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"So, why are you here, Nat? I feel like you could have travelled anywhere for your job. Why this decrepit old building in a town you couldn't get away from fast enough?"
Natalie's smile falters, and she averts her gaze, focusing on securing her equipment. "I just...," she says, her voice wavering slightly. "Sometimes, you need a fresh start, you know?"
She still doesn't want to tell me the details, which I guess I can understand. I'm not exactly jumping at the bit to fill her in on the missing pieces of my story. “Yeah, I get it. I thought I’d be long gone from here by now, but then I had my daughter and… you don’t need the details.”
She perks up at that, eyes catching mine with rapt attention. “You have a kid?”
“Yeah, just one.” I shift uneasily under her stare. I’m honestly surprised she never heard anything about this, but I'm also not ready to talk to her about Aria yet. I just figured Jack would have told her that much.
Crossing my arms, I ask, “So anyway, why’s this project so important to you? You got some sort of personal interest here?”
She winces—not the reaction I was expecting. “After… well, after my last project fell through, there was nothing keeping me in the city anymore, so my boss pulled a lot of strings to relocate me. I have a lot riding on this.”
Finally, some common ground. I nod, understanding more than she might think. We've both sought new beginnings in one way or another, though under vastly different circumstances.
And the way she keeps tucking imaginary locks of hair behind her ear tells me that whatever happened is still raw enough that if I keep prying, it's only going to make her mad. And not the cute kind of mad.
We start walking back to the Langford Building together, side by side. Despite the years and the distance that's grown between us, there's a familiarity in her presence, a reminder of simpler times. For a moment, it feels easy, and the weight on my chest begins to lift.
As we reach the entrance, Natalie pauses, turning to face me with a look that seems to wrestle between professional courtesy and something more personal. "It's good to see you again, Julian," she says, the words almost stumbling out over her tongue.
"Yeah, you too," I reply, meaning it sincerely despite the complex web of emotions her presence has stirred up in me.
She hesitates, biting her lip slightly. "I just wish it could have been under different circumstances."
Her words pique my curiosity, pulling at something deep inside of me. My hand almost moves to touch her, but I catch myself, instead just asking, "What do you mean?"
Natalie looks flustered for a moment, as if she'd said more than she intended. She shakes her head, a curtain of sandy blonde hair falling to obscure her face momentarily. "Never mind. Just forget I said anything."
She adjusts her grip on the box of equipment, but her hand slips. Without thinking, I reach out to grab it before it can tumble from her hands. Our arms brush, and I feel the warmth of her skin against mine. Our first touch in over a decade.
Natalie blinks up at me, her blue eyes wide. “Uh, sorry.”
I don’t move my arm right away. I swear I can almost feel the thrum of her pulse, see the flicker of uncertainty in her eyes. She’s beautiful, even more so than I remember, all soft curves and fluffy blonde waves. All the same things she used to be, but somehow more. My mouth goes dry.
It’s her that steps back first, a tense smile on her face. “Thanks, Julian,” she says softly, and her voice makes me shiver.
Without waiting for a response, she turns on her heel and strides into the building, the spell instantly broken, leaving me alone and dumbfounded.
Standing at the entrance, staring after her, the brief connection we rekindled just moments ago already feels like it's slipping away. It's probably for the best, though. There's just too much between us. Too much to sort through, too much that's changed, and too much to focus on right now. As impossible as it seems, I'm going to have to push Natalie out of my thoughts for a while.
As I walk back to where my team is working, I notice Gabriel laughing and joking with some of the guys. Their easy camaraderie is a contrast to the tentative steps Natalie and I just took, and it puts me at ease to see him settling in. It's good to see, I remind myself, that at least some people are finding their footing today without the burden of the past complicating matters.
Gabriel's laughter peals across the construction site, momentarily lifting the heavy veil of summer heat. He's a natural, blending in seamlessly, his jokes finding fertile ground among the weary workers.
"Seems you're quite the hit around here," I remark, stepping into the lighthearted atmosphere.
Gabriel turns, his smile broad beneath crinkled eyes. "Well, you know, a good laugh makes the hard work a bit easier to swallow," he replies. Reaching into the cooler at his feet, Gabriel grabs a bottled water and tosses it in my direction.
I catch it gratefully, gulping down the cool liquid and quenching the dry heat that hasn't left my throat since talking to Natalie. “God, it's hot today,” I murmur, wiping the sweat from my forehead.
Straightening up, I cap the bottle and turn to address the team as a whole. "Keep working, but stay hydrated. The last thing we need are sloppy mistakes. We need to stay on it if we're going to treat this old building with the care it deserves."
Gabriel nods, filling the role of my right-hand man with ease. "Absolutely, Julian. I've got experience with this kind of work. We'll handle it with the upmost respect."
Good, at least that's one thing I don't have to worry about.
A distant rumble of thunder rolls through the worksite, and I glance at the sky. Dark clouds are approaching, but are still a few hours away. We should be able to wrap things up before the evening storm hits.
