"We can't be friends," he said.
"Why not? I'm a really nice person," she said. She didn't want to be friends with Wyatt but it would be better than this. Awkwardly avoiding each other, the weird-ass silences instead of small talk … anything would be better than this.
He pulled her close and brought his mouth down on hers. The kiss was passionate and quick and when he lifted his head she wanted to pull him back to her. To take his hand and lead him up to her bedroom. To keep him there until dawn.
"That's why not. I want you, Juliette. All the time."
"Why is that so bad?" she asked, because she wanted him too.
"Because from the cheap seats I've seen how those relationships end and it's not pretty."
He turned on his heel and walked out the door. She followed him watching until he got in his truck and drove away. She wanted to be angry and mad. To have his actions make her want to kick him or something, but instead she was just a little sad.
She knew there was no way she could convince him that she was different. That their lives together could be different.
But she wished she could. Wished for once that she had whatever it took to make Wyatt stay.
Nothing had really changed between her and Wyatt after a month. She hadn't seen him since that disastrous dinner at Lavender House. She'd been working at both the shop in town and at the factory. The more time she spent working the more likely it was that she'd be able to sleep and not be plagued by torrid dreams of Wyatt.
Production was finally up and running at the factory and they had also been able to add a new mail order option to the website. Juliette felt like she and Ariana were poised to take their business national.
Juliette noticed the line in front of Lavender Dreams as she approached the shop just off of Main Street in Founder's Square. There was a ring of buildings that were originally constructed in the late 1890s around the large square park that housed a statue of Booze Kelly.
She tried not to notice it each day as she walked from the coffee shop to her Lavender Dreams. Mainly because she was doing her best to forget about all Kellys especially Wyatt.
She had her mocha latte from Riva's in one hand, her phone and keys in the other. Her huge leather bag was slung over her shoulder.
"What's going on?" she asked as she approached the shop. She was afraid they'd been broken into. Though crime was usually confined to the Barrels area of town.
"Britt Henderson posted a blog raving about the new lavender lotion from here," a young mom with twins in a stroller said.
Britt had done what? This was crazy. There were at least 15 people waiting not all of them women. She pushed her way to the front and found her assistant Jasmine Sanchez waiting there.
Jasmine had been a godsend when Juliette had moved to Whiskey River and opened the store. The single mom was very organized and had a gift for retail management. She'd set up the layout of the store to get their customers to linger and direct them to products that Juliette wanted to sell.
On the days when Jasmine's super cute first grader, Tommy didn't have karate or science camp after school, Jasmine would bring her son to the store and let him play in the back room. Making forts out of their delivery boxes.
He was a joy to have around and Juliette liked the feeling of having the small family there with her. But this morning it was the opposite atmosphere.
"Um … this is crazy. I checked out the blog they are talking about and I think we are going to be very busy today," Jasmine said. "I'm glad I had a double-espresso this morning. I think I'm going to need all my energy."
"We'll be opening at 10 as usual," Juliette said to the crowd of woman waiting.
"I just wanted to be sure I was the first in line," the woman at the front said. "Usually the products Britt recommends are from some California shop that we don't have here in Whiskey River. I was so excited to see Lavender Dreams featured. Makes me wish I'd gone to Boots and Bangles this year."
"It was a night to remember," Juliette said. "We weren't given any advance notice of the blog."
"It was all flattering. You know how Britt is, she doesn't mince words."
She did know how Britt was but more from childhood when she'd been Brittney not Britt. And her hair had been brown not blonde and she'd written a gossip column for the weekly newspaper.
Juliette unlocked the door so she and Jasmine could get inside. As she closed it behind her she inhaled the fragrance of the shop. The smell of the lavender soothed her.
"Okay. We need a plan. What product did Britt recommend on the blog?" Juliette asked Jasmine.
"The lotion. The new one that Ariana just finished developing."
"We've got about 50 units in the store. And about 15 minutes until we open," Juliette said. "We are going to need more product."
"Yes, we are. What should I do?" Caroline, another employee asked.
"Open the register and then we should make a display of the new lotion over here," Juliette said. "I'll call and get every tube we have delivered here today."
She hated to admit it but thanks to Wyatt they were going to be able to handle this demand. If he hadn't paid his people to get the factory refitted as quickly as he had, she'd still be trying to get it up to speed. He'd done her a huge a favour. She owed him.
But he'd done it to say goodbye. It didn't take a genius with a high IQ to figure that out. She wondered if he'd made love to her in the barn just so he could leave her?
She hoped not but it was starting to feel like it. She glimpsed his broad shoulders at Riva's last week and had ducked out before he saw her. No two ways about it she was going to keep running into him as long as they both lived in Whiskey River.
And after today, she realized she wasn't leaving.
She went into her office, texted Ariana what was going on and then started pulling boxes of the lotion. Caroline had already cleared space for the new display by the time she got back on the floor. They stocked the counter together and Juliette went online to pull a quote from Britt's blog to put on the slate sign above the display.
"Soothing and reparative, the Lavender Love lotion from Lavender Dreams is good for the body and the soul."
Ariana texted back that they were inundated with online orders and that she'd send the delivery truck to the shop as soon as the driver got in. They were going to be busy. She called in two of their part-time staffers.
She checked her email at lunchtime and saw the note from Britt advising her that there had been a leak in the blog she'd intended to post the following week about the lotion.
She emailed Britt back. Telling her they were aware of it and that they'd been inundated with orders both in the shop and online. And thanking her for her recommendation.
When they closed at eight, they'd broken all of their sales records. And production of the lotion had become their top priority at the factory.
She walked down to the Booze's Place to meet Ariana for a celebratory drink and dinner. Booze's was reminiscent of an old time saloon but served food and upstairs there were pool tables. She scanned the room and got as far as a familiar pair of shoulders. She let her gaze move down Wyatt's back, lingering on his butt encased in a pair of tight jeans.
She didn't know who had been avoiding whom but she wasn't sure she was ready to see him tonight. She was tired after a long day and not up to the usual games they seemed to play with each other.
"Juliette! Over here," Ariana called. She saw her cousin sitting in a corner booth wedged next to Trey.
She waved back and made her way over to them. "Wow, what a day."
"You have no idea," Juliette said. "We might need to hire more staff if this continues. Did you see the email from Britt?"
"I did," Ariana said. "It's great that she featured us, a head's up would have been nice."
"I think that was her intent. But something happened with her server being hacked. Who knew that girl had that much influence?"
"She always was one to tell everyone else what to do," Trey said. "I'll let you two get on with business."
He leaned in and kissed Ariana before sliding out of the booth.
"You don't have to leave," Juliette said.
"Trey's meeting his brothers and was just keeping me company until you arrived."
Booze's Place was loud with music and conversation vying for dominance. The bar had been put in by Booze himself. The floor was an intricate tile design and there was a long row of mirrors behind the bar. It was a large two-story structure with private banquette seating on the second floor and the sun-bleached longhorn skulls mounted on the wall. The tables were scattered around the floor and a waitress in jeans and Booze's Place t-shirts dashed between them.
Normally she thrived in the noisy environment. But tonight as she tried to pretend to listen to what Ariana was saying instead of watching Wyatt and his brothers who were drinking and talking at the bar, she hated it.