Love Is Crazy (Love Is… #1) (20 page)

“
W
hat do you mean
, you don’t allow dogs?” Juliet knew it was a stupid question, but after driving since before the sun even started to think about coming up and finally making it to Bliss as the sun was going down, and realizing the little town was truly everything she ever wanted, she couldn’t believe that she wasn’t going to have a place to stay.

“I don’t think I can be much clearer, ma’am,” drawled the heavy set man behind the counter.

“Couldn’t you just make an exception, just the once, Bobby?” Julz asked, reading the man’s name off his nametag. “I literally have nowhere else to go.”

Bobby wrapped his arms over his considerable girth and shook his head. “I don’t make the rules, I just get fired if I don’t follow ‘em.”

“And you’re sure there aren’t any other hotels in the area?”

Bobby raised his eyebrows and shook his head. “Bliss doesn’t warrant having one hotel, let alone options.”

Juliet thanked Bobby for his help, even if he was kind of a jerk. Cursing herself for even bringing Lulu inside with her in the first place, Julz left the little hotel and stood on the sidewalk out front. Now what? Here she was, heart set on staying in Bliss, and she was all alone with nowhere to go and nightfall just around the corner. Well, she knew one thing for sure, she hadn’t made it this far only to be stopped from seeing the ocean. Maybe she’d get some great dose of inspiration on how to solve her problem, sitting out on the beach, watching the vastness of water and sky, lulled towards relaxation by the rhythm of the waves.

Or something like that.

She plopped down in the driver’s seat with a dejected sigh and deposited Lulu on the seat beside her. All she knew was that the ocean was somewhere to her left, so using this as a chance to learn more about Bliss, she took off in that general direction. Twisting and turning through the streets only solidified the fact that this is where she wanted to be. The shops were quaint and well cared for, the streets were clean and actually drivable. Julz even saw a woman wave to a friend on her way out of a bookstore and stop for a conversation. As if that would ever happen on the streets of New York!

Before too long, she found the beach and a place to park. Humming to herself, she grabbed a blanket and some food, clipped Lulu’s leash to her collar, and started off trudging through the sand. She only made it a few steps before she stopped and took off her sandals because she was slipping and sliding all over the place in them. Wind rustled in her hair and warm sand tickled in between her toes. So what if she was homeless? At least she was here.

Right?

Of course.

No doubt about it.

So what if she’d never really done anything without planning it out to the fullest before? So what if she was going to have to sleep in her car? She was free from Michael. She was about to build a life near the ocean, something she’d always wanted. And she was pretty damn smart and resourceful. So, maybe things looked bad right now, but that only meant they’d have to get better from here.

Right?

She spread her blanket on the ground and sat down, opened some of the snack food she’d grabbed from the car, and she couldn’t keep herself from grinning as she let her gaze focus out on the spot where the sky kissed the water. It felt like after years of being a round peg in the square hole that was New York City, she was finally in the place she belonged. Which was silly and irresponsible and totally based on nothing other than instinct since she’d been in Bliss for all of half an hour and hadn’t met a single person, yet.

Well, other than Ian Moore.

“Except I’m not supposed to be thinking about Ian, right Lulu?” Lulu just stared at the bag of chips in Juliet’s hands and licked her lips. “Even if he
is
totally lick worthy.”

Julz smiled and shared a few chips with Lulu. Then she settled back on her hands and watched the sunset flare across the sky, a triumph of red and gold that faded into pinks and finally purples. As light succumbed to darkness, Julz considered calling her mom with the prepaid phone she’d bought at Walmart somewhere along the way.

Just as quickly as she had the idea, she put it out of her mind. Her mom wouldn’t even notice she was gone, at least not for a few more days and her dad didn’t deserve a call. Besides, she didn’t want to connect to her past at all right now. Things felt shiny and new and safe and …
hers
. She wasn’t ready to share it or explain it, especially when she didn’t have a place to call home.

Except Willow, her best friend since forever, was probably starting to really worry about her. As the only person who knew the truth about Juliet’s relationship with the Tech Lord CEO (non-disclosure clause be damned!), Willow would probably assume Michael had finally gone insane and killed her or something.

But if Michael had figured out Julz was missing—and he was sure to have figured that out by now—Willow would be the first person he’d go to. Hell, he’d probably even tap her phone.  Luckily, when you’ve had a friend for a lifetime, you develop a few secret codes. Juliet flipped open her prepaid phone and typed out a series of texts. First, she just sent
*67
twice. Then she sent her new number one digit at a time. It was a variation of a code they’d developed a long time ago when they tended to get themselves stuck at parties and didn’t want parents to see caller IDs.

Figure that out, Michael Phillips.

Juliet waited for Willow to find a phone. It shouldn’t take too long, wherever Willow was, she was sure to be surrounded by people. By the time Juliet had gathered her things and trekked back to the car, her phone started buzzing, with the caller ID showing an unknown caller.

“Willie?” she answered.

“Julz? Where the
fuck
are you?”

Juliet laughed. “If I tell you, you won’t believe me.”

“If you say you’re in the hospital, I’ll totally believe you. What did that ass do to you?”

“Nothing. I left him.”

There was a second of stunned silence on the other end of the phone. “You did?” Willow sounded hopeful.

“Yep. Packed up all my old things, left all the pretentious stuff he bought me, and hit the road this morning.”

“Where are you?”

Juliet trusted Willow with all her heart, but she didn’t trust Michael Phillips. Not even a little. “Far away. Been driving since the middle of the night.”

Willow either didn’t notice that Juliet hadn’t told her where she actually was, or didn’t care. “Good for you! I’m so proud of you!”

“Yeah, it feels good. Just didn’t want you to worry.”

“I was starting to. Thought maybe the dickhead had hurt you for real.”

“Well, no worries about that anymore. I’ve taken every precaution I can think of. I don’t think there’s a way he could find me.”

“I’ll keep this number safe. Won’t call you from my own phone. Go full on stealth mode and all that jazz.”

“Thanks, Willie.”

There was some muffled discussion on the other end of the phone and Juliet could hear Willow telling someone off. “Hey,” she said, talking to Julz again. “This jerk wants his phone back. You stay safe and keep me informed, k? When you get where you’re going, let me know. I’m gonna need to see you.”

Juliet said her goodbyes and flipped the phone shut. Crawled into the front seat and curled up after locking all the doors. Part of her couldn’t believe she was going to sleep in her car. The other part found it absolutely thrilling. This was a day of firsts, a day of claiming her life and taking risks. This whole not-having-a-place-to-go thing was just a little bump on the path. Surely, she’d have a bed to curl up in tomorrow.

* * *

A
fter a night
of sleeping all cramped up in the front seat of a Hyundai, Juliet’s outlook was slightly less cheery. She groaned as her eyes peeled open, the brilliant morning sun cooking her through the window. She was hot, she was sweaty, and her back hurt. Taking only enough time to clip the leash on Lulu’s collar, she lurched out of the car and was greeted with the splendor of a sunrise over the ocean.

One deep breath and a huge stretching yawn later and Juliet’s bad mood had begun to evaporate. How could she do anything but smile and sigh in the face of such beauty? All she needed was a cup of coffee in hand and things would be right with the world, for sure. After letting Lulu potty, she rummaged in the back for an energy drink and sighed when she came up empty handed. As much as she hated to start digging into her savings envelope, she couldn’t function on any kind of analytical level until she’d had at least a cup and a half of coffee. She racked her brain, trying to remember if she’d seen a coffee shop anywhere last night and came up with nothing.

Guess that gives me another chance to go exploring
, she thought as she shook her hair out over her shoulders and tried to run her fingers through the tangles. A chance to change her clothes, brush her teeth, and pull her hair back didn’t sound too bad either. She gathered the items she’d need and shoved them in a bag while she opened the doors and let the inside of the car air out.

Her drive through the streets of Bliss reminded her once again how much she was going to love this place. Sure, there were franchise stores here, but there were also a lot of locally owned places, too. The kind of places people put their heart and soul into. She passed up a Starbucks in search of the perfect deli or bakery or coffee shop and was just about to turn around and give up her search when she found a promising little store front at the end of a street. The name over the window? Good Beginnings.

You couldn’t get more symbolic than that! Juliet found a place to park and then wondered what to do with Lulu. She couldn’t leave her in the car, not in this heat. Even with the window cracked, she’d worry that her little dog was getting cooked. It’s probably against health codes to bring a pet into a restaurant and sure, plenty of people just tied up their pets in the city while they went inside for a bite, but this is a much smaller town. Who knew what people would think if they came across little Lulu tied to the tree near the street?

With a quick apology to her dog, Julz cracked the windows and gathered her things. She’d go in, use the bathroom to freshen up and change, then bring her order out to eat with Lulu. One more reason to find a place to call home as soon as possible. A night or two in the car was one thing. Totally living out of it while trying to manage a pet was a whole different subject altogether.

When she pushed through the door to Good Beginnings, she was confronted with the scent of baking bread and eggs and bacon and all kinds of warm food smells. After twenty-four hours of nothing but pre-package gas station food, Juliet’s stomach lurched in excitement. She rushed through her visit to the restroom, pulling on clean panties and a little white sundress. Ran a brush through her hair and wished she could wash it before pulling it back into a ponytail. And finally, she washed her face and brushed her teeth. Feeling much better, she placed an order for a large coffee, two creams, two sugars, and a bacon and egg sandwich on fresh wheat bread.

“You must be new around here,” said the curvy brunette behind the counter as Juliet craned her head to see Lulu through the window.

“Just got in last night.” Juliet gave the woman a huge smile. “This is a great place,” she said, gesturing around the quickly filling cafe.

The woman beamed. “Thank you. I’m quite proud of it.”

“This is yours?” Juliet couldn’t keep the pleasure out her voice. This is what she was talking about. This woman was living the dream. Carving out her path and claiming her space and all that. Pouring her heart and soul into her business.

“You know it.” The woman extended her hand over the counter. “Ellie Charles, owner and proprietor of Good Beginnings, cafe and coffee.”

Juliet took Ellie’s hand and was pleased at the woman’s delicate grip. No domineering man handshake for her, just a sweet little feminine thing. Must be nice not to have to out businessman the men. “Juliet Lane, Bliss’s newest occupant.”

“You movin’ in? Not just passin’ through?” Ellie looked surprised.