely a joke.
“Oh, just down to the beach. Meeting up with Lucy and some of the guys from the site. We might wind up at Lucy’s later, or maybe the Fishtail…” Julianne trailed off, trying to make the details of her plans sound especially mundane. She didn’t want to lie to Chloe any more than was totally necessary.
“Some guys from the site, or a particularly special guy from the site?” Chloe teased, clicking her tongue against her teeth.
Julianne’s heart raced. “Like who?” she asked, trying to be nonchalant.
“Like who? Like anyone! You work with two dozen hot guys, it’s almost impossible to narrow the field.” Chloe giggled.
“Sorry, Chloe. Not a date. Just hanging out.” Julianne felt bad for the half-truths, but, really, it wasn’t a date. She couldn’t wait until she and Remi were actually able to go on dates like other couples. But all this sneaking around was decidedly not dinner and a movie.
“Darn. Okay, well have fun.” Chloe shrugged before adding, “I was over at the Fishtail the other night and the band was really good.” She headed for the steps, and Julianne completed her beeline for the door.
Julianne walked down the beach, flip-flops in hand, her stomach doing a few funny little jumps every now and then. She couldn’t tell if she was just having excitement butterflies because she was going to see Remi—just the thought of spending time with him was enough to make her totally giddy—or if they were little pangs of guilt from lying to Chloe. After a few minutes, though, they went away entirely and so did the question. After walking for what felt like forever, she saw the familiar shape of Remi’s tousled hair and broad shoulders. Julianne broke into a sprint and dashed toward him. Plopping herself down on the sand, she laughed and mock-gasped for breath.
“I feel like I’ve been walking for six hours. How did you find this place? I’ve lived here all my life and barely knew it existed.” She linked one arm through Remi’s and leaned in close. When they had decided they should try to meet farther away from their respective houses, Remi had, in true project manager style, undertaken a massive site search. As a result, they were now sitting on an out-of-the-way stretch of beach silhouetted by craggy sloping cliffs. The sunset coming down around the cliffs and breaking through the bowing palm trees was amazing. Julianne sighed happily. It was totally worth the nearly forty-five minutes she had walked to get here.
Remi squeezed her hand. “I know. It’s pretty random, isn’t it? But it’s so beautiful. The cliffs are amazing.”
“The cliffs aren’t the only thing that’s amazing,” Julianne said softly, squeezing his hand in return.
“Yeah, you are pretty great, aren’t you?” Remi responded seriously, but there was a laugh in his voice.
“I wasn’t talking about me, and you know it!” Julianne laughed back, before being pulled into a giant bear hug. Between the towering cliffs and Remi’s strong arms, she had rarely felt so safe and so warm.
Julianne was pretty sure that this stolen time was worth all the sneaking around. More than once, Remi had driven over to Palisades Design and waited in the back by the oil paints so he and Julianne could see each other while she picked up supplies to finish her mother’s painting. Those few minutes alone, not hiding from anyone or anything, completely justified all the times they felt like sketchy stalkers hiding in the bushes outside of a celebrity’s house.
At work, both Julianne and Remi tried to keep a low profile. Partially because the teasing could get embarrassing, but mainly because they didn’t want the guys to have to lie to Bill—no matter how many times the crew offered to keep an eye out on their behalf. Julianne spent a lot of time in the courtyard working on the mural, or laying down tiles or solar panels. Remi tried to keep himself constantly busy elsewhere, doing daily check-ins with Bill and seeing if any of the guys had overflow projects they needed help with. Remi also had a special project of his own that he was planning for the house, and he spent his lunch breaks holed up in the trailer with a pencil and graph paper, planning it out. Julianne did have to admit, though, now that she was scared of getting caught, she was a million times more productive at work. She had never been more focused in her life.
But now they sat staring at the ocean. The sunset had melted into evening, but the water was still shining just as beautifully as ever. Every so often, the quiet on the beach was punctuated by a burst of laughter or a happy sigh and Julianne felt like she could stay here forever. Then her moment of bliss was interrupted by the sharp beep of her cell phone ringing. She dug into the pocket of her shorts,
pulled out the phone, and looked at the display. It was Lucy.
“Hello?”
“Jules? Where are you? You were supposed to meet us an hour ago!” Lucy didn’t sound annoyed, just a little worried.
“Oh, damn! Luce, I totally lost track of time. I am so sorry!” Julianne jumped up from the ground and brushed a dusting of sand off of her legs.
“Don’t worry about it. I figured you were probably painting and spaced out for a while. You’re still coming out, though, right?” Lucy asked.
“Totally. Of course! I’ll be there as soon as I can. Tell the guys I’m sorry!” Julianne felt awful. She had been so excited about sneaking off with Remi before meeting her friends that she had forgotten about the actual meeting her friends part.
“No worries, Jules. We’ll see you soon,” Lucy chirped.
Julianne clicked her phone shut and looked over at Remi, who was shaking his head knowingly. “I knew we forgot something.” He laughed. “I’m supposed to meet some of the guys from the site in fifteen minutes for night soccer.”
Julianne shook her head as she shook off her flip-flops. “Remington Moore, why do you have to be so distracting?” she teased.
Remi chuckled. “I could say the same for you, lady. Hey, do you need a ride to meet your friends? I’m parked over at a shopping center down the road.”
“That would be great. Only…” Julianne blushed.
“Only what?” Remi asked, his eyes crinkling.
“Only, could you maybe drop me off a few blocks away and I’ll walk the rest of the way myself?” Julianne looked down, a little embarrassed that Remi had made such a sweet offer and she wasn’t able to entirely take him up on it.
“No problem. I used to make my parents do that when they would drop me off at school when I was a kid.” Remi laughed his warm laugh, and Julianne’s whole body relaxed. She could listen to him laugh forever. He slipped his hand around hers and led her to the car.
Hours later, Julianne was walking down the beach near her house on the way back from hanging out with Lucy, Mitch, and Hunter. The night had been a blast—Frisbee on the beach, checking out a band at the Fishtail—and her late entrance hadn’t put the smallest crimp in the fun. Despite her awesome mood, she couldn’t help but stop and stare as she passed Remi’s house. She knew he wasn’t home—his soccer game hadn’t started until after she met up with her friends, and those guys could play all night—but it didn’t look like anyone else was home either. Julianne thought it was odd. For a massive glass compound, there were very rarely people visible in the windows. She wondered if anyone was ever home over there, other than Remi, or if Mr. and Mrs. Moore were holed up someplace else while the house was being enlarged. The thought made Julianne instantly annoyed. As much as she didn’t blame Remi, she still couldn’t forgive his parents for what they were doing with their gigantic McMansion. And to think that they were going through all of this trouble—with the lawyers and the papers and the near daily pressure of offers and threats levied at the Kahns to sell their land—and they weren’t even living there? It was a worse thought than she could stand. Shrugging the tension out of her shoulders and allowing the good mood her night out had put her into return, Julianne turned her eyes away from the Moores’ house and walked the rest of the way home in the warm summer air.
She slipped quietly through the back door, making as little noise as possible. She wasn’t being sneaky this time; she just didn’t want to wake anyone. As she crept to the landing on her way up to her room, she noticed that a ribbon of light was escaping from under Chloe’s door. She climbed the stairs and paused for a moment outside of her sister’s room. If Chloe were asleep after all, she would pop her head in and turn out the light for her. As Julianne stood there, she could hear Chloe’s teary, panicked voice on the phone. Julianne shook her head sadly—she knew exactly what Chloe was crying to her friends about—but she turned away and headed into her bedroom anyway. There was nothing she could do to help her sister tonight, and she needed to rest for work in the morning.
As far as Julianne was concerned, work was both the best and the worst part of this summer. On one hand, anything that kept her away from the tension at home was a good thing. Between the constant harassment from the Moores’ lawyers, her dad walking around the house like a zombie, and Chloe’s constant careening among normal Chloe, desperate crying Chloe, and Chloe-who-was-determined-to-fix-everything-and-comfort-everybody, Julianne felt like she was living in some bizarre, alternative universe. The only thing that felt constant was Remi, but with his comfort came the need to act like neither knew the other one existed ninety-eight percent of the time. On the other hand, a huge portion of the time that Remi and Jules needed to avoid each other was at work. So every weekday they had the opportunity to see each other was also a day in which they had to pretend they couldn’t care less that the other one was around—or risk getting busted by Bill or ribbed by the guys from the crew at an inopportune moment.
The following morning she was out in the courtyard sitting up on top of a ladder, working on her ivy mural. She felt like some sort of queen holding court—every few minutes, someone would pop their head into the courtyard, stand at the bottom of the ladder, and compliment her on how well everything was coming together, how professional it looked, or how much the owners were going to love it. Perched on top of her ladder in her paint-stained cutoffs, a black-paint-splattered T-shirt, and her new pink retro Pumas, with her oversize sunglasses obscuring half her face, Julianne felt (at least for that moment) like she was doing everything she could have hoped to do with her summer. With every brushstroke, she counted one thing that was going even better than she could have hoped. Stroke—she had an awesome job. Stroke—where she got to spend all day outside. Stroke—working with her hands. Stroke—on something really cool. Stroke—and, sometimes, even painting. Stroke—for money. Stroke—only a few feet away from one of the most amazing guys she’d ever met.
As if on cue, Remi popped his head out into the courtyard. His sneak attacks had lost their effect now that he and Julianne knew each other well enough to anticipate the other’s next move.
“Hey!” he called up the ladder. “How’s the painting going?”
“Why don’t you come up here and tell me?” Julianne called back down. Remi shimmied up the ladder two rungs at a time, until his face was almost level with Julianne’s. “So, what do you think?” she asked, tilting her head down toward him.
“Brilliant,” Remi assured her, his dark eyes darting from wall to wall, surveying Julianne’s work. Julianne could tell from the way his eyes brightened as he looked around the courtyard that he liked what he saw. “Wherever can I find the gentleman who discovered such sparkling local talent? Clearly he’s a genius with discriminating taste.” He looked up at Jules and grinned. She had never met anyone who grinned like that. It made her feel dizzy and warm.
Julianne arched her eyebrows and shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s going to be pretty hard to track him down. I heard he used to be a project manager around here, but they had to let him go because he was always slacking off and hanging around with his girlfriend.”
“Poor guy,” Remi said quietly, looking down the ladder.
“I know,” Julianne answered wryly. “But, for what it’s worth, I heard that the girlfriend was totally hot, if that makes you feel any better.”
“You know, oddly enough, it does. Actually, I heard that, too.” Remi ran his fingers over Julianne’s cheekbone. “She was gorgeous. And insanely talented.”
Julianne laughed and rolled her eyes. “I’m sure this guy must have had something going for him, to get together with her.”
“Not much. Mainly, he was charming.” Remi laughed. Then he reached up, rested his hand on the back of Julianne’s head, and kissed her. As soon as their lips touched, Julianne heard a noise in the doorway. Remi quickly hopped up another rung on the ladder and leaned over Jules’s shoulder, pretending to admire the detail work on a section of the painting.
/> Julianne peered down around Remi to see who’d come into the courtyard. Bill Cullen was standing at the bottom of the ladder, looking bemused. “What are you guys up to?” he asked.
“Bill, have you seen the detail work on Julianne’s painting here?” Remi asked thoughtfully. “It’s…very impressive. The client is going to be really thrilled.” He climbed down a few rungs of the ladder before turning his eyes back to Julianne. “Keep up the great work,” he said as neutrally as possible. He hopped off the ladder and turned back to Bill again. “It’s really…just great.”
Bill raised one graying eyebrow. “Jules is great. That’s not news to me,” he said matter-of-factly. Then he turned and headed out of the courtyard, calling over his shoulder, “Lunch break’s at one-thirty today. If you want pizza, it’s three bucks.”
It wasn’t until Bill had left that Julianne felt the heat leave her face and noticed the green paint smeared on Remi’s shirt. They exchanged a quick, panicked look and Remi mouthed, “Do you think he knows?”
Julianne shrugged and whispered, “Maybe?”
The near miss was enough to put them both on edge. Remi shifted his weight from one foot to the other while Julianne twisted the same piece of hair around her finger over and over again.
“Um, well, okay. ’Bye,” Remi blurted, dashing out of the courtyard.
“Yeah, ’bye,” Julianne replied, but even as he hurried away, she couldn’t take her eyes off him.
Chapter Seventeen
Julianne couldn’t believe she was finally putting the finishing touches on her mom’s painting. And just in time. After a week of beautiful weather, a patch of clouds was rolling in over the Palisades, bringing an unusual gray with it. Julianne dabbed a few final highlights of gold on the canvas, just to make the beach come that much more alive. Ever since that night she spent out on the beach listening for her mom a few weeks earlier, it was like all the pieces of her painting had suddenly started falling into place. The light was just right, and her colors had become richer, deeper, and more complex, somehow. It was like Hannah Kahn was out there somewhere, telling Jules to take her gifts and run with them, and if Jules just listened closely enough, she’d know what she was supposed to do. Grinning at her finished painting, Julianne practically hugged herself with delight over her accomplishment. She grabbed the painting off its easel and rushed it inside and up to her bedroom, where it could dry without the threat of sudden raindrops.
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