Page 59 of The House on Firefly Beach
“He’s incredibly kind, and I think you two would have a lot to talk about. Of course you’ll meet him soon anyway if he comes to take those test shots you suggested.”
Juliana seemed happy at the thought of meeting someone else in Firefly Beach.
“Do you like it here?” Sydney asked out of the blue.
In this moment, Juliana had relaxed so much that she was nearly unrecognizable from the images she posted on her social media feeds. Her hair was in a loose ponytail at the back of her neck, her face naturally youthful and glowing without any make-up. She had on an unassuming white T, the front hem tucked into the waistband of her faded jeans. She was still incredibly beautiful, but her mannerisms were relaxed and small, as if the bubble of fame that encapsulated her had deflated over her time here, leaving just the raw beauty of her. At her heart, she, too, was just a small-town girl, trying to make her way.
“I love it here.”
“What do you love about it?” Sydney asked, curious.
Juliana got out a small brush and plunged it into a tube of lip-gloss. “I love that people are kind when they have no ulterior motive. They are kind simply in the hope that you will be friendly in return. I feel valued here. In that way, it reminds me of my home.” She unwound the cap on a tube of mascara. “Look up for me.”
Sydney couldn’t deny the tiny seed of hope that Firefly Beach would have the same affect on Nate. Maybe over the years, the sea would wash that big image right off him, diluting Nathan Carr, and he’d be the boy who’d looked into her eyes with all that love so many years ago. That is, if he didn’t completely ruin Starlight Cottage before then, she thought, her blood boiling. She decided that it would be too much to ask even the heavens for Nate to come around.
Juliana got to work on Sydney’s hair, twisting and curling large pieces of it. “I envy you,” she said as she unclipped a curl, the lock bouncing down Sydney’s cheek.
“Me?” Sydney asked. “Why?”
“You know what you want. He loves that about you. He thinks the world of you.”
“How could he?” she said in a knee-jerk reaction. “You don’t betray people you care about.”
“Betray?” she asked.
Sydney shook her head. “He… It isn’t important,” she lied.
“Nate tells me you are a very talented writer. He said he never imagined you doing anything but writing. And here you are, working on the magazine for the wellness center and he tells me you are also writing for a column.”
Just like her view of Juliana—things weren’t always as they seemed. “I don’t know if I’m cut out for the job yet.”
Juliana’s face crumpled in concern. “How could you not be?” She ran her fingers through Sydney’s hair to comb it out.
“I was given the opportunity to apply for a magazine position that would be pretty close to my dream job. But at times, I feel like I’m shooting too high for a girl who’s spent most of her time as a mom, doing part-time work to pay the bills. I don’t have the clout I need to pull it off.”
Juliana’s hands stilled as she turned inward, thoughtful. “You know, I would never have believed I would leave my little village in Argentina for the bright lights of Los Angeles. That was something of movies, not real life. On my first shoots, I was not performing the way they’d hoped, and another model pulled me aside and gave me some advice. She said, ‘Noneof us belong here. We just pretend like we do until it becomes who we are.’”
Sydney grinned. “Fake it till you make it.”
“That’s right. But it is more than that. You have to believe that at some point, youwillbelong. You just have to be creative with how to build yourself up from the bottom.”
“You know what? You’re exactly right.”
Juliana turned Sydney around in front of the mirror and Sydney’s jaw nearly dropped to the floor.
“Oh my gosh,” she said as she viewed the stranger in her reflection.
“You are beautiful.”
“How did you do that? I don’t even look like myself. Well, I do, but it’s like some heavenly version of me. You are so talented… You know, you wouldn’t have to model to work in the business. You could do something behind the scenes. You could teach people how to model, teach them about color and light.”
“I wouldn’t know where to begin,” Juliana said.
“Fake it till you make it.”
Both women laughed at Sydney’s comment, but Sydney could see a sparkle in Juliana’s eye at the possibilities.
“Mama, is that you?” Robby asked when he and Jacqueline entered the cottage and slid their flip-flops off at the door. Sydney was still wearing the make-up Juliana had put on her.
