Page 51 of The Sweetest Mistake

Ugh! She was no closer to having her answers than she’d been before coming there. If only she would have kept her chips to herself! But she couldn’t help it. She was like a kid magnet. She loved them, and they gravitated toward her too—kids, not chips. It had been like that ever since she could remember. And she’d felt that way with Ava too—Connor’s Ava.

No matter what happened between her and Connor, she would never blame that little girl. She wondered what Ava would be like as a two-year-old, a five-year-old, a teenager. Would she be free-spirited and spontaneous like her father? What would her interests be? She was already so pretty that Julia could just imagine what she might look like when she was older. Connor was in for some trouble, that was for sure.

Suddenly, Julia realized that she was sitting there all alone, smiling. The thought of Connor and Ava was making her smile even after how upset she’d been. Go figure! Shaking her head, she cleaned up the remnants of her dinner and left the park. When she got back to the lake house, it was dark, and she struggled to fit the key into the lock. She hadn’t expected to be out so late, and she’d forgotten to leave the porch light on. Swearing, she finally got the door open and stepped inside. Locking the door behind her, she slipped off her shoes, hung her purse on the coat rack, and then walked into the living room to turn on a light.

But she didn’t have to because, suddenly, a lamp flicked on, and Julia’s hands flew to her chest in terror.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you,” he said, rising up from the chair.

Chapter Sixteen

“Ohmigod, Alec! What are you doing here?” Julia said, her heart still pumping overtime. She flicked on another light just to make sure it was really him.

“Your dad was worried, and he asked me to come up and check on you.”

Julia slumped down on the couch, taking a moment to catch her breath while Alec sat back down in the chair across from her.

“My dad asked you to drive all the way up here to check on me?” she asked, incredulous.

Alec nodded. “I was with Dr. Lee at his office this morning when your mom called to let him know that you drove up here. He thought it was odd that you came here alone, and he sort of asked me to come and see if you were okay.”

“Sort of?”

“Well, I could tell how concerned he was, and I guess I kind of volunteered.”

Julia sighed. “Why would you do that?”

He shrugged. “Even though we’re not together, I still care about you. Besides, it’s not like it’s a hardship. This place is awesome.”

She wasn’t sure whom she was madder at—her dad or Alec. It was hard to be too upset with Alec, who had just driven four hours to check on her; however, she wasn’t happy about it either.

“I purposely came here to be alone for a few days,” she said, determined to keep her anger in check.

“Why? Is something wrong?”

Tapping her fingers on her leg, she debated how to answer. While it really wasn’t any of his business, maybe it would be a good opportunity to reiterate that she had no interest in getting back together with Alec. If he thought driving up here would change that, he was sorely mistaken.

“Connor and I are having some…issues,” she said.

Alec didn’t look surprised, and she wondered how much he already knew. Since Alec had been in her dad’s office when her mom had called, he could have easily overheard the whole sordid story.

“I can’t say I’m completely surprised,” Alec said, confirming her suspicions.

“What is that supposed to mean?” Even though she was uncertain about where she and Connor stood, she still felt the need to defend her choice to be with him. She didn’t appreciate first her dad and now Alec passing unfair judgment on a man they hardly knew.

Rubbing his hands on his pant legs as if to gather courage, Alec said, “He just looks like trouble, Jules. He doesn’t look like the kind of guy you would be interested in.”

Angrily, she pushed herself up from the couch, planted her hands on her hips, and said, “Compared to who—you?”

Alec shook his head. “I didn’t say that.”

“But that’s what you meant. I’m so sick of everyone telling me that Connor’s not good enough for me.”

Alec stood up and started walking toward her with his arms outstretched as if to say, “I come in peace.”

She’d just taken a step back when suddenly there was a pounding on the front door that stopped them both in their tracks.

“Open up, Jules. It’s me.”