I wasn’t joining anything. Not yet. I still held out hope that I could get Amelia to change her mind. “Maybe once she gets the damn dress, she’ll realize what a mistake this is.”
“Oh, Josh.” Violet placed her hand on my arm. “I’m sorry you’re having such a hard time with this.”
I covered her hand with mine, holding it there to keep the contact. “You think I’m being unreasonable?”
“No. I think you love your sister.”
She smiled up at me. I couldn’t resist. In a quick move, I lifted her up and sat her on the work bench. Grasping her knees, I pushed apart her thighs and moved between them.
“Exactly what kind of work do you do on this bench, Hunkarama?” Her flirty voice conveyed a hint of amusement.
“All I want to do on this bench is you.”
When I kissed her lips, they already felt familiar, and I knew that one of the greatest challenges of my life would be trying to get back to “normal” when we got home to NJU. I could do it, for her, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t going to suck.
But that was a thought for another day. We still had a few more days left in Virginia, and I was going to take advantage of every single one of them.
Violet
After routing through boxes and boxes of wedding dresses, Amelia had chosen three she loved, bought them all at phenomenal prices, and loaded them into the trunk of her car. I’d spent most of the trip in a daze, thinking about Josh—our kisses in the woods, in the work shed, his promise of alone time, what the rest of the week would bring. I texted him a good luck message for his interview.
I was so tuned out that I’d yes’d almost every dress Amelia had touched. After, I felt guilty, so I treated three of the King sisters to coffee, and one to a hot chocolate, at a perfect little café in Charlamagne. We sat on a couch near a fireplace, where we decompressed and broke down our shopping experience.
It was hard not to be excited for Amelia, even though I felt I should be loyal to Josh. But practically all of my life, I’d always deferred to men’s opinions—my dad’s and then Ollie’s. It was refreshing to feel that I could have my own opinion about things and still be valued by a man. So although I was tempted to resist Amelia’s wedding planning for the sake of loyalty to Josh, I didn’t.
The woman wanted to get married. I knew the feeling. I’d started my wedding planning with Ollie, booked a lavish hall, found us an apartment in Cambridge since he was supposed to be going to Harvard Law. We were going to follow his dreams. For me, the end game had been getting him. I cringed, realizing that I had basically wanted to become my mother.
Hindsight was twenty-twenty, so they said.
Now though, I knew that was not what I wanted. I wanted to become myself. I just needed to figure out what that meant.
“You know,” I told the sisters at the café. “I almost married Ollie. If I hadn’t gone to Vienna, we’d be engaged by now, getting married in May.”
“I vaguely remember Josh mentioning that Ollie got you a ring,” Amelia said.
Charlie scooted her chair closer to me. “Where’s Vienna?”
“Austria,” Millie answered.
Charlie nodded and looked at me. “Does that mean you’re sad that you went there?”
“Oh no,” I answered immediately. “I was so happy to go there. I got to play my violin and meet new people. See a new country. I highly recommend traveling if you get the opportunity. As nice as Rambling and Charlamagne are, there is so much to see in the world.”
Sierra laughed. “The second I turn eighteen, I’m leaving this dump.”
Millie shoved her. “Shut up. You are not.”
“Are to. Even if I have to join the Peace Corps to do it.”
I huffed a deep breath as the twins argued. Charlie leaned close. “They always fight. Maybe because they’re twins. Sorry they’re so rude.”
I smiled at sweet Charlie, apologizing for her older siblings. “It’s okay. I don’t have any brothers or sisters so to me, it’s…interesting.”
She took a sip of her hot cocoa, then tilted her chin at me. “Do you think you’ll have a wedding someday? With a dress and a band, like Amelia wants?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know.”
Charlie held her mug with her pinky sticking out, daintily, like a little lady. I decided right there that I loved the kid and wished she were my little sister so I could drag her around to the tea houses in the city with me. “Well,” Charlie said, “if you do have a wedding, I can be a bridesmaid since you don’t have any sisters.”
Smiling, I leaned close and whispered in her ear. “I’d appreciate that. Thank you.”
“No biggie,” she said. “Especially if you marry Josh because then we’ll be sisters anyway.”
Across from me, Millie spit out her coffee. “You’re marrying Josh?” The three older sisters, now focused on me, burst into motion.
“No!” I held up my hands to stop their tornado of action. “We were just—”
“Oh my God,” Amelia squealed. “This is so perfect. I knew something was up with you two.”
“I call shower planner,” Millie sang, tapping on her phone.
“I’m not marrying Josh!” I practically yelled. Charlie giggled beside to me.
They all stopped and stared at me. “You’re not?” Amelia asked, a pout forming over her pretty face.
“God, no.” Marriage? It wasn’t the worst idea, but we had a pact for sex, not commitment.
“Well, don’t you like him?” Charlie asked.
“I do, of course, but we’re just friends.” It was like that word had become an automatic response whenever someone said his name. Friends.
Sierra smirked. “Didn’t look like you were friends when I saw you making out on his work bench before.” The other sisters gasped.
I shook my head and tried to calm the girls down. “It’s…complicated.”
“Josh is okay, I guess. Minus his shitty attitude and bossiness,” Sierra added. “Some girls dig that, I know.”
I sputtered out a chuckle. “I like him. A lot. Let’s just leave it at that. Graduation is soon, and it’s not the time for romance.”
Sierra held up her mug in a mock toast. “Amen, sister.”
“Independence,” Millie said. “Don’t be like Amelia and Dominic, all committed and boring.”
At that, Sierra stood up into the middle of our little circle and started channeling her inner Beyoncé, singing about independent ladies. Soon, Millie and Charlie joined her. Across from me, Amelia rolled her eyes.
No wonder Josh always said his sisters would give him gray hair. They were like a force of nature, playing off of each other, complimenting each other. Basically “on” all the time.
As Charlie and the twins started to dance, a few people in the café cheered. Amelia hid her eyes. I thought she was embarrassed, but when she looked up at me again, she had tears in them. “I’m going to miss these kids,” she said.
Offering her a sad grin, I refocused on the girls and couldn’t help but laugh.
Chapter Nineteen
Violet
When we arrived back to the house, Amelia unloaded the dresses, but she had to hold them over her head when Elmo attacked. Yelling at the muddy dog to stay off of her pretty, white purchases, she ran into the house, her sisters behind her.
I noticed the light on in the work shed and peeked in. Josh was in the same place I’d left him. Wearing a flannel and jeans, his hair was a mess, sticking out over a pair of eye goggles. He bent over his work table, focused on a piece of wood in a clamp thing, with a giant saw in his hand.
Afraid I’d cause him to chop off a finger, I waited, admiring the serious look on his face as he worked. When he stopped for a second, I made my presence known. “How’d the interview go?”
He smiled as he pulled off the goggles. “I think I nailed it.”
I jogged to him and jumped into his arms. “I’m so happy to hear that.” Selfishly, I knew that meant Josh would be tied t
o Virginia forever, but I tried to anchor down the sadness.
“I should know officially in a few days, but it seemed to be mine from the way he was talking.”
I nodded against his neck, knowing I’d have to tell him about Vienna soon.
“So when’s the big day?” he asked as he moved his hands down to my butt.
I smiled, swaying against him. “Amelia’s?”
“Ours.” He nudged his chin toward his phone. “I got a text from Millie saying that she wants to plan your bridal shower.”
I put a hand over my mouth to hide the laugh about to escape. “Sorry. Charlie offered to be my bridesmaid someday, and the others assumed… No worries, we aren’t getting married.”
He kissed me softly, speaking against my lips. “I wasn’t worried.”
The low tone of his voice, and the way he pulled away to look me over, made me tingle. He reeled me in with his stare, with his relaxed posture. I kissed him again like I didn’t have a choice. He’d definitely found the switch to my libido, when I hadn’t even known that I had one.
In an instant, it was three hundred degrees in the work shed and I was drowning in testosterone. Aware of each breath, I stood as close to him as I could, then wrapped myself around him—my head on his chest, my arms around his soft flannel, my cheek against his heart.
When he embraced me, reciprocating, I melted against him.
His voice was low, soft. “I’m sorry I wasn’t more sensitive about wedding talk given your…situation…with Oliver. I would have insisted you stay with me.”
I shook my head against his chest. “I wasn’t upset about Oliver. The whole day, I sort of felt relieved.”
“How so?” Weaving his hands under my jacket, he traced my lower back, like he was searching for my skin. I had no problem with that.
“Like, I’ve been on autopilot for so long, and now I have to learn how to fly the plane. One thing I know for sure is, if I do get married someday—”
“You mean, if we get married someday?” He playfully smacked my butt. “If Charlie gets to be your bridesmaid, I have to be involved somehow. Groom’s the only job for me.”
Joking or not, my feelings for him were too close to the surface at his home, in his special space, in this faraway land. I cleared my throat. “What I was going to say is that I don’t want to wear a hideous white dress. White’s a terrible color on me. Washes me out.”
He kissed the top of my head. “You look amazing in anything, but of course, you can wear whatever you want when we get married. A potato sack. A puffy coat. Your bunny slippers.”
Just as he said it, Millie appeared in the doorway and squealed. “You are getting married. I knew it!”
I pulled away from Josh as Millie ran into the house screaming. “Ma! Grannie!”
“Oh, for the love of God,” I murmured, turning to Josh. “Are you going to fix this?”
His chest rose and fell in silent laughter. “Nah. I’d like to see how this plays out.”
I borrowed his line. “Your sisters…they’re going to be the death of me.”
Shaking my head, I turned and left him there as I ran after Millie. His laughter followed behind me.
Josh
Of course, I was kidding with Violet, teasing her about marrying me. But I couldn’t help the amusement I felt watching her talk to my family and try to convince them of the misunderstanding.
When she tried the usual lines about us being too young, and that we’re just friends, I mentioned Amelia. “Apparently this family is fine with getting married young.”
My mother threw a dishtowel at me. “Stop goofing around.” She turned to Violet. “Alright, you convinced us. You’re not getting married.”
“You could do worse, you know,” Grannie Grey said, looking up from her ancient gossip magazines. “Josh is a good catch.”
“Yeah,” I barked, grateful that someone in the house had stood up for my honor.
“I…I know,” Vi stuttered. “Josh is …”
I crossed my arms, studying her, waiting. “I’m what?”
“Ridiculous. And great. You’re great—”
“Damn straight he’s great,” Grannie said.
I bent to kiss her head. “Thanks, Gran.”
Poor Violet looked like she was going to have an aneurysm. I had to let her off the hook. “Okay, Pix. You made your point. I’m sure the misunderstanding is cleared up and everyone in this house knows.” I stuck my head out of the kitchen doorway to yell through the house. “Violet Nicholson and I are not getting married. We’re just friends and we’re too young. You hear that, Amelia?”
“Whatever, Josh,” she yelled back.
When I met Vi’s gaze again, she mouthed, “Thank you.”
I gave her a nod and a wave, then left to take a shower. For some reason, the relieved look on her face pissed me off.
A half hour later, I was still cranky. My level of crankiness flew off the charts though when I walked into the living room and caught Amelia trying on a wedding gown.
She stood in the center of the room, spinning, while everyone sat around her, oohing and aahing. When I studied her though, my crankiness turned to something else—an overwhelming feeling of sadness. The dress was strapless and sparkly, tight down to the floor. With her long hair, her slim frame, she looked like a model in a wedding magazine. At that moment, my heart broke. Both at her beauty and because I hated Dominic for taking her from me.
“You look lovely,” Mom said, her voice shaky.
Amelia smoothed out her skirt and looked at Vi.
Violet shrugged. “What can I say? You’re gorgeous.”
The next time she spun, she stopped short when she caught me watching. They all followed her gaze to me.
Charlie ran over and wrapped her arms around my waist. “Doesn’t Meels look pretty?”
Amelia was flushed, and I could tell she was nervous. I also knew that this was one of those moments that was important. One that she would tell her kids about someday. But I just couldn’t form any words. Any of the words I could find would sound like I was supporting her decision, and I wasn’t. I couldn’t.
We’d grown up together. She’d been my best friend all my life. We’d played in the trees and she’d told me about her dreams. She wanted to see the world, and touch an elephant, and find a prince in a castle, and…
And here she was, ready to lay down her dreams for married life with a guy she barely knew.
Behind Amelia, Vi tilted her chin and waved her hands, indicating for me to say something. My mother gave me the evil eye, and the girls, including Grannie Grey, looked dumbfounded, maybe a bit scared.
I met Amelia’s eyes again and gulped as I tried to form a sentence. Something like, “I’m so proud of you, and you’re so beautiful, and I wish you every happiness.”
Instead, I turned away from the living room and ran out.
Violet ran out after me, calling my name as I darted down the driveway. Most of the snow had melted during the day and turned the driveway into a muddy swamp. Once I reached the end of the driveway, I stopped.
She didn’t say a word. She just looked up at me with those brown eyes and that pretty face while she gasped to catch her breath. Then she did for me what I’d done for her so many times. She opened her arms.
We stood there, and I let her hold me in the middle of the road. Somehow, it made me feel better. After a few minutes, she pressed down on my shoulders. “Come here.”
She stood on her tiptoes, and I squatted to look her in the eyes. She rested her nose against mine, our foreheads touching. “I see you, Joshua James King. And I promise, everything’s going to be okay.”
When she kissed me, it did feel like everything was going to be okay, because finally, she was there with me, for me. She was a magical person who, with one touch, could take me to a place where I could be free of the responsibilities I’d taken on after my father died. Freed from anything but my love for her.
Chapter Twenty
Jos
h
Finally, done with the family obligations and the never-ending list of chores, it was time to execute my Charlamagne plan. Before my parents got married, my father had inherited a building. A storefront, in the heart of downtown Charlamagne, currently a used bookstore, with a small apartment over it. My parents had kept the apartment as a secret hideout, but after Dad died, Mom had rented it out. When I was sixteen, she’d let me in on the secret place and brought me for a visit.
“Someday,” she’d said, “when you’re old enough, this will be yours if you want it. Dad said so in his will.”
“Mine? What about the girls?” I’d asked. “That doesn’t seem fair.”
“Dad and I always thought of you when we came here. For once, don’t worry about your sisters. He took care of them too.”
When I turned eighteen, Mom had stopped renting it out and gave me the keys. I’d been home the summer before, working at the summer camp in Charlamagne, and had stayed at the apartment. My sisters had thought I was renting the room. But really, I’d stayed there and spent the summer cleaning the place up. Oliver had visited to help me for a weekend, and we’d made the apartment into something special. I’d considered renting it out, but both Mom and Ollie had convinced me that would be too much work. They’d said since we didn’t need the money, I should wait it out until graduation. See where I ended up.
On Tuesday night, after the shopping, the interview, and dinner with my family, I brought Violet back to Charlamagne. When I was in town earlier for the interview, I’d straightened up and done a quick run to the store for some essentials, including flowers and candles.
I’d taken a second to stare at the queen-sized bed. Violet and I hadn’t shared a big bed like that. We’d been together in the treehouse, then the shower, and even on the work bench earlier that afternoon. I couldn’t wait to lay her out on a real bed and kiss her from head to toe.
Finally, when we were alone, I brought her to the apartment and told her the story of how it became mine. “It’s not much, but it’s ours for the next few days. If you’re interested.”
Making the Move: Mill Street Series #2 Page 17