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"About Jess..."
"Nothing needs to be said about Jess," I barked and picked up the bucket, carrying it into the bathroom.
"Ben."
"No. Listen, I should have known better. Instead I let my weakness get the best of me. So, nothing needs to be said. She's gone back to LA, back to her life, and I have gone back to mine. It's enough about her. Now if you have something important to tell me, I'm all ears. Otherwise, this conversation is over."
Jules hung her head and nodded. "Guess I will see you in a month then." She turned and walked out the door, letting it slam shut.
Chapter 22
Jessica - Six Months Later
I carried the two bags of groceries into the kitchen and set them on the counter. I quickly unpacked them, shoving everything into the fridge, and then I moved to the box that sat on the table. I'd been back in New York for a month and was finally in the process of unpacking the last of the boxes I had brought with me.
I had kept the condo in New York for a while and had moved back to LA to clean out the condo and the Malibu property. It hadn't taken long. After selling most of the contents, a rapid sale on both properties had taken me by surprise, leaving me homeless. I had tried to find a condo to move to but couldn't find anything I liked, so I'd moved back to New York.
I'd just finished condensing the last box and set it by the door to take down to the compactor when the phone rang. I was surprised to see Malone Family Law's number on the phone already.
"Hello," I sang into the phone.
"Jessica, good news. Both the sales of the Malibu property and the condo have beenfinalized," Hunter Malone's deep voice poured over the phone.
"Fantastic. Do I need to sign anything?"
"I believe we completed everything. I will forward everything to you at the Madison Avenue address."
"Sounds good, and thank you so much."
"No problem. That is what I am here for."
We said our good-byes, and I looked around my newly decorated apartment. I was so happy with the decision I had made to sell those other properties and leave LA. I felt very much at peace here and hadn't realized it until I had left all of this behind.
The next morning, I sat in Bonne Chatte, eating one of their cinnamon buns, while flipping through the paper. There on the fifth page was an article about Sunset Builders. I read through the article and flipped the page to see an image of Ben, looking prouder than he ever had, holding up an award he'd won. I smiled to myself as memories of him flashed through my mind. Since I had returned, he had entered my mind a lot, and I realized that I missed him more than one could imagine.
That afternoon I took a drive out to Sunset Builders’ main office. I hadn't spoken to Ben since the afternoon that the realtor had come to list the Madison Avenue apartment. It was the last time I had seen his face, and that look he had given me before he had stepped into that elevator had been the only one I had seen throughout the appointment with her. As she took down notes and had taken photographs, a funny feeling had crept into the pit of my stomach. Everything about my decision to sell the property had been wrong, but I had signed the documentsanyway.
After she had left that afternoon, I had asked Kate to borrow her car, and I had driven out to the town in which I had grown up. I drove up to the house that Ben and his dad had fixed up, the same house that he had given me the promise ring at that night so long ago.
When I arrived, the driveway was empty, so I climbed out of the car and walked over to the spot we used to lie in. I toed my shoes off and ran my bare feet through the cool dew-soaked grass, just as I had then, and sat down. The sun had just gone down, and the fireflies were now dancing in the bushes.
I could almost see Ben and I lying together cuddling under the stars. I remembered all the things that had made Ben so great, from his carefree, fun-loving attitude that he’d once had, to his lovingand caring nature he still possessed. I thought about how it had felt that night with him in the apartment back in New York, how safe and complete he had made me feel. It was all in those moments I had decided that he was where my heart lay, not in LA.
I had raced back to the city, and at eleven that night, I had called the realtor and canceled the listing, letting her know that I had two other properties she might be more interested in than the apartment at Madison Avenue. Two days later, I flew out with her and she introduced me to a listing agent there and we listed the other properties.
I pulled up to the Sunset Builders building and cut my engine. I climbed the stairs up to the mainentrance and pulled the door open, stepping inside. The front desk was empty, as were the other offices, so while I waited I looked around at the photographs on the wall. I looked at some houses that had been renovated back in our hometown, Ben and his father standing side by side looking so proud, then a picture of Ben and his dad in front of this location. His father raising a glass to his son in a congratulatory pose.
"Oh geez, I didn't hear the buzzer. I'm sorry, can I help you with something?" I heard a voice behind me and turned to see Julie standing, holding a can of cola in her hand.
"Hi, Julie."
"Jessica? What are you doing here? I thought—"
"You thought I moved back to LA, I know. I did, but things didn't work out the way I thought they would."
"Surprising," she scoffed.
"Is your brother here?"
