Julian (Beautiful Mine #1) (20 page)

EVIE

I turned my phone off after the burial and flew home. I locked all the doors. I drew all the curtains. I wanted to be alone. I wanted to be alone with all Julian’s things and his memories, whatever was left. I wanted to see if I could feel him around me. I wanted to grieve and cry and yell. I didn’t want to be judged, consoled, pitied, or stared at.

I ransacked our closet and threw on a sweatshirt of his. It was the closest thing I was going to get to being held by him. I flipped through some pictures of the two of us, and there weren’t many, mostly selfies shot at arm’s length. It was always just us. I laughed. I cried. I laughed, and then cried some more.

I lit the fireplace and grabbed one of Julian’s books, flipping through the pages Julian himself had once touched not that long ago. From the corner of my eye, I could’ve sworn the little antique globe in the corner moved a little. If I couldn’t travel the world with him, I’d travel it for him.

My heart warmed over briefly. I knew it was exactly what he would’ve wanted. And my heart fell when I realized I didn’t have a single penny to my name. I didn’t want to sell the house. Our house.

“You’ll always be very taken care of,” I recalled him saying to me time and again, though he never elaborated and I never asked him to. I suppose I never wanted to go there in my mind.

With swollen eyes growing heavy, I lay down on the sofa and let the heat of the fireplace warm my face. June wasn’t supposed to be so cold, but that day, it was frigid.

The second I closed my eyes, a knock at the door echoed through the quiet house. I popped up, instantly annoyed. It was probably someone stopping by to check on me, but I was hardly in the mood to be social.

I peeked out the front window, eyeing a strange car in the driveway, some sort of white BWM that stood out like a sore thumb against the darkness that surrounded it.

I wiped my tearstained face and finger-combed my hair into place before opening the door. Standing before me was a man who was the spitting image of my Julian.

“Are you Evie?” he asked.

“Who are you?” I replied.

“I need to talk to you,” he said, clutching a letter in his hand.

*STORY CONTINUED IN BOOK #2 (JUDE)*

Gia DeLuca is a modern day Carrie Bradshaw (if Carrie Bradshaw had three small children, two dogs, a sitcom-dad of a husband, and lived in the suburbs far, far away from the romantic city streets of Manhattan). A daydream believer, Gia is never without an idea in her heart or a song in her head. When she’s not busy tending to her littles, she can be found working on her next book. And when she’s not working, you just might find her curling up with a good book (or a really trashy reality show).

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Dear Reader,

I cannot thank you enough for reading my book! I sincerely hope that you enjoyed it, that you were thoroughly entertained, and that it swept you away to another place and time for a few hours. If you could be so kind as to leave me a review on Amazon, I’d be over the moon! It just takes a few seconds – pull up the product page, scroll down to the review section, and click on “write a customer review”. Voila! I read them all and take them all to heart.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I’d like to specially thank the people who made this book possible. First of all, Beth M – you’ve taught me more in the last two months than I ever learned in any creative writing classes in college. You’re tough as nails, brutally honest, and everything I need in a beta reader. I’m so grateful our paths crossed!

To my inner circle of highly talented people – Celeste, Dan, Carolyn, and Katrina. You guys are the best! And a shout out to my writer’s group – my favorite virtual place to hang out and procrastinate…

Thank you to my editor, Nora, with Wyrmwood Editing! Your eagle eyes and honesty are one in a million!

Shout out to Arijana Karcic with Cover It! Your work is brilliant, beautiful, and definitely worth the wait!

Thanks to one of my besties, Brandi, for answering all my medical questions and for coming up with the perfect diagnosis to inflict upon my tragic hero!

Thank you to my beautiful mother, who watches my little ones so I can write three days a week. I don’t know what I’d do without you. Seriously. I love you!

Finally, thank you to my wonderful husband for keeping me in check, being patient with me, letting me ramble on and bounce ideas off you, and for believing in me when I told you about my dream. I appreciate everything you do, and nothing goes unnoticed. Love you, love you, love you.