Page 46 of The Sweetest Mistake

“What for?”

“For not showing up to work this morning and not bothering to call.”

“That’s probably because he was too busy strutting around in a towel while Cam salivated all over him,” Julia said.

“What are you going to do, Jules?”

“I don’t know. That’s why I’m going away for a few days, so I can wrap my head around this and decide whether or not Connor and I still have a chance.”

Harper sighed. “Been there. I know exactly how you feel.”

Harper had gone through something similar with Finn, although it’d had nothing to do with a baby. The ghost of her dead husband had come between her and Finn for a while until she’d decided that she didn’t want to live without love—without Finn. Everything had worked out for the two of them, but Julia didn’t hold out the same hope for her and Connor.

In Julia’s situation, she had to think about four people—her, Connor, Ava, and Cam. And she’d already formed an attachment to Ava, which made the decision that much harder.

“Harper? Do me a favor.”

“Anything.”

“Don’t tell Connor where I’m going. I can’t see him right now. Promise me.”

“What should I say if he asks, which I’m sure he will?”

“Tell him the truth. That I needed to get away for a few days and I’ll talk to him when I get back.” He should understand, given that he’d gone to Denver without her. She really didn’t owe him any other explanation.

“Okay. I hope you find the answer you’re looking for,” Harper said.

“Me too.” But right then, Julia had no idea what she wanted the answer to be.

Chapter Fourteen

After searching everywhere for Julia and calling her cell phone repeatedly, Connor finally gave up. Wherever she was, she obviously didn’t want to be found. She probably just needed a couple of hours to cool off, and then she’d call him. At least, that’s what he hoped.

So, now he was on the job with his brothers, and they were laying mulch for their new customer, Mrs. Simmons, one of Harper’s friends from her romance book club. At first, Connor had found it odd that Mrs. Simmons sat on her porch and watched them work, but he was too wrapped up in his troubles to care.

It had turned out to be a hot humid day, and his T-shirt was already soaked through. He’d been put in charge of shoveling mulch into wheelbarrows, and Finn and Liam were transporting it to the landscaped areas around the house. Mrs. Simmons had been supplying them with plenty of water and lemonade, and now she’d come outside with a tray of cookies.

“You boys are working so hard. I feel sorry for you in this heat,” she said as she offered up freshly baked peanut butter cookies.

“It’s our job. We’re used to it,” Connor said while choosing two cookies from the tray.

“But thank you very much for the drinks and cookies,” Finn said as he came alongside them with the wheelbarrow.

After Mrs. Simmons had walked away, Finn turned to Connor and said, “Stop being such an asshole.”

Connor scowled at him. “What are you talking about?”

“You know exactly what I’m talking about. First, you screwed up with Julia, and now you’re taking it out on this sweet old lady. Lighten up!”

Connor didn’t argue because Finn was right. Ever since his fallout with Julia, he’d been snapping at everyone in sight, including his brothers. After he’d chased Julia down the driveway in his towel, he’d gone back inside and snapped at Cam too. She’d played innocent, but he wondered what she’d said to Julia to make her take off in such a huff.

Cam had insisted that Julia hadn’t liked seeing her in his T-shirt, but he knew it was more than that. When he’d asked Cam to spend the night, he hadn’t completely thought it through. It was late, and Cam had been worried about waking up her parents, so he’d offered for her and Ava to stay over. He’d been trying to do the right thing by helping to take care of his sick child, but now he’d pissed off Julia—again! Maybe if he’d called her first, she wouldn’t have been so mad, but then again, maybe not. It seemed like no matter what he did, he couldn’t win right now.

“So, what did you do to Julia this morning?” Finn said as he came up for another load of mulch.

Mrs. Simmons was busy talking to Liam, but Connor lowered his voice anyway. “Cam and Ava spent the night at my place. Julia came over this morning, and Cam answered the door in my T-shirt. I think it pissed her off.”

“You think?” Finn said, his eyes bugging out.