One Sweet Day I Found You: A Sweet Romance Book 1

by Jillian Walsh

  And nothing. No big deal. Just a little closure.

  Courtney added a sigh-face emoji and hit send. She looked over and saw Kira still tapping at her phone.

  I get it. BTW I’m taking off. CU later. Don’t do anything stupid.

  Courtney laughed and sent back a thumbs-up with the words Don’t worry. I won’t. It was a pleasant surprise that Kira was looking out for her.

  Thanks for asking me to come out. TTYS.

  Courtney set the phone back in her purse.

  Austin returned his attention to her. “Everything okay?”

  “Yeah, it’s my friend over there. Just checking up on me. Sorry.”

  “I’m glad you’ve made some friends up here.”

  “Made some friends?” Courtney smirked again. “What am I, an eight-year-old, now? Why wouldn’t I have made some friends?”

  “Whoa, whoa, whoa.” Austin leaned back. “I just meant I’m glad to see you’re doing so well.”

  What did he expect? To see her facedown on the floor?

  “Why are you talking to me like you’re my father right now?”

  “Sorry. Was I? I just—I worried about you a lot after…” He let the sentence go.

  “After?”

  He had given up the right to worry about her—or check on her—a long time ago.

  Courtney stared at him. It might have been the wine talking, but the quiet rage in her gut was growing.

  Austin cleared his throat. “I’m just glad to see it didn’t—you know, slow you down, sideline you.”

  Courtney’s eyes narrowed, and she raised her voice a notch. “You mean, because you’d have to feel guilty if I were a mess? Or, because you’d actually feel some sort of remorse?”

  The people on either side of them turned and stared, and Austin’s cheeks turned bright red. But he played it off. He’d always been good at keeping a solid public face.

  He leaned in and softened his tone. “Okay, I get it, Court. But can we keep it down?”

  It sounded more like a statement than a question. Courtney’s palms felt sweaty. Now she really wanted to talk. Her voice was steely but she lowered the volume. “You want me to keep it down?”

  Austin sounded nervous. “Babe, let’s not get into it all right here.”

  “Why not?” Courtney kept her voice as calm and quiet as she could. Babe. Her heart pounded in her chest. “You said you wanted to talk?”

  “Yeah, but I didn’t mean so the whole place could hear.”

  Courtney huffed and turned away from him. She rubbed the center of her forehead and took a deep breath.

  He was right. It would be the last thing she needed—for this to become a scene that got back to Nick. Or, for Kira’s friends to see her like this. She didn’t need a reputation as a public drama queen.

  She missed Nick desperately right now. But this had nothing to do with him. She was just raging mad about something that happened almost a year ago. She had to have this out. Nick would understand. She hoped.

  Courtney looked around. She was a hot mess. It was time to get out of here.

  Austin rubbed his forehead. “Can we go somewhere else and talk?”

  Austin clutched a six-pack of light beer that he’d purchased on the way out of the bar, and tipped the driver on the rideshare app with his other hand. Courtney unlocked her front door and let herself inside the cottage, Austin on her heels.

  She switched on the lights in the living room and kitchen and glanced at the clock on the wall. Almost one o’clock.

  “Nice place.”

  “Thanks.” She said flatly, tossing her keys in a shallow bowl on the counter. She threw her jacket and handbag over a chair then checked her phone again.

  Still no message from Nick. Not even a text. She breathed in deeply and let it out. She didn’t want to be angry with him, but on one level, she was. If he did have to go out on a rescue today, he could’ve at least called or texted when he got back, right? He must be back by now.

  Why were all the men in her life either full of themselves or unreliable? She pursed her lips and went into her bathroom. She needed to run a comb through her hair and freshen her lipstick. Austin needed to see the best possible version of Courtney—so he’d remember what a jerk he’d been to toss her aside. So he wouldn’t think she’d missed him even for a day.

  She sighed. She really wished it were Nick here with her right now. Watching a late-night movie marathon or something. Cuddling on the couch over a bucket of popcorn.

  Instead, it was the guy who had ripped her heart out and left it to rot. She walked back out into the living area and cast a stony glance at him.

  Austin had never even come to talk to her about the breakup. The only official end they’d had to the relationship was a few short words after she’d found him with Alicia, right before she threw him out of the apartment.

  After that, she just refused to take his calls. Refused to have anything to do with him. She had nothing to say to him—then. Soon after, she’d left for Australia.

  But it was all coming back to haunt her now—that they’d never had it out. She needed to deal with it, before it continued to fester. This had been a long time coming. No wonder she still harbored such rage.

  Austin set the six-pack down on the coffee table and Courtney grabbed a bottle, twisted it open, and guzzled.

  She sat down in an armchair and carefully set the bottle down on one of the round coasters made of thick corkboard and stacked neatly on the table. Mrs. Brady’s furniture didn’t deserve her wrath.

  Austin set his phone down on an end table and took a seat on the sofa. Courtney pulled out another coaster and placed it roughly on the table in front of him.

  She leaned back and crossed her legs, straightening her mini skirt. “Okay, so let’s talk.”

  Austin grabbed a beer and opened it. He drank, rested the bottle on one knee, and kept his eyes on the table.

  “Listen, Courtney, I’ve thought about this a lot over the last year. If I could go back and change things, I would. I was so stupid.”

  He looked up at her. “I never should’ve gotten involved with Alicia. It was so wrong. I never should’ve done that to you.”

  Courtney listened, forcing herself to breathe.

  In. Out. He did not deserve her tears.

  “I didn’t even like her. She was just—she was just there when I was out with the guys. You were always busy after you started waitressing. She was celebrating. She was tanked. We flirted.”

  Courtney leaned back in the armchair. Alicia had blurted out a similar story after it happened. Hers had been full of tears and pleading apologies. Back then, Courtney had also kept a stone-cold face. She wasn’t going to let Alicia see her break down, either.

  “And before that, I—I know I didn’t treat you like you deserved. You were just trying to make it. I was too caught up in myself to see what you were doing. I should’ve supported you. I can see now how badly I treated you. You deserved more.”

  Courtney swallowed hard. She wiped her wrist over her nose. He throat felt like it was closing up. Soon her eyes were going to start spilling.

  “Anyway, I never should’ve just let things go like that. But I did. I just let it all fall apart. I didn’t realize what I had.” He stared at Courtney. “Who I had. I’m sorry. I’m really, really sorry.”

  Tears streamed down Courtney’s face. It was useless to try to hold them back now. She let out a sob and Austin stood up and walked over, arms out. “Can I—?”

  “No.” She stood up. “No.”

  She didn’t want to feel this. It all hurt—way too much. Why had she brought him here? Why had she not just turned and walked away from him after the awkward hello? How did she get herself into this? This whole thing was ancient history. And right now, she couldn’t think of a way to respond. She needed a second.

  Courtney wiped her eyes on her forearm and walked into the kitchen. She poured a large glass of ice water and drank the whole thing. She rested both elbows on the
counter and stood there for several minutes, head in her hands.

  The shock of the cold liquid did its job. Her head stopped burning.

  She sniffled, wiped away the rest of the tears, and came back into the living room, where Austin sat, head in his hands. He looked up. His eyes were red, his expression pained.

  Courtney cleared her throat and looked at him. “Wow, so that was a lot to process.”

  He gazed at her. She recognized the longing in his eyes.

  He’d said everything she hoped to hear from him for the better part of the last year.

  But she stood, unmoving.

  She wasn’t going to lie. It felt good to hear those words. That he admitted he’d kept their relationship going when he could’ve been honest with her. That he realized he should’ve broken it off if he was only going through the motions. That his feelings for her were gone by the time he and Alicia hooked up—which she knew they were. But he hadn’t.

  He had cheated.

  She breathed in through her nose again.

  She couldn’t change any of it. There was no going back.

  But he was sorry. She could accept his apology.

  She walked over and sat down next to him on the sofa.

  He gazed at her intently, waiting.

  She reached out and put her arms around him and buried her head in the space between his neck and shoulder.

  He smelled good. He felt warm. Those old feelings. “I accept your apology. It’s okay,” she whispered. “I’m okay.”

  Austin pulled her in close.

  Courtney held him tight. It was still surreal that she could be holding Austin in her arms again, even if it was only a hug.

  Austin. The guy who had once made her feel so right, so beautiful, so special.

  Her first love.

  She’d have given anything to have him back—up until only a few months ago.

  Austin pulled back and she sat up from his shoulder. He gazed into her eyes, played with the back of her hair. “Courtney.” He leaned in and placed his lips softly upon her mouth and kissed her.

  For a second, she was too surprised to react.

  And then she couldn’t stop herself. She kissed him back, gently, just for a moment.

  Just out of the force of habit.

  For old time’s sake.

  Because it felt good to be desired again by the one person whom she’d never imagined would desire her again. It was a self-centered emotion. She didn’t want him—at all. She wanted—a remedy for the rejection she felt for so long.

  She wanted—validation.

  The sickening feeling came quickly.

  It was wrong.

  It was all wrong.

  She pushed him away and stood up from the couch. “I can’t, Austin. I can’t.” She hurried to her room and slammed the door.

  Nineteen

  Morning sunlight peeked in through the windows of the cottage as Courtney tiptoed down the hallway. She gazed into the living room and let out a disenchanted sigh. Austin was still there, passed out on her couch, snoring like a freight train.

  She straightened her shoulders. It was probably best to make some noise. He needed to get up and hit the road. She went into the kitchen and turned on the coffee maker.

  Last night had been brutal, and too many drinks and too many tears had done her appearance no favors. She ran a finger along the skin under her eyes, both of which still felt swollen.

  But so what? She had finally gotten the closure she’d been seeking for the greater part of a year. But the kiss—it never should have happened. Another pang of guilt made her chest continue to ache.

  Nick. This would only hurt him. The last thing she’d wanted to do was hurt him.

  She stared at the counter for a few seconds. It was all over between her and Austin. Truly, finally, over—thank goodness.

  And nothing had really happened. The kiss was just an old habit between two people who were formerly in love. And old habits died hard. She knew it was nothing more, for either of them. And it had only lasted a few seconds. She’d put a stop to it.

  He hadn’t questioned her after she’d pulled away. She’d eventually come out of her room and they’d just gone on as though nothing had happened and focused, instead, on trying to get him a ride back to the hotel. It was better forgotten, anyway. Water under the bridge.

  There was no hostility left between them, but she just wanted Austin out of her life completely, now. He probably felt the same way about her. Adios, amigo.

  Courtney emptied the clean silverware from the drying rack and made an extra loud clatter stacking the ceramic plates. She remembered how Austin used to be able to sleep through anything. It could take an army to wake him after a night of drinking.

  She looked outside to see a gray blur race across the lawn. Ash the cat was at it again. Further ahead of him, she watched as a group of birds launched to the sky. Courtney laughed and went back to the dishes.

  Austin was going paddleboarding today, something about Anderson Cove, she remembered. One of his friends had agreed to pick him up this morning and take him back to their hotel to shower and change. He said they were all heading back to Chicago tomorrow.

  He had tried to get a cab last night but that was easier said than done on a Wednesday morning at two a.m. in a sleepy little town like Heritage Bay. And no drivers took the call on the rideshare app—they’d tried that, too. She’d finally said he could just crash on the couch. No big deal.

  The coffee maker churned with the sounds of a fresh pot, and Courtney inhaled the distinctive aroma of the morning. When it finished, the coffee pot beeped and Austin finally roused.

  He sat up and stretched. “Hey, Courtney,” he said, his voice still coarse. He looked around. “What time is it?”

  “Morning, sunshine. It’s eight thirty.” She shot him a cynical grin and pulled the creamer out of the fridge.

  Austin yawned.

  “There’s coffee.”

  “Oh, cool. Thanks.” He sat up and roughed his fingers through his hair.

  “Didn’t Jon say he’d be here by nine?”

  Austin reached for his phone, still blinking the sleep from his eyes, logged in, and glanced at the screen. “Yeah, nine. Hey, do you have a charger I can borrow?”

  “Oh, sure.” Courtney went back into her room, unplugged her charger, and brought it back into the kitchen.

  He yawned and made his way over to the counter. “Thanks.”

  Courtney handed him the charger and then poured him a glass of ice water. She grabbed a coffee mug from the cabinet and set it on the counter for him.

  She took a sip from her cup. She had already showered and dressed for the day. She could nap later, but for now, the coffee was doing its job. She felt as good as could be expected, given the short night of rest.

  “You sleep okay?”

  “Can’t complain, for a sofa,” he said. “You?”

  Fifteen minutes later, Austin had thrown some water on his face and cleaned himself up. “Nice place you’ve got here, by the way, Court,” he said, coming back out to the living room where she sat, typing on her laptop. He looked refreshed.

  Courtney looked up. “Thanks. I really lucked out.”

  He gazed out at the lake through the kitchen window. “Actually, I’m jealous. This little trip’s been a nice break from the city for a few days. It’s getting hot in Chicago. As usual.”

  “I bet.” Courtney didn’t miss that.

  He poured some more coffee and checked the phone again. “Oh, hey, Jon texted. He’ll be here any minute.” He unplugged the phone and headed for the couch to gather his things.

  “Cool.” Courtney went back to her screen. Beecham was expecting the Fourth of July post from her by the end of the day. She still had several paragraphs left to write and a lot left to edit. She was ignoring social media and all other forms of digital communication until she had it under control. It was the only way she could finish things on time under a tight deadline anymore.


  A moment later, the doorbell rang.

  “Well, that was quick. I’ll get it.” Austin went to the door and Courtney heard a voice.

  “Uh, hey.”

  It sounded more like a question than a greeting. And she recognized the voice.

  Oh. No.

  Nick. She took in a stilted breath.

  Austin held the screen door open and waited for Courtney. “Hey. Uh? How’s it going?”

  Courtney reached the door. “Nick.”

  Nick was standing outside, a combination of shock and dismay beginning to cloud his face. He held two coffees and a brown paper bag with the local bakery’s logo on it.

  She couldn’t hide the panic in her voice. “Uh, what are you doing here?”

  Shoot. That didn’t come out right.

  Nick straightened his shoulders and looked at her. “I could ask you the same thing.”

  “I mean—what’s going on? I didn’t expect to see you this morning.”

  He shook his head. “I can see that.”

  Austin stuck out his hand. “Hey dude, I’m Austin. Look, whatever you’re thinking…” His voice was friendly.

  Nick stared at him and then turned his attention to Courtney, and Austin let his sentence break off. Courtney could see that Nick was sizing him up, but he didn’t say a word, and he didn’t accept the offer to shake hands.

  Courtney’s heart pounded in her chest.

  Austin glanced at Courtney with concern. He looked unsure what to make of this. “So…?”

  Courtney ignored the question. “Nick, this isn’t what it looks like,” she blurted.

  Nick’s cheeks went pink. “Well, that’s a relief, because it doesn’t look so good.” He glanced around uncomfortably, growing visibly more upset by the second. He shoved the paper bag at her and held out one of the coffees. “These were for you.”

  Courtney took the bag and the coffee from him, her expression pained, her heart dropping into her stomach.

  “For crying out loud, I thought we were more than this, Courtney.”

  “Nick, you don’t understand.”

  Nick turned and headed for the Jeep.