Page 23 of The House on Firefly Beach
But then Sydney deleted the line she’d typed. Because it wasn’t true. Time hadn’t repaired her heart after Nate had left her, so it was insensitive of her to believe time could fix Mel’s life. She imagined what she’d say to herself, and started again.
There are things in this life that aren’t meant to be fixed. They will always hurt. But the human heart is resilient in that it can beat again after even the toughest blow. I’d like to say we’re stronger because of it. We can’t know true joy until we’ve experienced absolute heartbreak. My hope for you is that one day you’ll be able to see that person and be happy for her because you loved her enough to let her go and find whatever it was that made her complete. That is love.
This would be her next submission. She signed the letter, checked the piece for errors, and emailed it to her editor. Once she got the okay from theGazette, she’d email mel4221 and let him know his letter would be published.
Then she headed over to the wellness center to get to work on Mary Alice’s magazine. It was going to get her full attention today, and she was planning to knock everyone’s socks off with her ideas.
Mary Alice had a concept that people could relate to: finding balance for the whole self. It had been done before, but how could Sydney spin the idea to make it something everyone was dying to find out more about? She started brainstorming: What about people who had never been to a wellness center? What could they begin to do at home that would start them on the path to better health? She started typing slogans, her mind buzzing:Reinvent Your Life,Discover the Real You,Reclaim Your Destiny…
Sydney grabbed her pad of paper and scratched down a note to talk to Hallie when she got back. With Hallie now running Morgan and Flynn, Aunt Clara’s worldwide design company, her sister had media contacts across the globe that would gladly do her favors, like giving a quote for a little Firefly Beach magazine, for an exclusive peek at Hallie’s upcoming designs. Perhaps Hallie would be interested in collaborating on a new holistic décor line, and Sydney could write the press release copy, including Mary Alice’s philosophies. It could be their first feature in the magazine.
But today was about the cover. She needed photography—a big, glossy image to draw in the consumer. She’d call local photographer Gavin Wilson, who owned the gallery in town, to see if he’d be interested in doing a photo shoot for her. Gavin had only moved to Firefly Beach last year, but he’d done some painting for Uncle Hank, and he’d taken her uncle fishing when he was at his lowest over Aunt Clara’s death. Sydney had had coffee with him a few times, and he was always willing to lend a helping hand.
If Gavin agreed to let her hire him, she’d need a design concept as soon as possible. She imagined a couple on a cover with all the calming colors: blue, violet, light pink, green, grey… Easy. She needed a couple on the beach at sunset. The woman in a white dress. Holding hands with someone. Hair blowing in the wind as they faced away from her… Sydney sketched the image onto her pad of paper.
The bells at the front door jingled, pulling Sydney out of her creative cloud. She leaned over and peered through the open door to find Juliana taking a seat on the sofa. She had on the same big sunglasses from the wedding, her rounded lips set seriously. It seemed to be just her for this visit, and Sydney couldn’t help but wonder if Nate had said anything to her about the talk he and Sydney had had at Starlight Cottage yesterday. Juliana took off her glasses and Sydney swore the rims of her eyes were red. Regardless of Nate and Juliana’s relationship issues, Sydney wasn’t in the business of breaking up couples, and the guilt from her own thoughts about Nate was enough to make her get up to shut the office door before Juliana saw the flush of crimson that had certainly taken hold on Sydney’s cheeks.
She walked over to the door to close it but stopped cold when, to her surprise, Juliana’s perfect lips turned upward, her face lifting cordially from under the flowing waves of hair she’d been hiding behind, and she offered a dainty wave in Sydney’s direction. So obviously Nate hadn’t said a thing. Typical. No matter how sorry he told Sydney he was, she couldn’t change that truth about him: he was a selfish person. Judging by Juliana’s expression and the defeat in her eyes, she was in a fragile state, which only made Sydney feel worse. She smiled weakly and waved back, then shut the door.
Despite forcing herself to turn her attention back to her work, Sydney was unsuccessful at shutting out the image of Juliana’s meek smile. The photos of her in the magazines and on television made her seem so self-confident, so sure of herself. But even in her delicate state now her beauty was undeniable. Sydney tried to refocus, sending Gavin an email through his website and telling him she’d call him later.
Photography locations were key to grabbing the readers’ interest; she needed buy-in. Serene, casual, happy… There was only one place that came to mind: Starlight Cottage, down by the lighthouse, the couple standing together on the sand, the gazebo out of focus in the background. That would be perfect.
There was a knock at the door and Mary Alice poked her head in. “I was just checking in before I begin with my first client. Everything going okay?”
“Yes,” Sydney said with a smile. “I’m organizing my thoughts at the moment.” She turned her pad of paper around to show Mary Alice a quick look at her sketch. “I emailed Gavin to see if he’d do a photo shoot. I want to put a couple on the beach at Starlight Cottage. I can tell you more about it when you have time.”
“I’m excited! It sounds fantastic.”
When Sydney and Mary Alice left the wellness center together, headed for their cars, Sydney told her she’d gotten confirmation from Gavin to do the photo shoot, and he’d said he had everything for the lighting and staging at Starlight Cottage. Mary Alice had been thrilled with the idea as well as the articles Sydney had come up with so far.
“We just need to find a couple for the shoot,” Sydney said as they reached the parking lot.
“I thought about that when I saw your sketch,” Mary Alice told her.
“Any ideas?”
“Well—confidentially—Even though I promised to keep it a secret,” she leaned in and whispered, “Nathan and Juliana didn’t want a paper trail of any kind that the press could get a hold of, so they aren’t technically on my books, and, because of that, I wouldn’t let them pay me, so Nathan said he owes me one. I’m sort of counseling them as a favor and I’m only seeing them here at the center because it’s easier than making Malory leave the house to keep things confidential if I made a house-call. If I asked for a favor in return, they’d most likely do it for me. They’d be a gorgeous couple for the magazine and the photo would be from the back, right? So no one would recognize them anyway.”
Of all people.
“Juliana told me earlier that you’re going to Malory’s birthday party tonight,” Mary Alice continued. “I hate to suggest this…” she said, making a face. “Maybe you could find a quiet moment to ask Nathan then?”
Why had Juliana mentioned Sydney at all? While Sydney hated the idea of putting herself in Nate’s path again, she knew that they’d be the perfect couple for the cover. Perhaps she could avoid asking Nate altogether and approach his girlfriend—as a business venture. After all, this was what Juliana did for a living, so she would probably welcome it. And she felt like she needed to be friendly with Juliana to assure her that there was absolutely nothing going on between her and Nate.
Maybe the project would be helpful for all of them. They could see each other in a different light and move on from whatever moment it was that Nate was having. Perhaps he’d realize he was trying to relive the past and he’d finally leave Firefly Beach for good.
The thought crept in that Sydney should face this, put Juliana right in the line of her vision to drive home the point to herself that the old Nate wasn’t coming back, no matter what she wished for.
Sydney’s phone pinged with an email, but she ignored it. She stood in the yard after work, her hand on her forehead as if in salute, to shield her eyes from the glare of the sun, just enough to make out the enormous boat that was sitting on the shore out back of Starlight Cottage. The massive shiny white vessel looked out of place next to the rustic pier. Its front was pressed against the shoreline, its back end bobbing in the lapping water.
“Mama!” Robby said, running through the front door of Starlight Cottage and bounding down the porch steps toward her. “Can I take a boat ride?” he called to her, excited and out of breath, pointing to the yacht.
“Whose—?” She was about to finish her thought when Nate appeared in the doorway with his hands raised in surrender, his cell phone pressed against his ear with his shoulder.
“Go ahead and pitch it to the label,” he said into his phone, his eyes on Sydney. “I’ll call you back with the idea for Timberlake.” He ended the call and gave Sydney all his attention. “Don’t yell at me,” he teased. “It isn’t my fault I’m here this time. I was minding my own business working, but Uncle Hank invited me over.”
“And you came in that?” she asked, jutting a finger toward the boat.
