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He glanced at Julie who looked surprised and embarrassed. Hoping she was not going to turn around on the discussion they’d had about this earlier, he said, “I think that is a great idea. Are you up for that, Julie?”
Molly tugged on Julie’s arm. “Say yes, Mommy, say yes before he changes his mind.”
“Okay, count me in, Noah,” Julie said, then laughed and gave him a kiss on the cheek, Molly tugging him downward to join in on his other cheek.
Yeah, he could get used to this.
10
Present day…
Julie began seeingNoah a few times a week, and they texted or talked on the phone every night after Molly was in bed. They made love every time they met, almost as if they had to make up for the years they had lost, and they never seemed to tire of each other. As the weeks went by, Julie felt grim reality would set in and one of them would feel the need to move on. But it was not happening. Instead, she was falling deeper in love with him—and letting herself ignore the voice inside her head warning her it would all come crashing down at some point. That trying to be the Julie she’d once been, the person Noah had loved, was futile.
But she kept putting one foot in front of the other and hoping she did not wear out Noah’s patience with her reluctance to talk about her past and her inability to fully trust that they would have a future.
Sometimes they met up at the Beachview Country Club, and several divorced women there stared daggers at her for “landing the new guy,” making her pull away from the women she hadbeen hanging out with over the last few years. And making her see how far removed she’d gotten from the person she believed was her true self.
She and Noah often took Molly on outings, like the Children’s Museum in Bridgehampton and a petting farm in the North Fork, or had a dinner and movie night with her at Julie’s house. She could see her daughter getting attached to him and worried what would happen if everything fell apart, but she also could not bear to deprive Molly of the sweet attention Noah gave her.
In the fall when Molly went back to school, Julie went to the North Fork several days a week, sometimes meeting Gillian to help with her Maxwell Point project before seeing Noah. He had a couple afternoons free, and if not, was usually able to arrange some time when he could get away to have a bite to eat with her. Between Noah and Gillian and her sister-in-law and the Greenport shop women, Julie was getting a taste of the North Fork as a place she might want to live.
Speaking of the Greenport women, Julie had met Jinx, Bailey’s partner, and had gotten to know all three women better. She’d begun stopping by to see them at least once a week, loving their creative independent spirit and trying to soak in some of their courage. Each time she went there, Julie chose a bunch of soaps and lotions made by Bailey, and when she brought Molly to meet them, she and her daughter got matching sea charm bracelets Jinx had crafted and some neat wind chimes by a local artist.
Julie also picked out a cocktail dress from Lexi’s own label for the hospital fundraiser dinner she would be going to with Noah tonight. And yes, each time Lexi saw her, she asked Julie when she would be bringing her a new creation. But Julie kept
dodging—yes, she knew it—telling herself the time she spent with Molly, Noah, and Gillian did not leave her time for anything else. Lexi would just nod her head, giving her a knowing look.
In October, Noah asked her to be his date at a hospital fundraiser dinner. Since it was likely to go late, she was planning to stay overnight at Noah’s house and had arranged for Molly to stay with Bryce and Tricia.
Since tonight’s fundraiser soiree was likely to go late, she was planning to stay overnight at Noah’s house and had arranged for Molly to stay with Bryce and Tricia. Although her brother and his wife lived on the South Fork not far from her home, Tricia was working with Carter’s North Fork dance company today, so Julie was going to drop her daughter there. Molly had been to Carter’s studio a couple times and was excited about going to see the dancers, and of course, getting to spend the night with her Aunt Tricia who’d become one of her favorite people.
Julie pulled her car into the drive the led to the dance company’s complex that Jordan had hired her brother, Bryce, to design. Ironically, Tricia had been Molly’s first dance teacher since she taught at the Beachview, their East Hampton country club, a few days a week.
The minute the car stopped, Molly went bounding out and running toward the music that was coming from the main studio. The burst of laughter she heard next told Julie her impulsive daughter had just interrupted what was probably a rehearsal.
Hurrying to catch up, she stepped through the doorway to see Molly leaping and turning, dancing around the floor to the music that had been playing—and all the company dancers had stopped to watch her.
Julie was about say something, but Tricia rushed over to her and whispered, “It’s okay. In fact, it’s wonderful.”
When the music ended, Molly took a bow and all the company dancers laughed and applauded.
“I’m sorry,” Julie said to Tricia.
“Don’t be. I wish I’d had that kind of confidence when I was a kid. It’s a tribute to the support and love she gets from you.”
Molly already knew some of the dancers, and Tricia took her around introducing her to the rest, while Carter came over to say hello.
Julie gave her a look. “I thought I was going to see your latest piece, not an improv by my daughter.”
“You can still see it,” Carter said. “Unless you don’t have time. It’s twenty minutes.”
“I would love that.”
Carter pointed to a bench along one wall and told Julie and Molly to sit there. Then she turned to her dancers. “Hey, guys, we’re going run the septet for our guests.”
Molly looked up at Julie, eyes bright, and asked, “Did you like my dance?”
“Yes, it was very pretty. Now we can’t talk once they begin Carter’s dance.”
