Signed, Sealed, Delivered by Sandy James

Author:Sandy James [James, Sandy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Forever Yours
Published: 2014-07-01T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seventeen

“Jules!”

Juliana looked up from her desk. Concentrating on work hadn’t been easy after last night. Why hadn’t Connor wanted to make love?

Was he already bored with her?

I’ll go crazy thinking like that.

At least she had a distraction now…

She smiled as Mallory and then Bethany and Danielle spilled into the office. The three of them were dressed in shorts, summery shirts, and sandals, making Juliana peek down at her business suit and envy their three months of freedom. The only thing she missed about school was summer break.

And her students. She’d expected that, but the intensity came as a surprise.

The Ladies Who Lunch surrounded her desk, shaking their heads and clucking like mother hens.

“This won’t do,” Mallory declared. “It’s eighty degrees and the sun is shining. You should be out working on your tan.”

“But here you are, stuck at your desk,” Dani said.

Beth slapped her hand lightly against the desktop. “I think it’s time for someone—”

“Three someones,” Dani interrupted.

“—to come and rescue you.”

Juliana put her pen down. “Meaning you three?”

“You got it!” Mallory slid behind Juliana’s chair and pulled her away from the desk. “We’re kidnapping you.”

“Kidnapping?”

“Yep. Ben made us a picnic lunch. For an hour or so, we’re going to be the Ladies Who Lunch again.”

A quick check of the clock brought a frown. “But I have an appointment at—”

“No, you don’t,” Beth said.

“I don’t? How would you know?”

“Connor and Ben arranged all this.” Mallory took Juliana’s hand and dragged her toward the door. “Connor’s taking your appointment, Ben made a fantastic lunch, and all of us want a chance to sit and talk, just like we used to. We haven’t seen you since the Fourth of July cookout.”

Guilt hit her broadside. “I’m so sorry.”

“Sorry?” Danielle asked.

“I’ve been so damn busy I’ve been ignoring all of you.”

“Not ignoring,” Bethany insisted. “This business is hectic. We get that.”

“You’ve got a new firm to run,” Dani added. “We totally understand.”

“But,” Mallory said, “we missed you something terrible.”

A smile bloomed, and Juliana blinked back happy tears. “I missed all of you, too.” Shedding her jacket, she tossed it on a chair and opened the door. “Where are we heading?”

“It’s a surprise.” Mallory exited, followed by Dani and Beth.

“Good thing I love surprises.” Juliana locked the door behind them.

Less than ten minutes later, they were in the city park.

The sun on her face was heaven, and the picnic table inside the shelter gave them a nice place to eat.

Juliana smiled, loving every moment of being with her friends again. She banished the guilt at not seeing them as often as she used to, pleased that they realized how difficult it had been to get Kelley-Wilson Realty up and running and to keep it going.

She should’ve known that the Ladies would be understanding—theirs was the type of friendship that didn’t need daily contact to thrive. The bonds were strong, even strong enough to allow Juliana the distance she needed to make this change in her life.

It was, however, a bit of a surprise that Connor recognized she needed a break, if only for a lunch away with her friends.

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