If This Was a Movie (Evergreen Park #2)

Chapter 22 – Jules

TWENTY-TWO

JULES

“So you kissed him?” Ava asks, brushing back the hair of one of the older girls for tonight's winter recital.

Harper is helping to make sure all costumes fit right and curtains open in less than thirty minutes, but the flutter of butterflies in my stomach isn’t from the impending performance. I know the kids are going to absolutely kill it, no matter what.

No, it’s the reminder that Nate and I kissed on Sunday.

Yesterday, I was out the door to the center early, hosting an adult workout class before spending the morning setting up the stage and making sure everything was ready for our Tuesday recital so I could get back to the house to get Sophie off the bus in time, not because her dad couldn’t get there, but because I knew I’d miss her if I didn’t.

When Nate came home, I was back here for the final rehearsal, and even though I didn’t go to the main house after practice, there was a wrapped plate in the microwave and a sticky note on the top reading, In case you didn’t eat. -N.

“To be fair, he kissed me.”

“Oh, so you’re telling me you didn’t kiss him back?”

I guess I can’t tell her that, can I?

“It was because Sophie was watching,” I lie terribly.

“And the second time?” Ava asks, because I’m an idiot and told her about how he walked me to the cottage, pinned me to the wall, and almost made me come right then and there.

“I…” I start then groan, letting my head drop into my hands. “I don’t know! I didn’t know.”

“It’s okay, Miss Jules,” Gina, one of the teenage dancers, says, coming over and patting my shoulder. “We all fall victim to hot guys scrambling our brains once in a while.”

“And Nate Donovan will definitely scramble anyone’s brains,” another says.

I turn to her and glare. “What do you know about Nate Donovan, Chrissy? You’re fifteen!”

“I know that when he came to renovate our kitchen last summer, my mom kept putting on her tiniest bikini, and she and my dad fought a lot at night once he left.” Well, that would do it. “And I know he’s hot. Like the surface of the sun hot. He was wearing this really tight T-shirt that was all sweaty and?—”

“Again, you are fifteen, Chrissy,” I shout.

“I mean, she’s not wrong,” Mrs. Johnson says with a laugh, and I glare at her, too. She’s one of the moms who offered to help get everyone ready since Claire is gone, and I was grateful at the time. But now that she’s hearing this…? “What? Everyone knows about Nate Donovan. He was a year or two under me in high school, but he’s a Donovan, you know? When I was her age, I was drooling over his dad, but now that Nate’s older?” She shrugs. “You’re an idiot not to go for that. Plus, his family is the sweetest.”

That part I couldn’t deny, as I’ve had calls from all three of his sisters over the last few days, checking in and offering any help they could. Sutton is over in the other room helping Harper as we speak, just because Claire told her I might need an extra hand.

“Ten minutes,” the stagehand says, popping his head into the dressing room, and I sigh with relief.

“All right, enough about that. Who needs last-minute help?” I say to the room at large. A hand pops up on the other side of the room, and I gratefully take the excuse to move out of the way and away from my friends while we finish the final touches.

Fifteen minutes later, I’m on the stage of the community center, lights nearly blinding me.

“Thank you all for coming,” I say. Even now, when it’s no longer my performance, I get butterflies up here, ready to show off all the hard work these kids did. I’m even more excited to see it’s a totally packed house.

I give my normal thank you speech, thanking everyone who came to see the kids, the parents and guardians who took the kids to every rehearsal, the volunteers, and the center for hosting us before I remind the crowd of the courtesy standards.

And as the lights go down and I prepare to step back into the wings of the stage, pushing the kids out, I see him. Front and center, with Sophie right next to him, a brown paper bag at his feet and a wide, proud smile on his lips.

Nate came.

“You guys did amazing!” I shout for the millionth time, absolutely giddy as the kids start to pack up and head out with wide, exhausted smiles on their faces. “I can’t believe how perfect you were. I’m so proud,” I say, putting an arm around one of the older girls and pulling her in tight. This is my favorite part of a performance: congratulating my kids and seeing the tired pride all over them.

“Miss, Jules, there’s some people here for you,” one of the girls says as I help one of the stragglers pack up their bags. Most of the kids have gone off to their parents, flowers in hand and big smiles on their faces. I’ll come back tomorrow and do the big cleanup, but at the very least, I like to make sure all of the kids’ stuff is packed up after a performance.

“What?” I ask, looking over my shoulder at the door, but I don’t have to ask another question.

There are six people standing in the doorway of the break room, four of whom I’ve met, and the other two I can guess. My heart skips a beat.

The Donovans are all here, except Claire.

Sophie runs to me with a big smile, and I’m barely able to stand up straight before she’s barreling into me, knocking me back on one foot before I lift her, settling her on my hip as she starts to ramble, holding on tight.

“That was amazing!” she yells into my ear as if we’re not inches apart. “I want to dance. Can you teach me? Please, please, pleaseeee!”

I laugh at her exuberance, pushing stray strands behind her ears as I smile.

“If your dad’s cool with it, of course,” I say, and her smile gets even wider before she wiggles for me to set her down. Then she turns to her dad, who has closed the gap between us, his sisters and his parents a few feet behind him.

“Can Jules teach me to dance?” she yells at her father, who uses his free hand to tug her in close. He only has one, because the other has a gigantic bouquet of peonies in it.

He smiles, then holds the flowers out to me. “You did great, Jules,” he says, then leans in and presses a chaste kiss to my cheek.

The tiny contact sends shivers down my spine, and I hate my treacherous body for it.

I take the flowers he’s handing me even though I’m not sure why he’s giving them to me. “What are you doing here?” I ask, looking over his shoulder at Sutton and Sloane, who give me small waves.

Nate’s brow furrows in clear confusion. “What do you mean?”

I look at the watch on my wrist. “Sophie has school tomorrow.”

“It’s your big night,” Nate says simply.

“No, it’s not, it’s the kids’ big night.”

Nate tips his head in confusion mixed with a hint of frustration before shaking his head a bit like he can’t believe me. “It’s yours too, baby,” he whispers before grabbing my hand, tugging me close, and turning to face his family.

“Mom, Dad, this is Jules. Jules, these are my parents. You already know my sisters,” he says, tipping his chin to them.

I give them small smiles and fight the urge to step out of his grip and run away. “Hi, it’s so great to meet you guys. I, uh, I’m sorry it’s like this, at work.” I glare at Nate, who just smiles.

“Are you kidding me? That was amazing! You did a phenomenal job with those kids,” Mrs. Donovan says before stepping forward with a hand out. “Shauna,” she says, introducing herself.

I grab her hand, which is soft and warm, and she puts her other hand on top, holding mine between hers. “I am so, so glad to finally meet you.”

“Finally?” I wonder if she knew about me before the water break.

“Oh, yeah, my little love bug Sophie won’t stop bragging about her new nanny,” Mr. Donovan says. “Her real-life Ashlyn come to life. Can’t say you’re not a spitting image of her doll, though. It’s kind of wild to see.”

“I told you, Grandpa! She’s my Christmas wish come true!” Sophie says, sticking her tongue out at her grandfather, who returns the gesture, making her giggle.

“I see that. Well, we couldn’t resist the opportunity to support you and your students,” Mr. Donovan says, then sticks his hand out, swatting his wife’s away with a playful smile. “Tom.”

“Hi, I’m Jules. It’s, uh, great to meet you.” Tom Donovan looks exactly like his son, but with graying dark blond hair and a red flannel shirt stuck into a pair of jeans that just fits the whole image of a wholesome grandpa.

“Do you have much more to do here?” Nate asks me, and I look around the room. I see the final kid waving as she steps out of the room with her parents, and I shake my head.

“No, I’ll be back tomorrow to clean things up, but it’s all good for tonight. We try to tidy as we go, so when everyone is done and exhausted, we can just leave.”

Nate nods.

“Well, then it sounds like it’s time for a celebration with ice cream and pie,” Mrs. Donovan says with a clap of her hands.

“Please tell me you made pumpkin,” Sutton says with a look to the ceiling like she’s throwing up one last prayer.

“And chocolate cream,” Mrs. Donovan says. “And an apple one.”

“Three?” Sloane asks, and Mrs. Donovan blushes.

“I wasn’t sure what Jules liked, and it’s her big day.” My heart warms at the most precious, sweet family, and I fight the urge to compare Shauna to my own mother, who has never once been to one of the performances my kids put on.

“Chocolate,” Nate says before I can say anything. “For desserts, anything chocolate.” I look at him with a face, but there’s no time to argue before he turns to me.

“Anything you need me to grab? I can drive us to my parents, and we’ll drop you off at your car on the way home.”

“I—” I start.

“No room for arguing,” he mutters under his breath. “You might hurt my mom’s feelings.” There’s a small tilt to his lips telling me it’s probably bullshit, but I go along with it all the same.

“Yeah, that works,” I say.

“Pie time!” Sophie yells, grabbing her grandfather’s hand and running for the door, leaving us all giggling as we follow her.

We leave the Donovan family home after eating way too much pie, but the fullness I feel isn’t in my stomach but in my chest. Something about being around this sweet, supportive family that nudges and teases each other but in a way that’s laced with love all the way through healed something in me I didn’t know was frayed.

It turns out the Donovans are a romantic comedy family: incredibly tight-knit, incredibly kind, and incredibly funny, and I’m now adding another thing to my movie-worthy life list.

There are long goodbyes, more come back soons, and an invite to the family Christmas party before we get out the door, two hours past Sophie’s bedtime.

“ It’s a special occasion, Jules,” Nate said when I mentioned it. “Rules are off on special occasions.”

She falls asleep in the car almost the second Nate starts it, despite it not being even a ten-minute drive from the Donovan house to the community center. We’re parked in the lot next to my car, but I’m reluctant to leave this warm little bubble Nate has built for me.

“Thank you,” I say into the quiet. “For tonight. For coming. For bringing your family. It means a lot to me.”

“They insisted once Sutton told them she was helping and once Sophie told them all about you. This has been planned for a week.”

“Why didn’t you tell me? That you were coming?”

“Well, you see, ever since Sunday, you’ve been avoiding me, so…” His words trail off, and I feel a blush burn over my cheeks.

“Sorry,” I whisper.

“All good, Jules,” he says, reaching over to grab my hand. “You’re steering this. We’re going at your pace.” I should say that we can’t be going at any pace at all, but something stops me.

Silence fills the car again before, finally, Nate breaks it.

“Your mom wasn’t there tonight.”

I turn to him and see he’s looking at the building in front of us as if he doesn’t want to pressure me into talking but wants to know all the same.

I sigh, and maybe because I’m tired, or it’s dark and quiet, or because I’m blown away by his gentle kindness, I respond. “Yeah, she’s not really into the whole…thing.”

“Dance?”

I shake my head and laugh. “No, no, she loves that. She was the one who got me into it. She’s not into my owning a business.”

That has his head jerking, turning to me. “What?”

“She wishes I’d focus on…other things.”

“Why?”

I shrug but answer all the same with a deep sigh.

“When my grandmother passed, I got a small inheritance. Nothing crazy, but it was enough for the down payment on the building and a bit of money for renovations. She wanted me to use it to buy a house, preferably in a nice neighborhood with single bachelors who would wife me up and make me a stay-at-home wife.”

He snorts out a laugh. “In Evergreen Park?”

I shook my head and bit back a laugh of my own.

“No, she lives in Dalton.” Naming the expensive and exclusive town has Nate nodding with understanding.

“Ahh. So she doesn’t approve of your self-renovations, I assume?”

I shake my head.

“She set me up with my ex, who offered over and over to just pay to have it all done, and she has no idea why I wouldn’t just take him up on it instead of doing it myself. Now whenever anything doesn’t go according to plan, she turns it into some big ‘I told you so’ lesson.”

“That’s why you didn’t want to stay with her after the pipe burst.”

I nod, not wanting to add much. It’s been a long day, and I just spent the night laughing and talking with a family who doesn’t know me but showed me more support than my mother ever has.

I’m too tired to unpack all of that tonight.

Nate must see that in my face, because he leans over in the car and puts a hand to my cheek. He then gently pulls me forward as he presses a soft, barely there kiss to my lips before pulling away and resting his forehead on mine.

“Well, you’ve got the Donovans now,” he whispers like it’s all I’ll ever need in life.

I can’t help it. A small, soft smile hits my lips. “Yeah, I’ve got the Donovans.”