Page 52 of Rebel Heart
It suddenly felt like a massive struggle to pay attention to anything she was saying. I couldn’t stop worrying about what she’d be doing tonight and who she’d be spending her time with. “I’ll let you know how they turn out. Thanks for being willing to help me.”
“You’re welcome, Beau.” She tucked a lock of her shiny dark hair behind her ear. “Well, I should probably get going now so I can get myself ready.”
“Yeah. Yeah, sorry for taking up your time.”
Jules waved her hand in the air. “Oh, it’s no problem at all. I just hope they turn out right for you.”
For once in my life, the idea of having any dessert didn’t excite me. “I’m sure they will.”
“Okay. I guess I’ll talk to you later, then.”
I jerked my chin down. “Of course. Enjoy your night.”
Her lips curved into a smile. “I will. You, too.”
“Later, Jules.”
“Bye.”
I hadn’t even been able to reach my hand up to disconnect the call before Jules had already done it.
So, that was it.
She’d been hurt by me, and now it was likely she’d already moved on.
I didn’t want to begrudge her going after what shewanted in her life, especially when I knew I couldn’t be the one to give it to her. But I hated the thought of her spending time with someone who wasn’t me. My gut twisted when I imagined her being playful and teasing some other guy.
Feeling so disgusted with myself, I didn’t even want the cookies any longer. I was tempted to toss them. But Jules wanted to know how they turned out, so I had no choice but to follow those instructions she gave me if I wanted the chance to speak to her again.
After placing them in the fridge, I set the timer for forty-five minutes. Then I cleaned up the disaster I’d left in my kitchen. Before I knew it, I’d turned on the oven, popped the cookies in, and left my house smelling like Jules’ bakery.
Once the cookies had cooled—all of them looking perfectly round and browned—I tasted one. It was like I was back at Westwood’s eating cookies that she had made.
So, I took a picture of them and sent off a text to her.
BEAU
You were right. These are amazing.
For a while, I stood there, holding my phone and staring at the screen while I waited for her response. When a minute had passed without a response, I set the phone down and put the cookies in a container.
Thirty minutes later, there was still no response.
An hour later, there was nothing.
Twenty minutes after that, my phone finally lit up with a message from her.
Jules
They look incredible. I’m so glad they worked out for you.
I hated that I couldn’t bring myself to ignore her text for a while.
BEAU
Well, I had a great teacher. I’m going to have to find some way to repay you.
I shouldn’t have put it out there. I should have accepted that I’d had a chance with Jules, and we wanted different things. But I couldn’t. For some reason I couldn’t begin to explain or understand, I refused to let go of her.
