Page 28 of Accidental Attraction

“I’m great! I am so excited to get the wedding plans started. We have so much to do, and today we will make a good dent in that mountain.” Julie walked next to me, and I heard her give a small groan. I grinned and looked over at her. She rolled her eyes behind her mother’s back.

“I was thinking first we could go to Max’s to figure out a color theme, then the florist for flowers, and after that, wedding dress shopping. Then we can get a quick bit to eat before going shopping for party favors,” Lilly rattled off.

Oh God, what have I gotten myself into?

***

“I think these lilies would go great with the peach-and-white color theme,” Lilly said, picking up a few yellow-and-peach-colored lilies. They were really pretty and had to be my favorite flowers in this shop.

We had spent two hours going over every single color you could ever think of for the theme. Lilly had so many suggestions and ideas that she kept switching colors every few minutes. She didn’t slow down until Julie stopped her mom to tell her it was my wedding and that I should choose. Of course, me being me, I couldn’t decide. After a lot of talking, we picked peach and white for the theme. Now we were looking at flowers. I was more than ready to be done, but it seemed Lilly had only just gotten started.

“If we slipped out, think she would notice?” Julie whispered next to me. I bit back a grin.

“Not sure, but she probably wouldn’t notice for at least twenty minutes,” I whispered back.

“I’m starving. I say we slip out the door and make a run for it.” She turned to me. Her blue eyes were similar to Liam’s. They shone.

“I don’t know. What if she gets mad?”

“My mom, mad? I’ve only seen her mad a few times, and that was at Liam and Blake. Jenna, I beg you,” she pleaded. With my stomach growling, I took one last look at Lilly, who was still blabbing on about flowers to the poor worker girl.

“Okay, let’s hurry.” Both of us slowly backed away, keeping our focus on her mother just in case she turned around. As soon as we were a few feet from the door, Julie hissed, “Now!” and we both turned, running to the already open door and out onto the sidewalk.

“I think we are far enough away,” Julie said a few minutes later, coming to a stop. I stopped next to her, breathing kind of heavily. I wasn’t used to such exercise. Looking down, I saw Julie had heels on. When I glanced back at her, I raised an eyebrow.

“How did you run in those heels?” I blurted out.

“Being a model, you have to learn how to. Between shoots and dress changes at shows, you learn to run in six-inch heels.” She shrugged as we started walking again.

“Did you always want to be a model?” I asked, actually interested.

“Not really. I mean, growing up I was always told I would make a great model with my long legs and my skinny body. It seemed only logical that I became one.”

“What else did you want to do?”

“I wanted to be a nurse, a pediatric nurse actually. I’ve always loved children, and I wanted to help them in any way possible. But when my a friend of my mom’s needed a substitute model for a show, I was pushed to do it, and I’ve been doing it ever since; I started when I turned eighteen. I love the people I work with and the opportunities I get. If it wasn’t for modeling, I wouldn’t be the model for Calvin Klein, one of the best companies out there. I’ve traveled to amazing places for photo shoots and shows. I just…” She trailed off. “No one knows this, and you can’t tell anyone, okay?” she said suddenly.

“I won’t, I promise.” I looked over at her. She was biting her bottom lip, like she was second-guessing telling me.

“I have been taking classes at NYU for nursing for a while now, and just the other day I got an offer to start an internship at a hospital,” Julie finally said quietly.

“Julie, that is great! You are a few steps closer to doing what you want to do.” I hadn’t known she wanted to be a nurse, but I thought that aspiration was incredible.

“But, Jenna, I don’t think I can do it.”

“Why not? This is a great opportunity, and you can’t pass it up. Why haven’t you told anyone?” I asked.

“Because modeling is the only thing I have ever done. To my parents and everyone else, I am the ‘model’ in the family. Someone with my name shouldn’t be a nurse. They should be doing something to make a difference,” she said.

“Being a pediatric nurse is making a difference. You are helping little kids and teens get better. Nurses are even more important than doctors.”

“I’m just worried about what my parents will say or what Liam might think.” Her voice sounded small and quiet.

“Julie, they are your family. They deserve to know and will understand your decision. And you know what? If your parents or Liam don’t understand, I will make sure they do, okay? If this is what is going to make you happy, then do it. You are only twenty-three and deserve to do something you truly want,” I said, stopping and putting a hand on her shoulder. Surprising me, she leaned down and hugged me.

“Thank you, Jenna.” I awkwardly patted her back.

“No problem.” She pulled away from me and smiled.

---