Page 21 of Impossible Rapids
Another day and a half passed. Long and lonely and ultra-busy.
She saw Franz, but not Shawn. Was he distancing himself from her? They were friends, and she needed him. She spent long hours on the phone with her sister, Maryn, but even though Maryn tried to get her to open up about Mercedes and Shawn’s secret wedding, she focused the conversation on everything going on with their family and Maryn’s adorable twin girls.
Later that night, they got another group text from Jagger.
I’m getting married. Woohoo! Meet me in Kauai Saturday evening at Mercedes’s—I mean Shawn’s—beach house. Can we use it for our wedding and honeymoon? I know you’ll say yes, but Bee is chastising me that I need to ask. Tell her I asked if she brings it up. We’re eloping but wanted to include our family. As all of you are my family, I’m praying you can be there. Yes Julie, I said praying. Mercedes will be so proud. Shawn, can Franz make it? Love you all. I’m so happy.
Julie was ecstatically happy for him. Wow. Jagger in love, eloping, praying. Answers to her and Mercedes’s prayers for their friend were astounding. She was sure Mercedes was throwing her weight around in heaven.
Good job, sis. Love you.
It was all me and you know it, she imagined Mercedes saying back, then giggling and clapping her hands excitedly together. She smiled to herself. The sorrow over Mercedes’s death had permeated the past week, but Jagger’s happy news helped temper it.
They all texted, working out the details. Hays would take a military transport to Oahu, then a jumper plane to Kauai. Shawn and Franz would pick up Julie from her condo in the morning and they’d fly on one of Franz’s jets to Kauai. Wait. Not Franz’s jets any longer. Shawn’s jets. It blew her mind that her unassuming friend was now a billionaire. How many women were throwing themselves at him now? Did it matter? Women had always thrown themselves at Shawn and he’d only had eyes for Mercedes. Shawn offered a jet for Jagger, Belinda, and her parents to fly from Kentucky, and Jagger accepted.
Julie hardly slept that night. She’d see Shawn in the morning. They’d spend the next day and a half together. It was still a few weeks until their river-rafting adventure. She missed him horribly and craved time with him. How could they redefine their friendship now that Mercedes wasn’t here? Obviously a romance like she’d dreamed of with Shawn wasn’t in their future, but she needed her friend. It felt like she’d lost Mercedes and Shawn at the same time.
The next morning, she was in her robe, makeup done, ten dresses lined out on the bed, trying to decide which one Shawn would like the most. As she curled her hair, she pondered why that was the question. The doorbell rang.
Julie jumped in surprise and almost burned herself with her curling iron. Setting it down, she dashed through the condo and to the front door, re-tying the sash on her robe to make certain it was tight and nothing was revealed. She peered through the peephole and her pulse skyrocketed.
Shawn.
On her doorstep.
She’d known he was coming, but he was early.
And he looked so extraordinarily handsome she couldn’t catch a full breath.
She yanked open the door and cried out, “You cut your hair!”
He smiled, running his fingers through his short locks. His hair looked a darker blond. She’d always liked his longer hair, but this … it showed off his sculpted and manly face. He looked regal, breathtaking. Still the Viking Warrior, but also every inch the powerful billionaire he now was. Especially in a gray Brioni suit that fit his strong frame perfectly. The smoky blue tie complimented his eyes.
“You called me Thor, so I thought I should cut my hair like he did in Ragnarok.”
She laughed. “He didn’t cut his hair by choice.”
“Don’t tell anyone.” He lowered his voice and eased closer. “I wasn’t on board with the whole ‘hip billionaire look,’ so Franz had five of our security guards hold me down and they reenacted that scene.”
She laughed louder. Her friend was back. Hip billionaire? He was that, but more accurately the hottest billionaire she’d ever seen. “Five, eh?”
“Okay, six, but I didn’t want to brag.” He winked at her. “Do you like it?”
“I love it.” She instinctively reached up and ran her fingertips through his short locks.
Shawn let out a soft groan and captured her hand in his. Then he froze. She understood because she felt frozen and yet hot all over. Her hand was surrounded by his palm, fingers, fingertips. Holding hands should be insignificant, but she could feel each inch of his manly hand. His enticing Fico di Amalfi cologne made her stomach swirl with excitement.
His gaze pierced her, and he whispered, “I’ve missed you, Jules.”
Her heart thudded irregularly. “I’ve missed you, Thor.”
He chuckled, and the tension and pain between them eased. They missed each other. As close friends. She needed him in her life. Maybe they could do this. They could navigate how to be close friends without Mercedes. It wasn’t their choice to be without Mercedes, but they had to figure out how to make it work.
He threaded their fingers together and brought their clasped hands to his chest. “Unnasti,” he whispered, his blue eyes capturing her heart and soul.
Lover. Did he mean it? His touch, his gaze, the way he made her feel… It all added up to love in her mind.
Julie couldn’t simply be friends with him. The honest truth was she was in love with him. Which was completely wrong. He was her best friend’s husband.