by J. P. Comeau
I let out a huge sigh, knowing I wasn't going to let it go until I made the call.
“Hello?”
My face lit up as soon as I heard her voice. “All these years and you still have the same phone number?”
There was an awkward silence, and I wondered for a second if I had freaked her out.
Damnit. I shouldn't have called. She doesn't recognize my voice.
I contemplated hanging up.
“Jake?”
“Who else would it be.” I was thankful she still remembered.
There was a shock to her tone, but she seemed pleasantly surprised. “Wow, it’s been so long! How are you doing? Aren’t you in San Diego now?”
I smiled so hard the muscles in my face strained. Julianna sounded genuinely excited to hear from me, and it was like nothing had ever changed. “Technically, yes, but not right now. I’m actually in town for business and staying with my brother, Richard. You remember him, right?”
“Sure, I do! That’s great. What’s new with you?”
“Um, well, just working a lot. What about you? Seeing anyone new?” I secretly hoped she’d say no that she was single and ready to mingle.
“I’m actually married.”
My heart dropped to the pit of my stomach. Of course, she was. I tried to think of a response as fast as I could. I didn’t want her to know that I was interested. My father's words echoed in my ear. "Swallow your pride and man up."
“That’s great,” I said with faked enthusiasm.
“What about you? I’m sure you have plenty of women vying for your attention.” Her soft laugh sent electricity through my chest.
“Nah,” I said. “I’m as single as they come. Anyway, maybe we could catch up while I’m in town?”
“I’d love to,” she replied, a hum of voices in the background. “I actually can’t talk right now. I’m at an opening at the art gallery where I work. Call or text me, and we’ll go for a cup of coffee or something!”
“That sounds great,” I said, wishing her good luck at her art show and then hanging up at the same time as she did.
I let out my breath, shaking my head as I pulled myself off the bed. Tugging my t-shirt over my head, tired of wearing it after my trip, I headed downstairs to the kitchen.
So, not single.
After pouring myself a whiskey on the rocks, I wandered around the downstairs. That didn't mean we couldn't be friends, even though secretly I wanted it to be much more than friends.
I made my way over to one of the couches, turned on the television, and threw my feet up on the ottoman. I stared at the news but wasn't listening. My mind had already started to come up with a plan on when and how to ask her out…
As friends.
I was trying really hard to convince myself that “just friends” was what I was going for.
5
_____
JULIANNA
The sound of Jake’s voice after all those years was a considerable shock and, quite frankly, threw my whole day out of sync. I tried to act unconcerned at work the next morning, but I couldn’t help but wonder if Jake actually believed what I had said.
That I was happily married.
After talking with a few potential buyers over the phone, I snuck into the bathroom and locked the door. I leaned up against the wall and let out a huge breath, trying to relive the past 24 hours. I just couldn’t believe that Jake called after all those years. More importantly, that I had lied to him about my relationship status. Dating someone would really stick it to my soon-to-be ex-husband.
If Jake had been a different kind of man, then maybe I would have been honest.
He’s a playboy, Julianna. Let it go.
I splashed water on my face and stared at my reflection. Jake wasn’t that way in high school, but he sure had become the most eligible/not-eligible bachelor gazillionaire since then.
It was impossible not to know about the personal life of Jake Truman, the blue-eyed billionaire of San Diego. He was constantly in the media promoting his business and flaunting his wealth, and he almost always had a woman, or two, on his arm.
I couldn’t help but reminisce about our past friendship, though. Billionaire playboy or not, Jake was the reason the popular girls in high school stopped bullying me.
Not only did he get the girls to stop the harassment, but the two of us became best friends.
Like so many other friendships, all of it fell apart when we went off to college. Of course, Jake decided on an Ivy League school. His father had always been such a disciplinarian. There was no way he’d have let his son go to anything less.
I sat at my desk and thought back to the first time I really developed feelings beyond friendship for Jake. It was about a month before we were set to go to college. There was just something about the way he looked at me as we sat in the diner, the same one he stood up for me in later on. It was the kind of look that sent butterflies exploding into my stomach.
I took a deep breath and dried my hands, knowing I had to stop thinking about him. It wasn't going to do me any good. I walked back out into the gallery, catching a glimpse of Annie coming through the doors.
“Hey girl,” I said to her as she made her way to me.
My sister leaned over the front desk. “How’s work going?”
I shrugged. "Meh. Boring. So, what are you up to?"
“Not too much," she sighed, obviously bored. "Beautiful day outside. It sucks that you have to work.”
I shook my head while pulling out my cell phone, scrolling through my call history, and staring at Jake’s number. “Guess who called me last night?”
I held the phone up to Annie’s face, showing his picture above his name and number. I had immediately saved his information into my phone after our call the night before.
“Are you kidding me,” she said so loud that her voice echoed through the gallery. “I can’t believe he still has your number!”
Her comment kind of hurt my feelings, but I know she didn’t mean to. It was no surprise that Jake was a playboy.
“I know,” I said, pulling up the internet on my phone.
She lifted a brow. “What did he want?”
I kept my eyes on the screen. "He's in town and wanted to meet up for drinks."
"Mhmm…”
I rolled my eyes. "Please? You think I'm interested after all this time?"
"Nope, just giving you a hard time."
I chuckled as I looked back down at my phone. "Did you hear about that party at Jake's penthouse last month? I read about it online and couldn’t close my mouth for, like, an hour.”
I did a Google search, pulled up an article, and handed Annie my phone. “Jake Truman Passes Out At Dive Bar, Goes Home With Owner’s Wife. Wow. Girl, thank God you never told him about your crush. Can you imagine what your life would be like now?”
I took my phone back and stared at the thumbnail of him at a bar, drunkenly hanging onto a blonde as they walked out of it together. “Bunny Sinclair. Her husband definitely owns that bar, but I’m not sure if he actually went home with her. She probably just helped him get into his car.”
Annie followed me back to my office. Grabbing my phone back, she read part of the article out loud. “Bunny Sinclair, who co-owns The Drunken Pineapple with Arthur Sinclair, got into Jake Truman’s town car. They were seen canoodling inside of the bar and, according to several eyewitnesses, his hands were on her legs before his car door shut.”
I shrugged and pretended to rifle through some documents on my desk. “Nothing surprises me with men anymore,” I said, trying to ignore the sinking feeling in my stomach. I wasn’t sure if I could actually get together as friends without my old feelings resurfacing. Not with those mesmerizing blue eyes and that smile.
Annie shook her head. “He’s changed so much since high school. It must be all of that money. That’s what getting rich so quick does to a person, or so I hear. My bank account could use a few extra zeroes.”
I laughed a little bit a
s she pulled out her own cellphone.
“He’s staying with his brother,” I said.
Annie scoffed, staring at her phone. “Did you hear about the mansion his brother bought? The guest house is twice the size of my own place. I wonder if he’d like a roommate.”
We both laughed. Neither of us were surprised that Jake and his brother had become so wealthy, but little did Annie know, I was trying my best to push my feelings for him aside.
“When are you two getting together?” she asked.
“Whenever he calls me, I guess. He called me while I was working the opening last night. He’s supposed to be in town for a while, so no rush.”
As Annie walked over to the coffee maker to get a cup, I gritted my teeth and patted my cheek, trying to pull it together. One phone call and I had forgotten all about the fact that I needed to stay far away from Jake. After all, my life was finally on the right track. With my divorce closing in, I could focus all of my attention on Caley and my career.
As much as it pained me to tell myself, a relationship with Jake Truman was out of the question.
6
_____
JAKE
I sat down in the office of the guest house, swiveling in the chair, looking out the window and over the hill at the town. It was such a different view than I was used to in San Diego, where it was beautiful but busy.
As I listened to my employees talk over the speaker of the phone, my stomach grumbled. It was almost lunchtime and I was starving. “Everything sounds great so far. You guys are doing a tremendous job. In fact, why don’t you all leave an hour early today.”
All of my employees thanked me profusely and were more than happy to end the call. I chuckled as I pressed the speaker button, hanging up. That always made them move a bit faster. Standing up, I could feel the warmth of the sunshine through the window. And I made my way outside, breathing in the fresh air and hopping into my rented Aston Martin.
I was off to meet my brother, Richard at the company he worked at with our father.
The drive over to his office felt more peaceful than the traffic of San Diego. River Valley was such a calming place to be. Everyone smiled and waved as you passed. Everyone said hello when you walked by them on the street. Kids still road their bikes and played at the parks. It felt like the world around River Valley had morphed into the present day, while the town stayed the same wholesome place to be. I suddenly regretted renting something as luxurious as a British sports car, which definitely stood out in the sea of sedans and mini vans.
I pulled up to my father's office, and there was my brother, standing outside with Dad. I wanted my father to know how much I appreciated him. How I cared, regardless of our constant back and forth. I parked the car and got out, walking toward my father with open arms. “Dad!”
He squeezed me back extra hard, but quickly pulled away, keeping his emotions under wraps as he always did. Alex Truman had always been a man’s man, keeping his feelings disguised as aloofness. Richard and I had heard him crying behind closed doors on a few occasions, though.
“How was your trip?” He let go of our embrace, and stepped back, looking me up and down.
“It was good,” I said. “Are you joining us for lunch?”
“I have to go out and meet a client. You guys have fun, but not too much, your brother has work to get done.”
He walked off grumbling to himself and Richard and I exchanged glances. I shook my head and waved him over to the car. He whistled. "Well, I guess this is one way to go when renting a car."
I shrugged. "Probably should have thought it through better. Wasn't really thinking about where I would be driving it."
Richard rubbed his hands together as he got into the passenger seat. "Where to?"
“I can’t decide where I want to eat,” I said as we buckled in.
I looked to my brother, who met my eye contact and then winked. I wanted to go back to my favorite place to eat in River Valley, the place where Julianna and I had first become friends.
“The Flaming Onion,” I said.
Richard grinned even wider. “You are such a creature of habit."
I didn’t tell him the real reason that I wanted to go back to that diner. If he wanted to believe that I was just really into diner food, then I wasn’t going to reveal the secret.
The crowd inside The Flaming Onion was relaxed and casual. Regular folks just eating food on their lunch hour, trying to relax a little bit before going back to work. We chose to sit in a corner booth. A blonde waitress came over and sat down two glasses of water.
“I’d recognize that face anywhere,” she said, staring at me.
“Why thank you,” I chuckled, trying to act casual.
She shook her head, pulling out her book and pen. “Jake Truman. What brings you back to River Valley?”
“Business and family,” I politely replied.
She glanced over at Richard who was staring down at the menu. “I’ll give you two a bit of time to decide. Today’s special is grilled cheese made with our homemade sour dough, and tomato soup. You can also get a slice of cherry pie a la mode and a cup of coffee for half price today.”
“That sounds good.” Richard folded the menu.
“We’ll both take that,” I said, handing our menus over. "Both of those."
The waitress nodded and walked off.
“Yet another waitress and you’re not at all interested,” Richard said, taking a sip of his water. “And this one recognized you.”
I cringed thinking of all the stories out there about me. The latest was the worst, and I really hoped that she hadn’t read it online. They blew a situation completely out of proportion, claiming I had gone home with the bar owner's wife. That simply was not the case, but there was no use in arguing with people who didn't care about the truth in the first place.
Bunny and her husband were friends, and yeah, she was flirting, but only because she had gotten into a huge fight with her husband, and she was trying to piss him off. After she got in the car that night, my driver had taken her straight home. I did a lot of stupid things, but I would never sleep with a friend’s wife, and I certainly didn't want the people in my hometown thinking I would.
“I guess it comes with the territory,” I said as our waitress dropped off two cups of coffee.
Each of us put a creamer in and stirred. Richard shook his head. “Don’t you get tired of being single, though?”
I thought about his question while taking a sip of coffee. “It would be nice to find a woman to share my life with, but I don’t think that I can trust anyone. They just see me for my money.”
“I definitely get that part. Dad set us up to be financially successful, but made it harder for us to find love. If that’s even what you want. Maybe you just want to party with hot women the rest of your life.”
I chucked my empty creamer at him. “Yes, it gets old. But I just want to focus on my career. Not worry about all the drama." I sighed as I stared down at my coffee. “So, what else is new back home?”
He and I talked for a while about the latest hometown gossip, business, and our usual spout off about politics. I told him that my secretary was having an affair with her landlord, and he told me that one of the local school teachers was caught having sex with the principal. A normal trade off before lunch started.
“Here you go, boys.” Our waitress sat our food down and we both dug in, our stomachs grumbling so loud by that point that people around us were staring.
“How about we go out for karaoke tonight?”
I swallowed my grilled cheese and shrugged my shoulders. “Eh, I’m not sure if I’m in the mood. Did you end up getting a membership to that golf club?”
Richard lifted a brow. “Yes, but they’ll be closed by the time we’re done with work. I think you and I could have a lot of fun doing karaoke. It’s been years… Unless you’re just afraid that I’ll beat you?”
I gave him a look and we both laughed. “I think you’re the one who
’s afraid of being beaten at karaoke. Your track record is not very good if I remember correctly.”
“We’re going whether you like it or not,” Richard announced, taking that as a challenge. “Besides, you need to have some fun.”
"Fine… but I'm not singing any duets with you."
Richard rolled his eyes and laughed. “Good!”
It was good to be home.
After dropping him back at the office, I drove to the mansion and situated myself within the office of his guest house. I couldn’t get over how peaceful and quiet it was out there, with nothing but the birds making noise as I worked. In San Diego there were birds, but the only ones that seemed to catch my attention were the damn Tijuana Parrots squawking at seven in the morning outside of the office.
I had a lot of work to catch up on, which I pushed myself to finish a little quicker than I should have. My body was in desperate need of a workout, and I wanted to fit it in before I had to get ready for karaoke. After authorizing a few things that were needed in order for my business to run smoothly, along with a quick call to my secretary, I changed into some workout clothes and headed to the gym.
It wasn’t too crowded that afternoon, which I appreciated. It was impossible to workout at my gym back in San Diego without fighting for the use of a machine. I had even tried going around two or three in the morning, when most people were sleeping, but even then it was busy.
I hopped onto the elliptical machine, plugged in my earbuds, and cranked up the house music on my cellphone. It felt good to work my leg muscles again, and what man didn't enjoy being surrounded by hot women in tight yoga pants? Of course…the River Valley gym had a few hot gals, and then a serious amount of middle aged women that forced my attention back down to my phone.
I was just getting going when my phone rang. Hillard's ridiculous grin popped up on the screen. I jumped off the elliptical, quickly wiped down the machine, and took his call. I just so happened to be behind a redhead in black yoga pants and a red racerback workout shirt. My eyes followed her every movement as she got in her pre-workout stretch session.