When we walk into the upscale Mexican restaurant on Washington Street, I practically run into the arms of my brother, still traumatized by being in a swaying structure way too high off the ground. Paulie runs his finger down my nose with a tap and then rubs my back. I feel Bri’s hand on top of his and my aftershock fear turns into anger.
The couple share a quick kiss and she mumbles, “You never told me she was scared of heights.”
Kevin laughs behind us. “It was great! I’ve never seen someone freak out like she did, she even ralphed when we got to the top.”
I don’t have to look to know that my brother is giving Kevin the death glare, his body language exudes disapproval. Paulie moves so that he has one arm around Bri and the other around me as he guides us to our table. Kevin follows behind, still laughing about my meltdown until we take our seats and Paulie announces, “Enough.”
Kevin rolls his eyes as he slides into the booth beside me. Across the table, the engaged couple cozy up to each other. I put my hand on Kevin’s thigh, making an effort to restore the peace and get him to shut up. Instead, he ignores my gesture and opens the menu.
Eyeing the selection of food, Kevin speaks without looking up. “Bri, you know these two are inseparable, right?” He looks up and meets Bri’s eyes which have a question in them. “I mean Jules can’t go through a day without talking to her brother. And it’s even more ridiculous how J.P. will drop everything and run to her rescue. You’re in for a real treat.”
As he finishes, my mouth gapes open, but he just casually looks back at his menu. “Are you kidding me?” I whisper loud enough for him to hear.
He looks at me and shrugs. “What? It’s the truth, Jules. I’m just warning her.”
“You’re out of line,” Paulie says in that fatherly tone he learned over ten years ago when he became not only my brother but my father as well.
My tattooed boyfriend leans forward, taunting the clean-cut, suit wearing man in front of him. “What are you going to do about it?”
Before Paulie can answer, I announce, “We’re done.”
Kevin’s head whips in my direction. “What?” he asks as though he doesn’t speak the same language as I do.
Straightening up a bit taller, I repeat myself. “I said we’re done. You can come by tomorrow to get your stuff.”
He scoffs then gets serious when he sees I’m not joking. “Come on, Julianna, don’t be like that. I was just messin’ around.”
At the exact same moment my brother and I both tell him not to call me Julianna. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Bri blushing as she realizes she’d made the same mistake earlier.
Kevin cusses under his breath. As he gets out of the booth, he looks from Paulie to me. “You’re going to be miserable and alone the rest of your life because no man will ever be able to fill his shoes,” he says, darting another look at my brother.
Not to be intimidated, Paulie stands up, chest to chest with my now ex-boyfriend and growls, “If I ever see you around my sister again, it won’t be pretty.”
The men stare each other down, neither wanting to be the first to look away. I’m trying to suppress my grin as Kevin squirms but tries to hide his uneasiness. Bri’s hand slips across the table and grabs mine. When I look at her, I can see fear in her eyes and now I’m having to conceal the urge to roll my eyes at her dramatics. Luckily, the waiter, oblivious to this test of manliness, steps between them and Kevin takes off for the door.
I can’t even express my gratitude when Bri is latched on to my brother, tears rolling down her cheeks, and I let my eyes start rolling. Paulie catches me and gives me that fatherly glare of his, which only makes me roll them even more.
Sitting back down with his fiancée, Paulie shakes his head. “Jules, you really have to get better taste in men.”
I laugh and shrug my shoulders. “Eh, he was fun,” I comment and now that he’s gone, I see that. I was never into him. He was sexy and kept things interesting in the bedroom, but I knew when we first met that the relationship would never survive the long haul.
Pulling out his cell, Paulie asks the intelligent personal assistant, Siri, for the name of a locksmith and asks her to dial the number provided. A quick conversation later and he ends the call.
“Your locks will be changed before I get you home. We’ll meet them at their storefront where we’ll show ID to get your new keys.”
Crunching on a tortilla chip, I give a satisfied smile. Kevin tried to make me feel bad for the bond I share with my sibling, but in the long run, my brother came to my rescue… again.
***
“It was awful!” Bri cries into the phone and I can picture her dramatically flinging herself onto her bed.
“I’m sure it wasn’t that bad, sis,” I try to reassure her as I walk back and forth, trying to whisper as to not wake anyone.
“She puked at the top of the Arch, her boyfriend laughed about it. Then James Paul almost got in a fight with him at lunch!” she exclaims and I stifle my laughter.
I really would’ve loved to see this whole thing. The more I hear about Jules, the more I can’t wait to meet her. From what Bri’s said, she seems tough on the outside but relies on her brother to fight her battles.
“Brianna, I have to go, but listen to me. Stop trying to impress her and just be yourself. I love you, sis.”
“Thanks, Bent. I love you, too,” she says and our phone call ends.
Crawling back into bed, I close my eyes and let out a long sigh. I have a feeling this is only the beginning of the wedding drama. This sister of J.P.’s seems to be giving my sister a hard time so I’ll have to see what I can do about that.
Chapter 5
Teetering down my hallway in one turquoise ankle-wrapped heel and one black peep-toe one, I ask my brother, “Can I be me tonight or do I have to be conservative?”
He gives me a once over, checking out my modest black cocktail dress that showcases the few curves I have in the right places. Another thing I inherited from my father was my practically flat chest. The few traits I got from my mother were all the good ones like her long eyelashes and baby blue eye color.
Pointing to my feet, Paulie answers, “Conservative.”
Letting out a loud, exasperated sigh, I slip off both shoes and head back to my room to finish getting ready. I already knew how he’d answer. Tonight is the engagement party and the first time I’m meeting her family. All I know about them is her parents have their own, very successful business and she has an older brother named Bentley. Seriously, who names their kid Bentley? They live in the country on about twenty acres of land so I can only assume their upbringing was much different than ours.
Curling the end of my long, brunette hair, I see Paulie behind me in the mirror. I set the flat iron down and start putting on my make-up, calling to him over my shoulder, “What’d I do now?”
He shakes his head and lets out a small laugh. “Nothing, Jules. Here, I have something for you.”
Reaching into his pocket, he pulls out a strand of pearls and places it around my neck. “This was Mom’s. She wanted you to have it when the time was right. I know her and Dad would’ve been just as proud of you today as I am, Julianna. You’ve grown into a confident, kind-hearted, beautiful woman,” he says as he closes the clasp.
My fingers run over the smooth jewels as tears sting my eyes. Mom hung on a bit longer than Dad after the accident, but I was only twelve. I didn’t understand everything that was going on. Parents were meant to be invincible and I’d just lost my father, the thought of losing my mother too had never crossed my mind. Little did I know that those few days after the accident, Paulie and my mother were planning out the rest of my life. Some were small gifts or gestures like this that Paulie had given me over the years, but the biggest was the iron clad will my mother had redone at the last minute, making Paulie my guardian.
Looking back now, I regret not having stayed curled up in that hospital bed with my mother until she took her last breath. No, I was
too busy being a pre-teen, thinking the world revolved around me and how unfair it was that my Daddy was gone. I sat in the waiting room, sulking and whining about being ready to go home in between Jerry Springer episodes.
A few tears fall and I’m glad I wasn’t finished with my make-up yet. I turn into my brother’s embrace and squeeze him. I’m not ready to let him go. Despite how confident my brother thinks I may be, it’s only because he’s always by my side.
Pulling back, he runs his index finger down my nose and taps the end. “Alright, Jules, no more tears. We’re leaving in ten minutes so finish getting ready.”
Alone in the bathroom, I close the door and sob for the next five minutes. Feelings of fear and loneliness wash over me. Fear of the unknown. Fear of being alone for the rest of my life. Fear of losing Paulie to her.
That last thought makes me feel weak. Jealousy. I am not that kind of person. I want my brother to be happy, I really do, even if it is with her. Standing up, I take a deep breath and splash cold water on my cheeks. Starting over, I throw on some foundation and mascara and walk into the living room, barely meeting my brother’s deadline.
I have to smile as he drives us to his future in-laws’ house and he chats nervously. I’ve never seen my brother so worked-up before. I sigh to myself. She must really be the one, even if I don’t want to admit it.
Forty minutes later, he turns onto a gravel road and before me sits the most gorgeous country house. Not that I’ve seen many in my lifetime, but it reminds me of something you’d see in the movies with a wrap-around porch, terrace area, and perfectly landscaped flower beds and lawn. Beside me I hear Paulie laugh as he puts the SUV in park.
“Close your mouth, Jules.”
I hadn’t even realized my jaw had dropped at the sight of this beautiful home. That’s what it is. A home. Without even knowing the people that live inside it, I could already picture the Ladner family relaxing on the porch in the hot, Missouri summers, homemade ice cream churning on the driveway while the kids caught fireflies. I only imagine this scene because it’s one of the last memories I have of my family as a whole.
Standing on the glorious front porch where so many memories were probably created for Bri and her brother, Paulie hands me a bottle of wine. “Here, this is a gift to give Mrs. Ladner for hosting the party.”
Suppressing the eye roll deep inside me at the formality of this event, I force a smile instead because my brother always thinks of everything. Pressing the doorbell, I hear loud chimes ring inside the house and the sound of a yippy dog. Great, they’re small dog people. The door swings open and Barbie at fifty opens the door wearing an emerald green halter tea-length cocktail dress with diamonds around her neck and ears that I don’t even want to know what the price tag says.
“James Paul, good to see you!” the woman proclaims, pulling him into a hug and a kiss on the cheek. With Paulie safely inside the house, I stand there awkwardly until who I assume is Mrs. Ladner turns her attention to me and gives me a big smile. “Your brother doesn’t do you justice, you are absolutely gorgeous. You must be Julianna.”
My cheeks blaze red and only increase in color as she pulls me in for the same hug and kiss she gave my brother. I mumble, “It’s actually Jules.”
Leaning back, but not letting go of me, she nods. “That’s right, I apologize. Brianna told me that. I’m Rita Ladner and let me just say that I could not be more excited to have both of you joining our family.”
Both of us? I glance over at Paulie who has a smile on his face. Mrs. Ladner pulls me down the hall while my brother heads up the stairs to see his future bride. I turn my head from side to side taking in the luxurious floor plan. Vaulted ceilings throughout the entire first level, a library to my left, a formal dining room to my right, and a spacious kitchen straight ahead. She shows me to a chair at the breakfast bar and I set the bottle of wine on the counter, still too in awe of the house to mention it.
“So, Jules,” she says with difficulty, as though it pains her to not say my full name, “James Paul has told us so much about you, but remind me exactly what you do for a living.”
Really? Because he hasn’t told me anything about this family other than to be on my best behavior. Swallowing the lump in my throat, I explain, “Well, currently I adjunct teach for the local university and am working toward my EdD so that I can join their staff full-time.”
“That’s wonderful!” she proclaims and for a brief moment I see a sparkle in her eyes. It’s a look that only a mother can give and I wonder if that’s how my mom would see me if she was still alive.
Mrs. Ladner returns to the punch as I begin to fidget. I grab a carrot off the tray in front of me and take a loud, crispy bite. Mrs. Ladner looks up surprised and I stop in mid-chew, wondering if I should spit it out. My eyes dart around the kitchen looking for a napkin when both of us turn in the direction of another carrot cruncher.
A tall, lanky man with short, dark hair and a matching trimmed beard stands beside me, chewing on the orange vegetable. Unlike Mrs. Ladner, my brother, and myself who are dressed for the President’s inauguration, he’s wearing an unbuttoned blue and white plaid dress shirt with a white t-shirt underneath and a pair of dark denim jeans. His Adam’s apple bobs as he swallows. This handsome man winks at me, as though we share a secret with our carrot munching habit. He has that same perfectly round nose that Bri does, so my best guess is that this is her brother.
His long arm moves around my shoulder and I look from his hand up to his chocolaty brown eyes, getting lost for a brief moment. Giving me a squeeze, he says, “You must be Jules, the maid-of-honor.”
Fighting the eye roll I feel coming on, I nod. “And who are you?”
He leans down close to my face, but speaks loud enough that Mrs. Ladner can hear. “Can’t you tell? I’m the black sheep of the family. Bentley, Bri’s older brother.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Mrs. Ladner grimace as Bentley shortens his sister’s name. I hold in a smile and shake his hand. “Well, it’s nice to meet you, Bentley.”
He raises his eyebrows to say likewise as he grabs another carrot and heads out the door. Mrs. Ladner taps her spoon on the edge of the bowl. “Bentley, please go change for the party,” she begs.
He lifts his carrot above his head to signify that he heard her, but keeps walking. Well, at least his voice isn’t as annoying as his sister’s…and his backside looks mighty fine in those tight jeans.
Before long, the party is in full swing and I’d been introduced to every single family friend of the Ladners, all hundred of them. I am now safely positioned between my brother’s two best friends, Doug and Smitty. They both helped Paulie raise me. Seriously, three college men raising a teenager, it’s a shock that we all survived. We had our own version of Three Men & a Baby except it was three men and a teenage woman.
Champagne flutes are being passed around to toast the bride and groom. Looking at the lavish furniture and decorations, I sigh. A pang of envy shoots through me as I recall the one bedroom apartment Paulie and I lived in while I was in high school, completely different than this life of luxury that Bri and Bentley obviously had. Paulie tried to keep us in our parents’ house as long as he could, but when I entered ninth grade, he moved us to an apartment to ensure there was money to put me through college. Meanwhile, he’s still paying off his college loans.
Mr. Ladner holds up his drink as he drones on and on about his little princess and the eye rolls can’t be contained. Doug elbows me after my third eye roll, he always was the most strict of the three men. I raise my eyebrows, questioning his actions. I mean its only been three eye rolls in ten minutes as we hear about every highlight of Bri’s life, I think that’s pretty good. We’re only up to Bri’s junior high days when I step outside on the terrace.
Away from the crowd and the clean air in the country, my mind can think more clearly. The bright moonlight reflects off the lake down the hill from the house. The stars are twinkling above me as I watch them closely, hoping f
or a falling star to wish on. I down the champagne and lean over the railing as a meteor streaks across the dark sky.
“Star light, star bright, first star I see tonight. I wish I may, I wish I might—”
“What are you wishing for?” a deep, rugged voice says. He stands against the railing, his back to the lake and slightly leans toward me.
Startled, I straighten up and smooth out my dress. “Why aren’t you inside listening to the ode to your sister?” I know it’s rude and Paulie would probably kill me if he knew I said it, but sarcasm is my best form of defense.
Bentley laughs and I notice he has a small dimple on his right cheek when he smiles. He’s now wearing the suit his mother requested. He lifts his chin up in the direction of where Mr. Ladner is still talking and the party goers are sipping their champagne as it’s now room temperature.
“My old man can be a little long winded, especially when it comes to his little girl. So what are you wishing for?”
Spinning the flute in my fingers, I open my mouth to answer, but then stop. What am I wishing for? As much as I’d love to wish this marriage wasn’t happening, I’m not that cold-hearted. Maybe I should wish that I’d eventually like my future sister-in-law.
Before I can respond with a seemingly safe answer like world peace, Bentley slowly moves his head up and down. “Right… you aren’t supposed to tell or it won’t come true.”
A smile tugs at my lips as his comment is something Paulie would say to save me from total embarrassment. My eyes cast back to the lake in front of me and I see Bentley turn his head in the same direction.
“You ever night fish?”
“Excuse me?”
“Night fish? You set out poles with bells on the rods so when you get a bite, it catches your attention.”
“Um…no. I don’t fish, not during the night or day,” I say, scrunching up my nose in disgust at the thought of touching wiggly worms or slimy fish.
Spring Into Love Page 95
