Page 1 of Return to Rosewood Beach

CHAPTER ONE

Julia Owens stood in front of the full-length mirror in her New York apartment and turned slowly back and forth, inspecting her reflection. Early morning sunlight streamed across the floorboards of her chic bedroom, glinting on the glossy sheen of her toenail polish.

“No, that’s not right either,” she murmured, frowning a little as she looked at the emerald-green blazer that she’d paired with a black pencil skirt. She didn’t want to look like she was asking for attention, and the green was too bright, she decided. But the skirt looked good, and she could pair it with the black heels she’d bought yesterday.

She took a deep breath, smiling a little to herself. A nervous, tingling kind of excitement was pulsing through her—it was that same excitement that had woken her up at five-thirty in the morning and prevented her from going back to sleep.

She glanced at the clock. It was now six-fifteen, and she’d been spending a little over half an hour trying to decide on her outfit for the day. She wanted to look and feel her best—and give off all the right signals—before the meeting later that morning. It was very important that she settled on an outfit that looked just right.

As she started to take off the blazer, a yawn overpowered her. She blinked, telling herself that she should go into the kitchen and start making some coffee.

I should have gotten more sleep before this big meeting,she thought, tucking the blazer back inside her perfectly organized, color-coded closet.But I’m just too jittery.

She smiled as she pulled a white blouse with a fancy collar out of her closet. She was going to do exceptionally well today, she felt sure of it. The last time the advertising firm she worked for had taken on a new client, they’d had the advertising event in Los Angeles, and she’d headed it up. That new client had been an organic dog food company, and Julia had done a fantastic job at the event.

She closed her eyes, focusing on remembering that day as a means of bolstering her confidence. She remembered the way she’d spoken to the representatives from the dog food company, and the positive way they’d responded?—

She frowned for a moment, remembering some strange tension that had happened between her and her coworkers that day, but in the next moment, she brushed that memory aside. Emotions were always high during big events, and it wasn’t something she should worry about. That partnership with the organic dog food company had been a success, and she figured that all’s well that ends well.

She opened her eyes again and finished putting on the blouse. It was made of satin, and it was pleasantly soft to the touch.

“There.” She grinned at her reflection, turning back and forth and inspecting herself. “That’s it. I look like I’m ready to take on the whole world of advertising.”

Once her outfit was decided on, she got back into her pajamas, since she didn’t want to get her clothes wrinkly. She still had a lot of time before she needed to leave for the office,and she wanted to make herself a healthy breakfast and do her makeup carefully.

She went into the kitchen and started a pot of coffee brewing. She used a gourmet coffee that she’d bought out in Los Angeles at an adorable little tea and coffee shop, and the air was soon filled with the rich, nutty aroma of the brewing beverage.

She prepared a banana mango smoothie for herself, along with a fried egg sandwich with avocado and tomato. She wanted to make sure she ate enough to give herself the mental energy she would need, especially since she hadn’t gotten as much sleep as she should have.

She was used to planning all the details of her life carefully, the way she was planning that morning carefully. Ever since she’d graduated from college, she’d been determined to be successful in her advertising career. She’d worked hard and calculated all of her decisions with precision, making sure she always came out on top.

She ate her breakfast as she checked her emails and jotted down notes in her planner. The food was delicious, but she was focused more on her work than tasting it. When she’d finished, she went into her bathroom and started to carefully do her makeup and hair. It took her half an hour, and as she worked, she practiced how she would introduce herself to her firm’s new potential partners by speaking into the mirror.

The new potential client was Cutie Pie, a baby product company, and it was a huge organization—it had the ability to skyrocket her company to greater heights if everything went well and Cutie Pie signed on to do business with them. She felt eager to take on the challenge of making sure she and her coworkers made an excellent impression on Cutie Pie. She’d already studied their products in great detail—something she’d done as soon as she’d heard they might be signing on. Although she didn’t have any kids of her own and she wasn’t particularfamiliar with baby products, she’d done her research and she already had a lot of great ideas for advertisements. She’d always been great at coming up with innovative ideas, even for products she didn’t use.

She finished her makeup and stepped back from the mirror, smiling in approval over her appearance. She gave herself a brisk nod, feeling that she was ready at last for her big day. She got dressed into her work clothes, and just before leaving her apartment, she grabbed a chic black raincoat to throw on—it was early April, and still often cold and rainy.

She made her way through downtown New York City to the skyscraper where her advertising firm, Caldunski Inc., had their offices. Her heels clicked across the cement as she hurried up to the glass front doors. She stepped inside and was greeted by the feeling of cool air on her face and the familiar smell of the downstairs lobby, which always had a lingering aroma of patchouli.

She took the elevator up to her floor, adjusting her bracelets and giving herself an internal pep talk. She checked her reflection in the elevator mirror, making sure that the up-do she’d created with her long brown hair was still smooth. Her sharp, well-defined features looked particularly attractive because of the way she’d done her makeup, and she felt her confidence surge.

She stepped out of the elevator and made her way toward the meeting room. She’d arrived before the meeting was due to start, but she saw no harm in sitting down at the table a little early. Punctuality looked professional. She put on a confident smile as she strode toward the meeting room, even though her heart was fluttering a little bit with nervousness.

“Hey, Julia?”

Julia turned and saw the firm’s secretary, Kenzie, hurrying toward her with a worried expression.

“Good morning, Kenzie.” She smiled cheerfully at the other woman. “You look great,” she added, admiring Kenzie’s bright pink blazer, although she was glad she herself hadn’t worn anything that flashy. Secretaries could wear whatever they wanted, really—she needed to make a more professional impression than that.

“Thanks,” Kenzie stammered, looking a little uncomfortable.

“Is everything okay?” Julia frowned, curious as to why Kenzie was acting so oddly.

“Has Marshall talked to you yet?”

Julia shook her head, feeling a sudden sense of foreboding in her stomach. “No, he hasn’t. Not today. Why?”

At that moment, their boss, Marshall, stepped out of his office and nodded at Julia. The look on his face was somewhat grim, and the sloshy feeling in Julia’s stomach intensified.

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