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A protective look came over her face as she stared back at me. "He's not, thank God. He doesn't want to see you, Jessica."
I nodded, the smile quickly fading off my lips. "I deserve that."
"The nerve of you. Yes, you deserve that. Coming back here after you destroyed him, not once but twice," she said, putting the can of cola down rather forcefully and taking a step in behind the counter.
"To be honest, Jules, I don't really think this is any of your business."
Julie let out a huffy laugh. "You don't? That's because you don't give a shit about him. Otherwise, you wouldn't be standing here in front of me right now."
A door slammed somewhere in the back of the building, catching both of our attention. The sound of footsteps grew closer.
"Jules?" Ben called out. "Do you have the—" He stopped talking as he came around the corner and spotted me standing across from Julie.
"Jess? What are you doing here?" he mumbled.
"Ben, I'll bring you what you need in a minute. I have to take the trash out first," she bit out as she looked towards me.
Ben went to turn around and leave. "Ben, I didn't sell—" Ben turned to look at me, his eyes meeting mine. "I couldn't." I swallowed hard, a lump in my throat forming.
"What changed your mind?"
I smiled and ran my fingers through my long hair. "You."
Ben took a step towards me as his sister grabbed his arm. "Don't you dare," she bit out.
"Jules, this doesn't concern you." He shook out of her grasp and continued to make his way towards me.
Julie mumbled something under her breath and then left in a huff, leaving us standing in the front room. He stood in front of me, his hands grabbing mine. He smiled and led me into his office where he shut the door, giving us some privacy.
The door clicked shut and Ben turned to me, wrapping his arms around me. He hugged me tightly and then stepped away, looking at me. "So you kept the place, for what, a vacation home?"
I shook my head. "No, for my home." I smiled.
"What about the other properties?"
"Well, I moved back to LA. I had gotten a part in—"
"Saltwater Moon. I saw the article," Ben said, leaning against his desk.
"Yes, we'd begun practicing for the fall start, but something was missing. As the days passed, I realized it wasn't what I wanted.I thought it was, but everything about it felt so wrong. I still hadn't found a place to move into when the properties sold. I felt so lost, and the only thing on my mind was being here."
I didn't know what to say, so I said the first thing that popped into my mind. "Well, at least you're at home now." I shrugged, picking up the documents off the desk I had been looking for. "I'm glad that you've gotten what you want and that you are enjoying it. Look, I have to get back to the guys. They are waiting out back for me. Was there something else that you needed? Something that needs fixing at the apartment?" he asked.
"No nothing needs fixing, but I came out to talk to you about something that is missing."
"Missing? Now wait, before you blame my guys for taking something—"
I shook my head. "That's not what I am here for, Ben. I'm here for you. I'm missing you."
"Jess, I..."
"Before you turn me away, let’s just try us okay. No pressures, no expectations."
As I stood waiting for Ben to answer, I saw Jules glance our way. She scowled at me before sitting down behind her computer.
"Jess, it has taken me months to get over you."
"Please, Ben, just come by tonight so we can talk. Just talk."
