Chasing Julia (Rhode Island Romance #2) Read Free Page A

what I
want. I want you to make something that will keep my aunt in this room. Like
you said you would.”
    “And I will.”
    Joe’s voice was
gentle and patient, but his expression was impassive. It was very clear that
Willa was anxious about the cabinet, and he was trying to soothe her. But there
was something else there, an underlying conversation taking place. The cameras
focused on the two of them just standing there looking at each other.
    And then Tony
stepped into the picture. “Well, it looks like we’ve answered that question.
Let’s get out of the way now and let the crew haul this outside. Willa, do you
want to help me rip out the carpet in the upstairs bedrooms?”
    “She looked pissed
off about something,” Hannah commented.
    Tony’s face
appeared on the screen in a confession cam interview. “Willa’s a little nervous
about what Joe is planning to do with that cabinet, but we’re both confident
she’ll like what he comes up with. It’s going to take a couple weeks for Joe to
put something together. In the meantime, we’ve come up with some unexpected
issues on the North Providence house, and he and I have decided to divvy up the
work to keep both of these projects on track. So, it’ll just be me managing
this project now.”
    “Huh,” Hannah said.
She twisted her head towards Julia and raised one eyebrow. “Wonder what
happened behind the scenes there. Did Tony tell you?”
    “He said he’d told
Willa about me and warned Joe to back off. This must be around that time.”
    And Joe, to his
credit, had tried hard to stay away. He’d told Julia of his struggles, how much
he’d fought to rid himself of his feelings for Willa.
    So much of their
conversation on that horrible day was still a blur, but Julia did remember the
agony in his voice when he’d said: “ This is the first time I’ve ever gone
back on a promise I’ve made. The thought of hurting you has been tearing me
apart. ”
    “I can see how this
series is going to be a big hit with the ladies,” Hannah said, tugging Julia
out of her thoughts. “Tony is serious eye candy. Look at the way he’s swinging
that hammer.”
    Julia returned her
focus to the screen, watching as Tony nailed down some boards on a staircase
and then helped his crew install drywall. The scenes were moving quickly now as
the voiceover narration explained the various stages of the project and how
smoothly things were coming along.
    “He’s so natural in
front of the camera,” Hannah went on. “Joe was kind of stiff, but Tony looks
like he’s been doing this for years.”
    “It was his idea to
do the show. Joe went along with it. He’s always put Tony and Sylvie first.”
    Hannah made a
noncommittal sound in response as they watched Tony and Willa strolling through
an appliance store. Next they visited a furniture warehouse. As the segment
continued, Julia found her eyes drawn more towards Tony than to Willa. He
really was a natural, like Hannah said. He had a confident, take-charge
demeanor that was balanced with a genuine, good-natured charm. He seemed to
light up the screen.
    He hadn’t always
been so good-natured, she thought, recalling some of the arguments she’d had
with him during his teenage years. He was the only person she’d ever fought
with like that—fierce, verbal battles that made her face red and her heart race
out of control.
    Tony’s Uncle Nick
had put a stop to Tony’s belligerence towards Julia when Tony was eighteen.
Nick had been on leave from a tour of duty in Afghanistan and was staying at
the Rossetti house. Julia was over at their house one afternoon preparing
dinner. She heard Tony’s car pulling into the driveway; he was home from
school. He strolled into the kitchen, tossed his backpack on the table and yanked
open the refrigerator door. He stood there in the opening as he drank milk straight
from the carton, his head thrown back, his profile smirking.
    It was clearly
intentional. He knew how much this bothered her;