Page 111 of Once Smitten, Twice Shy

“I know the past nine months, I’ve worried you. My bad breakup, my health issues, quitting my job…” I blow out a breath, then meet their eyes. “You have been so supportive of me, in so many ways, and I can’t thank you enough for that. The meals when I needed them, time at home when I wanted somewhere comforting to be, all the time and conversation and love you’ve lavished on me.”

My mom bites her lip. “But…?”

I hold her eyes and say, “But at some point, it started to feel like you saw me as breakable, when I’d just been bruised, fragile when I’d only been feeling some legitimately tough emotions as I figured out my life. Yes, I hurt some days, and no, my body doesn’t do everything it used to, but I am strong, even when I’m struggling. I’m okay. I won’t pretend to know how hard it is to watch your child struggle. And I know you want to support me—Iwant your support, too. I just…need you to follow my lead, on how I talk about my illness, how I deal with it. I need you to trust me to take care of myself and trust that when I need help, when I’m hurting and I need you, I’ll tell you.”

Mom sighs heavily and reaches across the table, knowing this conversation is for her more than Dad. “I’m sorry, birdie. I’ll do better, promise.”

Dad reaches for my other hand and clasps it, firm and warm. “We’re always here for you, Juliet. Just say the word.”

“Thank you, both of you.” Slowly, I stand from my stool, smiling between them. “I’d stay for breakfast, but I’ve got to get going.”

“Bring Will around again, soon?” Mom calls as I start out of the kitchen.

I turn in the doorway and grin. “You kidding? I couldn’t keep him away from your cooking if I tried.”

—

Will’s home is the stuff of dreams. I feel like I’ve stepped back in time, a lady in one of my historical romances, in her long gown, walking the gardens, her fingertips brushing the delicate blooms, her gaze drinking in field after field.

The illusion would be easy to hold on to, except that Will and all my friends and sisters, his family, and a horde of tourists sit on the grass, our goofy paper eclipse glasses perched on our noses.

“It’s stunning,” Sula whispers thickly. She’s got her hand wrapped around Margo’s, their daughter, Rowan, perched in her lap.

Margo nods and brings Sula’s hand to her mouth, her eyes not on the eclipse but her wife. “Yeah, hon. It is.”

Bea sits inside Jamie’s bent legs, her hands clasping his knees, his chin resting on her head. Kate and Christopher lie side by side on a blanket, arms behind their bent heads, saying something to each other and smiling.

Toni and Hamza sit side by side, Toni resting his head on Hamza’s shoulder.

My cousin Bianca peers up at the sky from her piggyback perch on Nick, her boyfriend.

And all of Will’s family is scattered around us, too. His beautiful sisters with their fiery hair, his adorable niece and baby nephew, his mother standing beside his father, hands clasped as the world grows eerily dark.

Will’s arm curls around me, his hand softly rubbing along my shoulder. “Where’d you go?” he says quietly.

I smile up at him. “Nowhere. I’m right here, in my happy place.”

He smiles, too, his eyes dancing between mine. “It makes me real happy, knowing you’re happy here.”

I nod. “The happiest.”

As I settle in his arms, I let my gaze wander again, up to the eclipse, getting closer and closer to totality, to the crowd of people gathered around.

A tall woman with long blond hair stands up from where she was sitting on the ground, holding out a hand for another woman, who stands, too, shorter, her hair dark and shoulder length, a heart-shaped face. Something about the first woman feels oddly familiar.

I watch the familiar woman walk hand in hand with the shorter, dark-haired one as they move away from the crowd, presumably so as not to be in the way, until they stop just a dozen feet from us, to the side of our group, for a selfie. That’s when I realize why the blond one looks familiar.

Will notices my interest in them and glances down at me. “What is it?”

“That,” I tell him, “is Olivia Tobias. Huge social media influencer. You should try to connect with her, give her some Orsino Distillery merch, ask if she wants to take photos of the farm and the experiences you guys offer. It would probably give you a great boost.”

Will makes a noncommittal hum in the back of his throat.

I peer up at him. “What’s that sound supposed to mean?”

Maybe I was being pushy, telling him how to advertise his businesses, what opportunities to pursue.

He smiles down at me. “You just seem to have a good head for business. Might have to keep you around, put you on the payroll.”

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