was home. And what she needed was a man who could call it home too.
Two weeks later Miles Beckley arrived. And Trevor immediately disliked him.
The feeling was mutual.
Trevor was on a ladder tacking the shutters back into place when a white sports car screeched through the front gates. Placing his hammer in his tool belt, he watched as a tanned, healthy-looking man jumped out of the car and swung Julia into his arms. Trevor fought off a pang of jealousy.
“Trevor? Trevor!” Julia looked up at him, her eyes alight, her hand in Miles’s. “Come down and meet my boyfriend.”
“On my way!” He forced a note of cheerfulness into his tone and pushed aside his feelings of competition.
This is the guy Julia chose. There must be more to him than meets the eye.
Miles watched as the man descended, his own smile fading as he realized that the contractor Julia was so relieved to have found was not a doddering old genius, but a man young enough to be trouble.
I don’t like this.
Was he the reason that he couldn’t reach her on the phone every night?
Trevor smiled and raised his hand to meet Miles’s. Julia introduced them, and Miles shook the handyman’s hand, checking out the competition with steel-gray eyes.
Commoner. Out for somethingother than work. Julia’s money? Julia herself? I’ve seen his kind before.
Trevor made his own assumptions.
Schmoozer. Out for himself, not Julia. She works well into his plans and looks good on his arm. What a leech.
They chatted idly, then quickly parted ways.
Miles wasted no time in talking with Julia about him over dinner. They sat at one end of the huge dining room table, lit only by the candelabra, eating off century-old Wedgwood china that had just arrived from Aunt Linda.
“I’m so happy things are going well, darling,” he purred. “Life in New England, despite being so far from me, seems to be agreeing with you. You’re more beautiful than ever.”
“Thank you, Miles.”
“Have I lost you? Will you be here forever? Or will you get your little inn up and running and then come home to me?”
“You never seemed to be overly concerned with having me around when I lived in San Francisco. You’re gone half the month on business. We agreed on this, Miles. I need my own life.”
“An entire continent away?”
“I love this old place. I’m going to make it my home. And you could follow those leads to Boston, if you want to be closer to me.”
“I just may do that.”
His second affirmation astounded her. A part of her had assumed he had only been testing her, that he wasn’t really serious about moving. In the four years they had been dating, he had never made her his priority. They both assumed they’d marry eventually, after Miles pushed his law practice to the top. Their families came from the same circles of San Francisco society, and as everyone said, they seemedmade for each other. They laughed at the same jokes, liked the same authors. Both enjoyed theatre and dining out.
The problem was that when she turned thirty, Julia was not at all sure that those commonalties were enough. She wasn’t sure “everyone” was correct.
Julia looked over at Miles, smiling at her in the candlelight. He was handsome and a successful lawyer. Her mother, Eleanor, was crazy about him, and Jacob, her father, got along with him. But there no longer seemed to be the zing she thought should be there; had it ever been there? That pause in her heartbeat, the electric bolt she sensed every time Trevor came around? She dismissed the thoughts even as they passed through her mind.
Miles would always be here for me—he’s even willing to move for me! He’s the right one. Trevor will be here a few months, then leave.
She smiled back at Miles.
“Look, darling, I know I’ve only been here for several hours and have just met the man, but what do you know about this Kenbridge? I don’t like it that a man we barely know is living in the cottage right next door to you.”
Julia
Two weeks later Miles Beckley arrived. And Trevor immediately disliked him.
The feeling was mutual.
Trevor was on a ladder tacking the shutters back into place when a white sports car screeched through the front gates. Placing his hammer in his tool belt, he watched as a tanned, healthy-looking man jumped out of the car and swung Julia into his arms. Trevor fought off a pang of jealousy.
“Trevor? Trevor!” Julia looked up at him, her eyes alight, her hand in Miles’s. “Come down and meet my boyfriend.”
“On my way!” He forced a note of cheerfulness into his tone and pushed aside his feelings of competition.
This is the guy Julia chose. There must be more to him than meets the eye.
Miles watched as the man descended, his own smile fading as he realized that the contractor Julia was so relieved to have found was not a doddering old genius, but a man young enough to be trouble.
I don’t like this.
Was he the reason that he couldn’t reach her on the phone every night?
Trevor smiled and raised his hand to meet Miles’s. Julia introduced them, and Miles shook the handyman’s hand, checking out the competition with steel-gray eyes.
Commoner. Out for somethingother than work. Julia’s money? Julia herself? I’ve seen his kind before.
Trevor made his own assumptions.
Schmoozer. Out for himself, not Julia. She works well into his plans and looks good on his arm. What a leech.
They chatted idly, then quickly parted ways.
Miles wasted no time in talking with Julia about him over dinner. They sat at one end of the huge dining room table, lit only by the candelabra, eating off century-old Wedgwood china that had just arrived from Aunt Linda.
“I’m so happy things are going well, darling,” he purred. “Life in New England, despite being so far from me, seems to be agreeing with you. You’re more beautiful than ever.”
“Thank you, Miles.”
“Have I lost you? Will you be here forever? Or will you get your little inn up and running and then come home to me?”
“You never seemed to be overly concerned with having me around when I lived in San Francisco. You’re gone half the month on business. We agreed on this, Miles. I need my own life.”
“An entire continent away?”
“I love this old place. I’m going to make it my home. And you could follow those leads to Boston, if you want to be closer to me.”
“I just may do that.”
His second affirmation astounded her. A part of her had assumed he had only been testing her, that he wasn’t really serious about moving. In the four years they had been dating, he had never made her his priority. They both assumed they’d marry eventually, after Miles pushed his law practice to the top. Their families came from the same circles of San Francisco society, and as everyone said, they seemedmade for each other. They laughed at the same jokes, liked the same authors. Both enjoyed theatre and dining out.
The problem was that when she turned thirty, Julia was not at all sure that those commonalties were enough. She wasn’t sure “everyone” was correct.
Julia looked over at Miles, smiling at her in the candlelight. He was handsome and a successful lawyer. Her mother, Eleanor, was crazy about him, and Jacob, her father, got along with him. But there no longer seemed to be the zing she thought should be there; had it ever been there? That pause in her heartbeat, the electric bolt she sensed every time Trevor came around? She dismissed the thoughts even as they passed through her mind.
Miles would always be here for me—he’s even willing to move for me! He’s the right one. Trevor will be here a few months, then leave.
She smiled back at Miles.
“Look, darling, I know I’ve only been here for several hours and have just met the man, but what do you know about this Kenbridge? I don’t like it that a man we barely know is living in the cottage right next door to you.”
Julia
Similar Books
