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“Is your name one half of Julamol?” Bailey asked.
“Yes, the other half is my daughter, Molly.”
“That’s like our store—Bajinx,” Bailey said. “It combines my name with my partner’s, Jinx. I make soaps and lotions and Jinx makes jewelry. It’s kind of an odd mix, but it works for us.”
“I noticed your place and wanted to go in,” Julie said, “but I got waylaid when I saw Lexi’s window.”
“And your dress,” Lexi said. “I’ve got the other one too. How come Hortense only has two dresses of yours in her catalogue?”
Julie grimaced. “Because I only did two.”
“Why?” Lexi said. “I only recently started carrying children’s dresses and accessories and I’ve been looking for more of your stuff because I love it.”
“Really? Thank you. I needed that today.” Julie could almost feels tears pricking behind her eyes, but if she showed them that these women would think she was some kind of unstable nut. Which maybe she was.
“You haven’t answered me,” Lexi said. “Why did you stop?”
“I started it during a difficult period in my life and I guess I lost heart and quit.”
Lexi leaned in toward her. “Don’t you want to earn a living off your creative work?”
Julie chewed on her bottom lip, then said, “Maybe that is one of my problems. I inherited a lot of money from my father and don’t need to earn a living.”
“Fine, give the money you earn away, but you still need to fill your creative well. Let it run dry and the person you are will wither and dry up too. Why else would you have such an extreme reaction to seeing the dress in my window?”
Julie blinked back tears. Lexi’s words had gone right to her heart. “You’re right. The dress is part of something I’ve been hiding from and a reminder of…never mind.”
Bailey reached a hand to her friend. “Lexi, don’t be so pushy. Maybe she doesn’t want to talk about it.”
“Or maybe she needs a little push,” Lexi said.
Julie looked from one woman to the other. “You two are so refreshing, so honest. And kind. I’ve read about how great female friendship can be, but I’ve never experienced it. You two are lucky.”
“You have to come back and meet Jinx too,” Lexi said. “I bet you’d find you can fit in here with us more than whatever you’ve got going on now that obviously is not working for you.”
Julie bit her lip, thinking about how she had lived as a fish out of water over and over and just accepted it. And was still doing it. “I appreciate that. I can’t tell you how much. And I will think about your advice, Lexi.”
“It’s not only advice, sweetie. It’s a challenge. Since you don’t have an exclusive with Hortense, you are free to bring anything directly to me. And the reason I say that is because I think you need to feel free to experiment and fail and you can use my store to try things out and get your juices flowing again without worrying about the big picture.”
What Lexi said excited her and terrified her at the same time. And she was not even sure why. “I have to go now.”
“Uh-oh, you scared her off,” Bailey said.
Julie held up a hand. “No, it’s okay. I’m grateful your offer, Lexi. You’ve already nudged something in me. But I do have to meet someone for lunch and don’t want to be late.”
“And you have a two o’clock fitting, Lex,” Bailey said.
Julie stood and gave both women a quick hug, then walked to the door—knowing she would be back.
Most of thetime when Noah met his firefighter friends here at The Blue Albatross he was alone and envious of the love he saw between them and their wives. He got hit on by plenty of women and told himself repeatedly he preferred running solo, but when he thought of Julie, that old dream he’d once had of the two of them marrying and having a family together came crashing in on him.
He got to the bistro first and was greeted by Phil Sheehan, who knew him as one of the regular crew who hung with his nephew, Harper.
“Come taste my latest Tuscan bean soup,” Phil said, leading Noah to the bar where he usually sat.
Why was he avoiding telling Phil he needed a table for two? Did he think Julie would pull a no-show? He’d been checking his phone all morning anticipating that, and so far she had not backed out. He reminded himself she was the one who initiated this, except it was after she’d had a few glasses of champagne.
Just as Noah was downing the soup Phil brought him, he turned to see Julie at the entrance. It was like a vision, a wish he had imagined so many times over the passing years. Because of his pride, he would never have sought her out, especially knowing she might be happily married, but that did not stop the part of him that popped up every so often missing her and wanting her.
