Chapter 164
Chapter 164
Jules was on her knees in the back corner of the store, restocking cans of baked beans when the bell over the door jingled. Stifling a sigh, she got up, wiped her dusty hands on her jeans, and made her way to the front counter. Over the rows of metal shelving, she spied a familiar shade of vividly red hair, and her stomach sank.
Fixing her expression into calm neutrality, she slid behind the counter. “Hi, what can I p>
“Oh. My. God. Juliana Wolfe?“The red–headed woman who’d entered was a gorgeous, heart–faced, petite woman, with a toddler on her hip and another bun in the oven. Her hair was the perfect shade of deepest ruby red. Her skin was smooth as cream, with gentle golden freckles dappled sweetly across the bridge of her nose. Her crystalline blue eyes glowed like sapphires held up against sunlight. Those eyes widened as they took Jules in – rumpled hair, dusty apron, deep under–eye circles, and all.
“Oh, wow,“Jules infused her voice was false cheer. “Alicia Fischer? It’s been so long p>
Alicia Fischer had been Jules’s nemesis in high school. Nothing extreme, nothing traumatic. Just run–of–the–mill mean girl shit. But seeing Alicia like this, in the face of all Jules’s recent failures, was a gut punch she really didn’t need.
“Well, it’s Alicia Schuh now, actually.“She gave a twinkling smile as she held her left hand out for Jules to see the glittering diamond on her finger. “Going on three years now p>
Jules glanced at the toddler on Alicia’s hip, mentally calculating the kid’s age. The gingery–blonde child stared back with Alicia’s same blue eyes.
“Oh. That’s – uh. Congratulations!“she fumbled awkwardly for words. She wasn’t good at small talk at the best of times, and these were far from the best. Jake Schuh had been Jules’s all–consuming, and very unrequited, teenage crush. She’d honestly forgotten he even existed until just now, but hearing that Alicia had been the one to lock him down was just another shovelful on top of a heap of shit.
“So… “ Alicia leaned on the counter, giving Jules a we’re–all–friends–here smile. “What have you been up to? You left Saint Roch, what–ten years ago? And now, all of a sudden, you’re back p>
Jules fixed her expression into one of unbothered serenity. She reached for the mental script she’d spent the last week perfecting. “Oh, yeah, you know. Went to college. Did the big city thing for a while. Got married.“She held up her bare left hand. “Got divorced p>
Alicia’s eyes glittered with prurient interest even as she forced her expression into one of sympathy. “Oh no, I’m so sorry to hear that! I can’t imagine! Jake’s just so important to me, and our children are just… everything.“ She laid a protective hand over her pregnant belly, shaking her head sadly. “I could never do it. It must’ve been terrible p>
It was. “Oh. No. Just one of those things. We got married pretty young, and then time passed and we realized we’d grown into different people. “She shrugged as if she weren’t being crushed by the suffocating darkness that accompanied thoughts of her failed marriage and her ex–husband. “It was for the best p>
Alicia nodded as if she were taking that all in, but Jules could see a thousand more questions racing behind those pale, glittering eyes. “And now you’re working at your grandma’s store? ” she asked, wincing sympathetically, her tone cautious as if they were handling a delicate subject.
Apparently once a mean girl, always a mean girl. Jules didn’t miss the implied insult, She was a thirty year old divorcee working as a cashier at a backwoods mini mart. It was a delicate subject, though Alicia had no idea how delicate, or why.
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Chapter 165
Chapter 165
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Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.