Page 30 of Written with Love

She woke early the next morning to Sophia’s text messages. There were a few links to articles with images of her and Max from the night before.

Images of them embracing. Of her in the car looking confused and a little annoyed. There were some head-shots of Max that were used a lot in the media. Images of the lighthouse and of their social media pages. She smiled thinking about all the free publicity. After a quick glance at the number of followers, she confirmed that was the case. They had an additional three hundred thousand followers on each platform already.

Smiling and feeling lighthearted, she thought about the day’s projects as she got ready.

Thankfully, none of the articles had taken a nasty tone like the previous one. Every single one mentioned her by name.

By the time she rolled up the driveway and parked in her usual spot, everyone she knew in town was messaging her about the articles.

“Did you see it?” she asked Max when she stepped into the already busy kitchen area.

“What?” he asked, turning to her.

“All the new followers.” She did a little happy dance, and he and a few workers chuckled.

“Okay, yeah, I guess our run-in with the media last night helped.” He wrapped an arm around her. “So, let’s not disappoint our viewers. We’re all set to finish the cupboards today.” He motioned. “Cameras are all set up and ready for you.”

After setting her things down in the other room, she jumped right into setting up the best angles for recording the workers. Max was helping Palmer shift some of the plumbing to prep for the cabinet installations, and she had a stationary camera on them. She used the handheld camera to follow Parker’s team, which was finishing the drywall work on the new walls.

Juliette adjusted the camera strap around her wrist as she moved through the space, careful to stay out of the workers’ way while still capturing the best shots. The rhythmic sounds of hammers, drills, and occasional laughter filled the unfinished kitchen, giving the space a heartbeat of its own.

She crouched down near Parker’s team, filming as they smoothed the last coat of joint compound over the seams in the drywall. The transformation was incredible—just days ago, this part of the kitchen had been nothing but a skeletal frame of wooden studs, and now it was starting to look like a real, livable space.

Switching angles, she zoomed in on the putty knife gliding over the wall, the creamy white plaster blending seamlessly. The footage would be perfect for a transition clip. Maybe she could do a before-and-after montage, showing the kitchen’s progress over the past few days.

Across the room, Max and Palmer worked on repositioning the plumbing, their voices low as they discussed the next steps. The stationary camera she had set up was catching everything, but she still snuck a few close-up shots of Max’s hands as he tightened a pipe fitting.

Even when he was covered in dust and sweat, he looked ridiculously good. It was frustrating, really.

She shook her head and refocused.

After another hour, the drywall crew packed up their tools, and the real fun began—cabinet building and installation.

The building portion of the process was done in the other room to make space for the installation. She set up a camera on a time-lapse mode so viewers would be able to watch the work’s progress quickly.

Then she perched on a step stool to get a wide-angle shot of Palmer’s team as they secured the lower cabinets in place. Max grabbed a drill and helped hold one of the cabinets in place while Palmer lined it up.

“Hey, boss, don’t scratch my work,” Parker teased as he passed by, tossing a rag at Max.

Max caught it effortlessly and smirked. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”

Juliette grinned as she panned the camera over to capture the exchange. These were the kinds of moments people loved—small glimpses of personality and teamwork that made the renovation process feel personal and real.

After a few hours of work, the lower cabinets were all in place. Before they started on the upper, everyone took a lunch break.

When the scent of fresh tacos wafted through the air and hit her, her stomach growled loudly—loud enough that Max turned to smirk at her.

“Hungry?” he teased, handing her a plate.

She gave him a playful shove before grabbing one. “Starving.”

The crew had gathered around a weathered picnic table on the edge of the hillside, the view stretching out before them in rolling green and blue. The high sun warmed everything, confirming that summer was almost there. A cool breeze rustled the trees. It was the perfect spot to take a break.

Palmer cracked open a soda and leaned back against the table. “Not a bad way to spend a workday, huh?”

Parker nodded as he bit into his taco. “Beats being stuck inside an office, that’s for sure.”

Juliette glanced over at Max, who was watching the horizon with a thoughtful expression. She nudged his arm. “You okay?”