Page 45 of Once Bitten, Twice Fried
Julie put her phone away.
Zoe gave Julie an anxious look. “Is everything alright?”
“Apparently we’re not the only ones getting murder vibes from this place. Yasmine just couldn’t find us and got worried. I think we were out for quite some time.”
“I guess so.” Zoe had a faint smile on her face. “I didn’t see the time pass.” She poked Julie’s shoulder.
“Me neither.”
They turned around and walked back towards the house. Julie wanted to break the silence a few times, but she didn’t know what to say. Her collarbone still felt raw where Zoe hadrun her finger along it. She knew she wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight. How could she?
Chapter 20
Zoe stood on the deck, looking out at the perfectly cut grass and the beautiful flower bushes. The morning air was fresh, but the sun was already warming the garden and promising a hot day ahead. Julie and Yasmine were still fast asleep in their rooms. It was a peaceful morning except for the fact that Zoe was nervously tapping on her phone. She couldn’t decide if she wanted to text Nicki or call her. It wasn’t even 8:00 Belgian time, but she really needed Nicki’s advice.
Something had happened last night. Or more accurately, something had been about to happen. She didn’t know why she hadn’t been able to resist touching Julie, why she’d been so close to pressing her lips against hers. If they hadn’t been interrupted… Zoe shivered at the idea, but she felt excited at the same time. What was wrong with her? She was about to marry the man she loved.
After they’d come back to the villa to share a bottle of wine with Yasmine, Zoe had kept glancing at Julie, hoping to understand how she was feeling. Julie had seemed totally unbothered by the events of the evening, bantering and joking with Yasmine as usual, then she went to bed without mentioning anything to Zoe, besides a nonchalant “goodnight”. It was hard to imagine that just hours earlier, they’d been standing in the dark, laying their feelings bare to each other.
Once in her bed, Zoe had thought she was going slightly nuts. Had she imagined tracing her finger along Julie’s collarbone? Was it all in her head? But the look in Julie’s eyes… It was the same as that night ten years ago. Zoe was sure of it. She’d turned around for hours before eventually falling asleep, her mind replaying this moment on repeat. She tried not to think about it, but it was relentlessly intrusive.
Zoe sighed. Julie and Yasmine would probably wake up soon. The other bridesmaids would arrive during the morning and in the afternoon she would have to manage her catering team. If there was a free moment for her to talk to Nicki, it would be now. She texted her assistant.
“Hi Nicki, I know it’s very early but I could use your advice. Let me know if we could speak? Don’t worry otherwise.”
She should also call Tom. Maybe talking to him would set her mind straight? If anything, all of this was probably just wedding stress. Nicki was right. Things were left unresolved between Julie and her, and now it was all making a resurgence because of Zoe’s wedding jitters. She wasn’t going to throw away her entire life - everything she’d built with Tom - for a ten-year-old crush, was she? Besides, Tom didn’t deserve that. He was a good man.
Zoe was too restless to just wait around for Nicki’s answer. She decided to take a small stroll through the garden. The florist had already laid the structure for the flower arch that Yasmine wanted. This was something that Zoe could have at her own wedding. Same with the countryside location. Tom’s family had an estate in the Cotswolds, which would make for a bucolic and beautiful setting for a wedding. Zoe could almost picture it. A small wedding party sitting in the September sun, laughing and cheering on Tom and her.
And Julie sitting on the side, looking at her. Zoe’s blood rushed to her head. It was not even a question that Julie wouldbe invited to her wedding. But, why did it feel so weird to imagine getting married in front of her?
Zoe’s phone rang. The screen flashed Nicki’s name.
“Hi Zoe, how’s it going?”
“Hi Nicki, I’m so sorry to bother you so early. I don’t think it’s even 7:30 yet in London, is it?”
“It’s pretty early. But I’m out for my morning jog and also I’m way too curious and involved with what’s going on with your personal life these days. Tell me everything.”
This was probably crossing several professional boundaries, but Zoe was way past worrying about that with Nicki. “I don’t know what’s going on. I think you were right. Julie and I have unsettled issues and now everything is weird.”
“Did something happen?” Nicki’s voice was shaking and breathless, probably because she was currently running.
“Almost.”
“What does that mean?”
Where to start? The truth is that nothing had objectively happened. They’d only had a late-night chat. “I think we were about to kiss.” Zoe said factually.
Nicki didn’t answer. Her footsteps echoed through the phone.
“Please say something, Nicki.”
“Sorry, I’m thinking. You think you were about to kiss? What makes you say that?”
“We were having a night walk. Then we talked about our secret crushes on each other from back then. It was a very emotionally charged moment. Then… I don’t know. Julie had this look in her eyes and I was touching her hands.” Zoe stopped. Maybe all of this was silly, maybe she was interpreting Julie’s intentions.
“But nothing happened?”
