Page 64 of Rejected Heart

I hadn’t realized how much I missed her. Jules had every reason to hate me for how I left, and she didn’t. My heart warmed at the compassion she showed, and a smile tugged at the corners of my mouth. “Surprise me.”

A moment later, Jules sat down opposite me at the table, with a brownie for each of us.

“This looks amazing.”

“They’re one of my bestsellers. I think you’ll like it.”

I took a bite and immediately fell in love. They were intensely chocolate, so soft and gooey. The brownie looked like so many others I’d tasted in my life, but the richness and sweet flavor were unmatched. “This is the best thing I’ve ever tasted.”

A proud look washed over her. “Thank you.”

I didn’t hesitate to take another bite. “You’ve really outdone yourself, Jules. You should be proud.”

She shrugged. “I am, I guess. You know how much I love baking, so this never really feels like work for me.” Her eyes dropped to her lap momentarily, a heaviness filling the air around us. When she returned her attention to me, I could see the hesitancy lingering there. “What about you?”

“Me?”

Jules nodded slowly, caution marring her features. “I just… Well, I know you’re here now because of the situation with your mom’s accident, but… Where have you been?”

A lump formed in my throat, and I attempted to swallow past it. “I’ve been living in New York City for the last eight years.”

“Wow. Are you… What are you doing there?”

I wanted to crawl under a table. Not necessarily because I was embarrassed by the work I did, but because it seemed like such a foolish reason to have left everything here to wind up where I did.

“I’m a Broadway box office manager,” I shared.

“Oh, how cool. How do you like it? Do you get to see the shows?”

I sent her a small smile. “The job is okay. There are aspects of it that I like. It took me some time to work my way up from being a ticket seller to where I am now. I enjoy the added responsibility that taps into my talent of being focused and organized, and the financial benefit of being the person in charge helps a lot with working in an expensive city. And I’ve seen the shows. They’re probably the best part of it.”

“It sounds amazing.”

Nodding, I confirmed, “Yeah, it’s okay. For the most part, I enjoy it. But I won’t pretend it’s everything I hoped to find when I moved to the city.”

A look of understanding washed over her expression, and I was convinced she had thoughts running throughher mind that wanted to spill out. But Jules showed some restraint and kept those thoughts contained.

“So much has changed,” she murmured.

I didn’t hear any accusations in her tone, but I could read between the lines. There was a level of sadness—perhaps frustration, too—about the lack of communication for all these years. We’d been good friends, and I just walked away without a word. It had led to both of us missing out on milestones in each other’s lives.

My shoulders fell with regret. “I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“For the way I left,” I clarified. “I freaked out, and I just left. And I didn’t have direct contact with anyone besides my mom after I was gone. It was something I felt I needed at the time. Regardless of my reasons for going or how I now feel about my decision, there’s no question I could have handled it better. I’m grateful to you for being so gracious when you have every reason to hate me.”

In a move I hadn’t expected, Jules reached across the table and covered my hand with hers. She offered a reassuring squeeze. “I guess I should apologize, too.”

I blinked in surprise. “You think you should apologize to me? Why?”

“I freaked out a bit, too. And after I saw you the other day, I couldn’t keep it to myself,” she confessed. “I sort of told the whole family about running into you.”

I wondered if Jules knew that Liam had come to see me after she’d shared that news with them. Seeing how he felt about me now, I could only imagine how the restof the family reacted to learning I was here for the next couple of months.

“It’s okay. I wouldn’t have wanted you to lie to them.”

“They miss you. Ivy was pretty bummed about it. In fact, if you have some time, I’m sure she’d love to see you before you leave. She handles everything at the hotel now, and I’m certain she’s still there.”

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