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Julie grimaced, knowing her friend was right. “I love your honesty, even when it is cruel.”
“It’s the simple truth,” her friend said, munching a French fry. “You used to be so creative and intuitive. And romantic. Time to wake up that part of yourself, darling. Get ready for love.”
“I think that’s why I’m upset. What I did with Molly’s father was more about acting out a desperate path of self-destruction than anything resembling love.”
“But that was years ago,” Gillian said, waving her off. “Opening yourself up to romance does not mean you are going to turn into that wild college girl you’d been back then. Believe me, I’ve got regrets for some of the stupid things we did and for wasting my time with guys who were supremely bad choices. My older and wiser self believes that good guys do exist and I will still find the love of my life. That he is out there somewhere.”
Wow, did that hit home. “I think I actually found mine and fell in love with before I went to London. And I ran into him this morning.”
“What?” Gillian’s eyes bugged out. “I want the details. Who was it?”
Julie took a sip of her iced coffee and started in on her tale. “I went to my ob/gyn this morning for my annual exam and to get a prescription for the mini pill. My regular doctor is traveling so they gave me one who’d recently joined his practice. Well, it turned out to be Noah Taylor, the med student I had been living with before I came to London.”
“All you ever told me about him was that you broke the poor boy’s heart or something.”
“Yeah, I did. He was so serious at the time and even though I wasn’t as crazy bad as I got when I went to London, I was so off-kilter and—”
“We all were.” Gillian lifted an eyebrow. “Is he married?”
“No.” She nibbled her salad.
“How does he look?”
“Better than ever.”
“And he had to give you your exam?”
“Yes. I tried not to look at his head going between my legs.”
“Oh, my God!” Gillian let out a high-pitched squeal, then burst into laughter. “Did he talk about old times while he was down there?”
“No way. He was totally professional. A nurse was present in the exam room and we literally pretended we didn’t know each other. Then when I was dressed and met with him alone in his office, we opened up and asked each other about our lives.”
“Are you still attracted to him?”
Heat rushed through her. “I am, which made the whole thing absolutely horrible. And he clearly is still angry at me. I mean, he wasn’t rude or anything, but he did make a point of saying I did him a favor by not marrying him.”
Gillian gasped. “He didn’t.”
“Yep. Said he loves his life as it is.”
“Did he brag about having a stable of women now?” Gillian asked, her tone sarcastic.
“No. He is not that crass, and he at least did me the courtesy of not asking what happened to the elusive father of my child.”
“Points for him. I’m remembering now that you used to say he was the kindest, sweetest guy and should be with a woman who was much different from you.”
“Except maybe I am that woman now. I’m much different. I’ve settled down and grown up and see the world differently and unless he had changed drastically, which did not seem to bethe case in our brief chat, he checks off all of my requirements needed in a father for Molly—”
“Stop.” Gillian held her hand up and shook her head. “Even though he might be a man who scores high on the father traits and your daughter is the center of your universe, you simply cannot approach it this way. You have got to get your heart out of the guarded fortress you’ve built around it. My God, Julie, a lot of people get hurt and wronged and they find a way to keep going and not shut down their feelings.”
Julie looked down at her hands as a memory surfaced of that horrible time in her life and why she’d had good reason to shut down. She had never told Gillian all of the ugly details. Never told anyone except Bryce.
“Don’t get all gloomy on me, girl.” Gillian sipped her wine. “I assume he did not ask to see you for lunch or a drink?”
“No, and if I want to run into him, I’m not sure how. He is only here in the Hamptons a few days a week. He lives on the North Fork.”
Gillian brightened. “Perfect. Because you will be going there with me while I’m here. That is where the estate I bought is located.”
