by R. J. Groves
‘Promise you won’t go running to that dick next door?’
Harley couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity of his question, but when she glanced up at him, his expression was serious. ‘Joey, you know I won’t. There’s only you, remember? I’m not going to run off with some other guy. Especially not him.’
‘But what if—what if you get lonely?’
‘I will be lonely.’ She sat up, and he followed suit. ‘Of course I’ll be lonely. I will be unless you’re here. But I’m yours. I was never his. Not really. And besides, he moved months ago.’ She caught his eyes and tried her best to make sure he got the message. ‘I’m yours. No one else’s. Yours.’
He lifted her hand to his lips, his gentle kiss sending a flutter to her core. Would she ever get used to his kisses, his touch? ‘Promise?’ His eyebrow rose and the look in his eyes darkened, sending a tingle through her whole body.
‘Promise,’ she said. ‘Promise you won’t forget me?’
‘I could never forget you.’
He pulled her close and kissed her then, his lips firm yet gentle. She poured her everything into that kiss, memorising his taste, his scent, his touch. She didn’t want to forget a single thing about Joey if the distance turned out to be for a longer period than she’d hoped. They broke the kiss and she snuggled back under his arm again, breathing him in.
‘When do you think you’ll be back again?’ Without intending to, she held her breath, waiting for his answer.
‘I don’t know. A few months, maybe. I can apply for leave, but it doesn’t mean it’ll be approved.’
Harley pouted. Even a few months sounded like an agonisingly long stretch. She remembered Andie telling her how the days seemed to drag on whenever she was away from Tay. Would it be like that for her? How could she survive months of that? She frowned as his earlier question caught up to her again.
‘Why were you worried I’d run off with someone else?’ she asked, looking up at him.
He exhaled, long and slow, and focused on a point on her arm where his fingers traced soothing patterns. ‘My pop dying wasn’t the only reason I joined the navy.’ She swallowed, waiting for him to continue. She’d thought there was more to the story when he’d mentioned it last time, but he hadn’t said it, and she hadn’t pushed it. ‘I was hurt. By a girl. We’d been dating in our last year of school. You know how I said I tried a summer session?’ She nodded. He let out another long breath. ‘I thought I’d give it a go, just in case things got serious with her. And I thought it was. I wanted to join the navy, sure, and I thought she was supportive of it, but I held off to see where things could go. After Pop died, I went to her and—and found her with some other guy.’
‘So there was nothing holding you back.’
He nodded slowly. It all made sense now. The way he reacted when she asked him if staying was an option. The way the navy had become such a huge part of his life. His hopes that she wouldn’t do what his ex had done to him so many years ago.
‘I haven’t really been with anyone since then, Harley.’
‘In what, ten years?’ He nodded. ‘Oh come on, I’m not sure I believe that.’ A man as handsome and kind as Joey? Surely not. She could imagine women falling over him every which way. But there was something very serious in the way he looked at her. He wasn’t joking around. ‘Really?’
‘I might talk a lot of shit, and there’s been the occasional woman I’ve flirted with, but no. Not like this. I didn’t want anything to happen unless I was serious about it. And I am. I’m serious about you, Harley.’
‘I’m serious about you, too.’
Her heart felt like it expanded in her chest as she stared into his eyes, but at the same time, it hurt. God, she wanted this. All of it. She wanted to wake up every morning next to Joey, see his smile, hear his laughter. His jokes. No one could make her smile the way he did. But she couldn’t have it all. At least, not yet. For now, she had to make do with what she could have. Which wasn’t much, in the grand scheme of things. He broke eye contact when his alarm went off. Her heart dropped, knowing that meant they’d run out of time.
‘So this is it, then?’
He brushed his thumb across her cheek, wiping away the tears she hadn’t even realised had started. ‘For now. But I’ll be back, as soon as I can. And I’ll call every chance I get.’
‘And when you can’t?’ Her voice was shaky, and her body shook as he cupped her face in his hands.
‘Then I’ll write. And I’ll deliver it personally.’
He pulled her close and covered her mouth with his. She gripped him wherever she could, trying to get as much of him as she could in their final moments before he left again. Her body ached for more of him, and her heart broke as he pulled away to gather his things. She tried her best to hold herself together, to be strong, but it was harder than she’d thought it would be. How was it possible that one week could have changed so much? She followed him to the door, biting into her lip to stop it from quivering. He opened the door and turned back to her, pulling her into his arms again and kissing her as if it were the last time they’d kiss. A part of her reminded herself that it might very well be the last time. She’d heard that, more often than not, distance did not make the heart grow fonder, and she desperately hoped that wouldn’t be the case with them.
‘See you soon, beautiful,’ he said, giving her one more squeeze.
‘See you soon.’
The words were so choked she wasn’t sure they’d come out clearly. Joey flashed the smile that sent her stomach flipping and closed the door behind him. She waited a minute, hoping, praying, that maybe he might just come back through those doors and it had all been a misunderstanding. That he wasn’t going anywhere. But with every passing moment, her knees grew weaker and the sobs took over, loneliness swamping her and the doubts creeping in.
Had he even been there at all?
Chapter 12
It was hard to believe a few weeks had passed since Joey left. It felt a heck of a lot longer than that. Harley was tired, to put it simply. She struggled to sleep with him gone, waiting for him to call—which could be at any time. The hours passed slowly and at the end of each day, she felt like she hadn’t really achieved much. Every moment seemed hard. She hadn’t been able to dive headfirst into work either, since there’d been no progress on the break-in and no clear indication of what Jannette was wanting to do. Andie and Libby had tried their best to help keep her mind off things, but the reality of her situation was that she was screwed.
She was in love with a guy she didn’t get to see and hardly got to speak to, she may not have a job soon, and she really was starting to question, well, everything. It was just her and her new best pal, Fleur the ficus.
‘What do you think, Fleur? Am I going mad?’ She shoved another spoonful of ice cream into her mouth—one of the few foods she felt like. Fleur didn’t answer. She never did. ‘I am, aren’t I? Did I imagine the whole thing?’
Still more silence. But Fleur’s very presence showed that Joey had been there and she hadn’t imagined that part at least. He had bought the plant for her, after all. And the necklace. She fingered the pendant around her neck and stared down at the last text she’d received from him a few days earlier.
Love you, beautiful.
‘Love you too, Joey,’ she said, shoving another scoop into her mouth. How the hell was she supposed to manage months on end when she was a total mess after just a few weeks?
She heard a knock at the door and her heart leapt into her throat. Could it be him? She stared at the door as the jangle of keys sounded on the other side and the doorknob turned. No. It couldn’t be. He didn’t have a key. Only one other person had a key.
Erin swung the door open and let herself in, her face scrunching at the sight that met her. ‘What the hell happened here?’
‘Erin,’ Harley managed through her mouthful. ‘What are you doing here?’
Erin lugged a few grocery bags in through the door and plopped them on
the kitchen bench. ‘Thought you might need some company.’
‘Fleur and I are getting on just fine,’ Harley said. It was a poor attempt at humour and did nothing to ease her mood.
Her sister stopped unpacking the bags and looked up at her. ‘Ah, Fleur?’ Harley pointed to the plant in the corner. ‘Oh. You named it. Har, when was the last time you opened the windows and let some air—and sunlight—in here?’
Harley bit into another mouthful. ‘What are you saying?’
‘You look miserable and’—her nose crinkled—’smell … miserable.’
‘Way to make me feel better,’ Harley sulked. Erin ignored her, setting to work on opening the blinds and windows to air out Harley’s little unit. Harley squinted at the bright, unwanted light pouring in through the windows.
‘How often are you showering?’
‘Ah, every day. I’m not a grub, Erin.’
‘I’m just checking you’re looking after yourself.’ Erin flopped onto the couch next to Harley and took the tub of ice cream out of her hands, taking a scoop for herself.
‘Thanks, but—’
‘Yeah, but you’re a big girl, yada yada.’ Erin waved a hand dismissively at her as she took another scoop of Harley’s ice cream. ‘You’re moping, Har.’
Harley shrugged, sinking into the couch. ‘Got nothing else to do.’
Erin put the tub on the coffee table and placed a hand on Harley’s leg. ‘Still no news on work?’
‘Nope.’
‘It’s been almost a month, hasn’t it?’
‘Your point?’
Erin grimaced. ‘Well, I mean, if there’s no news yet, maybe it’s not going to be good.’
‘You think I’ll have to look for another job?’
‘Don’t you? I’m just putting it out there. You can’t spend all your time waiting around for people to sort their shit out. It’s not healthy.’
‘You mean Joey.’ Harley had spent many nights spilling everything to Erin, so her sister knew it all. Normally, she would have gone to Andie, but it just didn’t seem right going to Joey’s sister to mope.
‘I mean Jannette. Joey, he—that’s different. He can’t really change things without changing everything. But Jannette …’
‘I should talk to her, right?’
Erin nodded, as Harley knew she would. ‘You need to know whether or not you should be applying for other jobs.’
Harley sighed. Her sister was right—as usual. As much as work was one of the last things on Harley’s mind, she knew that she couldn’t slum it at home forever. Eventually, her savings would run out and she’d have to face the hard reality of being broke and jobless. Her phone started ringing and she reached for it, her heart racing at the thought it might be Joey, but it was Andie. She let it ring out. She’d call her back later.
‘I just don’t know what I’d do, Erin,’ Harley said, twirling her phone in her hand. ‘What if I do have to find another job? What else could I do? I’ve been a seamstress my whole career.’
‘There are other seamstress jobs out there.’
Harley shot a look at her sister. ‘Yeah, but not bridal ones. The next bridal shop is on the other side of town. That’s too far to go every morning.’
Erin shook her head enthusiastically. ‘No, it’s not. There’s one way up the other end of the same street as Bride and Beau.’
Harley pulled her brows together as her phone rang again. Andie. Again. ‘Ah, no, there’s not. Ours is the only one this side.’
The phone rang out. ‘There is. I drove past it on my way here.’ Erin plucked her phone out of her pocket and typed something out. Then she showed the screen to Harley. Sure enough, another bridal shop was listed on the map up the other end of the street.
‘Weird,’ Harley said, taking the phone from her sister’s hand. ‘I’ve never seen it there before.’
‘I haven’t either. They must have opened in the last few weeks.’
Harley pursed her lips as she handed Erin’s phone back. A new bridal shop on the same street as Bride and Beau? It seemed odd, in her opinion. But maybe they thought it was a good business district. She wondered if that was going to affect Jannette’s decision to reopen or not. Harley’s phone rang again—Andie—and her heart skipped a beat when the thought that maybe something had happened to Joey popped into her head. She looked at her sister.
‘I should probably get this. Andie doesn’t usually keep ringing unless it’s important.’
‘Go ahead,’ Erin said, waving a hand at her. ‘I’ll finish putting the groceries away.’
She waited until Erin was closer to the kitchen before answering. ‘Hey, Andie. Everything okay?’
‘Why the hell weren’t you answering?’ Andie sounded stressed. Harley’s heart raced in her chest. ‘What if it was an emergency?’
‘Is it?’
‘No. Well, I don’t know. Maybe.’ The line went silent on the other end.
‘Andie?’
She heard Andie sigh before speaking slowly. ‘Jannette wants us to come to the shop. Today. Now, actually.’
‘For … work?’
‘I don’t think so.’ Andie’s voice was solemn, and Harley knew that her fears must be coming true.
‘I’ll be right there.’
***
Harley walked through the same door she’d passed through almost every day of her working life and found nothing she recognised. The dress racks were empty and only the skeleton of what the shop once was remained. Her stomach twisted in knots. Was this it? Was this the end of working for Jannette?
She looked at Andie who had just come in as well. Andie shrugged. She obviously knew about as much as Harley did. They both walked out to the bridal room—also empty—and found Jannette in the office at the back. Harley tapped on the office door and Jannette looked up. She looked pale and stressed and as though she hadn’t eaten enough for a while.
‘Oh, girls, thanks for coming in.’
‘What’s going on, Jannette?’ Andie asked hesitantly.
Jannette let out a long sigh. ‘Well, as you’ve probably guessed, we’ve closed for good.’
A weight dropped in Harley’s stomach. ‘The break-in?’
Jannette shook her head. ‘Still don’t know who did it. And it might not have been a targeted attack, but’—she rubbed her forehead—’I’m tired. Trying to keep this place up and running and profitable—it’s exhausting. And now my brother has injured himself on the farm and he has asked if I can help out for a while. I don’t know how long that will be for.’
‘But you know that Harley and I can keep things going,’ Andie said, clearly as baffled as Harley, even though she was sure they’d both known this was coming.
‘I do. But I couldn’t, in good conscience, do that to you. And I have no idea if or when I would be coming back. I’ve been thinking about closing for a while and, well, you girls were the reason why I didn’t. But I think—I think the break-in was the determining factor. The last straw, so to speak.’ She thrust an envelope out towards each of them. ‘I wanted to give you this in person. It’s your severance package. I know it’s not the same as a job, but what’s done is done. I can’t express how grateful I am for the two of you and I will miss you both. A lot.’
Harley swiped at her eyes. She’d told herself she wouldn’t be emotional if she ended up without a job, but she’d been a hell of a lot more emotional over the past month than she’d been in her life.
‘We’ll miss you, Jannette,’ she said, pulling Jannette and Andie into a group hug. The three sniffed and hugged for a moment longer before Jannette pulled away.
‘I thought we’d have a send-off for this old girl,’ Jannette said, presenting a bottle of champagne and three glasses. ‘If it wasn’t for Bride and Beau, I wouldn’t have met either of you. And I think my life has been better off because of it.’ Jannette poured a generous amount of champagne into each of the glasses and raised hers. ‘To new beginnings.’
Chapter 13
�
�Wow.’
‘Wow,’ Harley repeated, focusing on her best friend after they’d said goodbye to Jannette and the shop.
‘Didn’t see that coming,’ Andie said, letting out a long breath.
‘Really?’ Harley had. Well, not the finer details, but in the broad spectrum, she kind of had.
‘Well, I mean, I’d thought it might be a possibility, but I didn’t think it would be like this.’ Andie brushed her hair away from her face, and Harley saw something she hadn’t seen before. A ring. Or more specifically, a diamond ring. She snatched at Andie’s hand and looked at it, letting out a low whistle. Expensive.
‘Seriously, Andie?’ Andie’s cheeks went red and she bit into her lip. Harley squeezed her hand. ‘When? And why wasn’t that the first thing you said on the phone?’
‘Tay proposed last night, and I was just about to come over to tell you when Jannette called.’ Andie grimaced. ‘I didn’t think it would be … appropriate … to be all excited while Jannette’s practically having a breakdown.’
‘Are you kidding me? Babe, you’re freaking engaged! She would have been happy for you. Now, tell me all the details.’ She looped her arm through Andie’s and they strolled up the street.
‘Well, remember that vineyard in Darlington?’
‘Your dream venue?’ Andie had chosen that vineyard as her future wedding venue when she was a kid, so of course Harley knew the one.
Andie nodded. ‘He took me there last night and we took a stroll through the vines, just like we did at Libby’s wedding. He did the whole pretending-to-tie-his-shoelace thing and—’ Andie shrugged, her smile unhindered.
Harley squealed. ‘And you said yes!’
‘I said yes.’
She squeezed Andie’s arm as they walked. ‘God, I’m so happy for you. When’s the wedding?’ Andie mumbled something that sounded to Harley like it was in no time at all, and Harley blinked. ‘Come again?’
‘Six weeks.’