Page 51 of You Were Invited
Annie sighed and gave his torso a firm squeeze in return before she cleared her throat and finally extracted herself from his warm arms. She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "Goodnight," she whispered.
Julian’s gaze lingered on her mouth before he looked up and smiled. "Goodnight, Annie."
Back at the cabin, her groceries put away, she looked out the living room window and sighed. When she’d accepted Molly’s invite, she couldn’t have anticipated someone like Julian. He seemed so wonderful, but the timing was absolutely awful.
Leaving the mountain was going to be a bitch.
nineteen
From the first moment of the next day, Annie knew she was terminally lovesick for Julian. She was even sorrier that she saw the awful truth of the matter.
When Julian texted her good morning, she told him she hoped he had a good day, and that she wanted to catch up on some work. Part of her wanted to skip on over to his cabin, straight into his arms. Her practicality forbade it. Unless he needed her help, she knew the right thing to do meant staying put.
No more steamy cuddle sessions.
They werejustvacation neighbors.
That was all.
Yeah... right...
The bright joy in her heart sang in her ears like a grand symphony; her mind could hardly comprehend that it was indeed emanating from her own heart. The overwhelming joy filled hersofully that she saw it in her reflection— even the distorted and filthy ones. Her dull, exhausted eyes sparkled again.
It’s like I didn’t know what was slowly consuming me until Julian came into my life… with his humor… his warm arms… that smile… bet he could lift me up… pin me against a wall…
She sighed.
Later in the afternoon, she called Molly. They hadn’t talked much in the last few days. While sitting on the cabin couch, Annie chatted with her friend, mostly about the new TV series Peter had found, until Molly brought up the subject of Julian.
“Can you let him know Peter is ready to send the money for the firewood?”
“Definitely. He could use the cash.” Then, without thinking, Annie added, “He just helped me replace my coat. ”
“Replace it? Julian?”
Not wanting to expose her messy feelings before she figured them out, Annie had avoided talking about Julian — especially when it came to the chainsaw incident. Molly hated gore. She felt mildly guilty for holding back until she reminded herself that she’d been busy — spending every waking moment of the last few days either working or aiding Julian.
Starting with their shopping trip, Annie said how they’d had a fun time, before explaining quickly how the coat had gotten ruined. Molly gasped. For extra measure, Annie added it hadn’t happened because of the stacked wood her friends had requested.
“That’s just awful! Poor guy.”
“The first couple of days were rough, but it seems like he’s feeling better.”
“Feeling good enough to rattle your bones and make you swoon,” Serene Hallowbrew taunted Annie.
Shutty!You already embarrassed me yesterday, she thought back, before saying to Molly, “I appreciate Mom trying to help me out when she sends me her old clothes, but it’ll be nice to have something I feel attractive in.”
"Well, that’s good. Since you’re single now.”
“It’s just for me. I’m not ready to date.”
Molly laughed.“But you haven’t just been up there all by yourself.”
“Because your neighbor nearly lost his hand?”
“Even if Peter’s arm was bent at a funny angle, and he didn’t know me, he’d insist I leave him to suffer. And I’m pretty sure most men don’t go coat shopping with us unless they’re into us. Is there something you’re not telling me?”
Annie pursed her mouth. Her deflection had been too transparent. Turning so that her back rested against the couch arm and folding her knees up to her chest, she confessed, “Well... he likes my company.”
