Besides all that, she looked pretty amazing in the summer dresses she was always wearing. Like the pretty white and red one she was wearing today. She’d bleached her long dark hair recently. Normally there was a slight curl to the long tresses, but today it was straight. She’d pulled the top part up and had one of the pretty flowers she normally wore just above her left ear.
“Hey, girl,” he said the moment she hung up.
Jules’s smile grew. “Look at you.” She ran her eyes over him.
Yeah, she’d caught on and had started flirting back almost a full year back. Now, it was a game, one that excited him more than if he’d just straight up asked her out.
“You clean up nicely,” she finished after taking in his button-up shirt, black slacks, and matching tie. “Hot date?”
He laughed. “I wish. They’re shorthanded tonight, and I agreed to lend a hand.”
Jules leaned her elbow on the countertop and rested her chin in her hand with a sigh. “It’s a Summer to Remember night.”
He nodded. Once a week, the camp held themed dinner-dance events. Most nights there was something fun going on—live music, karaoke, ballroom dancing—but once a week, there was a real big shindig, as the Wildflowers called them.
The Wildflowers were the five best friends who owned the River Camps. They consisted of Elle, Hannah, Aubrey, and sisters Zoey and Scarlett.
The Wildflowers had met at the camp back when Elle’s grandfather owned it. They’d all been in the same cabin and they’d chosen the name Wildflowers for their group. They had remained friends outside of camp, and the name had stuck with them their entire lives. They even had their own cheer, and it was quite funny to watch a group of grown women, two of which were currently pregnant, jumping around like teenagers.
Zoey was already a new mom. Her and her husband Dylan’s daughter Paige had been born last year. Now both Elle and Hannah were expecting kids. Which is why they were short-staffed.
“Don’t you usually work at these events too?” he asked Jules.
“Sometimes.” She shrugged, her eyes still running over him.
Normally, he was dressed in boardshorts, flip-flops, and a camp T-shirt or tank top. He’d had to dress up to help out at these events on several other occasions, but this was the first time Jules had taken so much notice.
“I’m sorry.” She straightened suddenly. “Did you need something from me?”
He smiled. “My mother said she left me something up here?”
Her smile doubled. “Yes.” She disappeared into the back room and came back holding a large, covered pan.
He instantly felt his stomach grumble at the thought of his mother’s homemade brownies.
“Is it your birthday or something?” Jules asked as she set the pan down in front of him.
“Nope,” he said as he lifted the lid and smiled at the chocolate frosting. He opened the note his mother had left him and scanned it quickly.
“An offering and an excuse for you to ask the girl out finally. Give her a damn brownie too. Love, the woman who birthed you.”
Okay, so maybe another reason he hadn’t asked Jules out was that his family loved her like she was already part of it. In the past year, Jules had attended more of his family functions than he had. His parents and even his grandparents made a point to invite her to everything. The crazy thing was, she always went and appeared to enjoy herself. She’d even brought along her folks a few times.
There wouldn’t be a quick summer fling with Jules. His family, and maybe their friendship, wouldn’t survive the outcome if things turned… bad.
“I guess it’s just my lucky day,” he said after tucking the card in his pocket.
“It must be.” Jules eyed the pan.
“Want one?” he asked, pushing the pan towards her.
“No.” She shook her head and put her hands out. “I’m watching my figure.”
“Why?” he asked, running his eyes over her perfect form. “You’re perfect the way you are.”
She laughed, the way most women did when they didn’t really believe a compliment.
It was true that Jules didn’t fit the mold of the skinny women running around that seemed to be the US standard. She was shorter, probably only five-four, and her skin was a soft taupe color, naturally. She was lush in ways that others looked at negatively, but all he could see was beauty. He dreamed of exploring those curves.