Love Finds the One (Sully Point Book 2) Read Free

frailty about her that made him feel
protective. Right then he decided to stay with her through the storm, which
announced itself loudly with a crack of thunder.
    "Damn!" He heard the shattering of a mug where
she'd dropped it.
    "No worries. I'll get the vacuum if you get the big
pieces in the trash."
    "That thunder startled me."
    "If you don't mind, Julia, I'll stay until the worst
passes us by. There's no point in my driving in this."
    He observed how her breath went out in a little whoosh of
relief and her face lightened up. "That would be great. Do we have
anything here for lunch?"
    Cody plugged in the vacuum. "Some deli meat in the
fridge, some rolls in the cabinet." He turned on the machine and had
everything cleaned up in minutes.
    "Let's have sandwiches then, and ignore the
storm."
    He wasn't sure the storm could be ignored, with it blowing
hard right outside the big window in clear view. Rain smattered against the
glass and thunder rolled in the background. "So, what do you do in the
city? I bet you're a model."
    She laughed, a full-throated laugh with her head thrown
back, long black hair cascading down her back. "Me? A model? Um, no. I
work in advertising. Tremaine Advertising Agency. I'm an ad executive, and I
handle commercials for products."
    Cody frowned at her. "You mean you sell stuff? Like
deodorant and laundry detergent?"
    She frowned back at him. "Hey, don't look down on it.
It's an art form, really."
    "Selling deodorant is an art form?"
    "We don't just sell--represent--deodorant."
    "Sorry, I always wondered who worked on some of those
commercials that drive people crazy. I didn't expect it to be someone as nice
and as smart as you are."
    She looked nonplussed by the compliment inside an insult.
    He stood across from her at the bar that functioned as a
divider between rooms. "Look I didn't mean to imply--"
    Julia began to make sandwiches. "Turkey, lettuce and
tomato okay?"
    He nodded and watched her layer everything precisely on top
of the roll, which she'd split into exactly even halves.
    She said, "I know some of the ads can be stupid, or
even aggravating. But some are very witty and enjoyable."
    "And you like this type of work?"
    "Do you enjoy selling worms to strangers?"
    He smiled at her. "Actually, yeah. I get a kick out of
helping people get the right gear to go out and catch the big one. People come
here on vacation, looking for a fun time. I like to think I help them achieve
that. What about you?"
    Her face had a thoughtful look. "You really do sound
like you enjoy what you do. I guess part of why I'm here is to figure out why
I'm in this job, when I really can't stand it."
    "Aha, I knew I was right about you."
    "Right about what? And here's your sandwich."
    He settled on one of the barstools and immediately took a
big bite. "Hits the spot," he mumbled.
    Julia sat next to him. She stared at the sandwich and
finally took a deep breath and began eating. He wondered if she was anorexic.
She didn't look like she wanted to eat at all. He decided to keep talking to
distract her. "As I was saying, there's more to you than a person who
creates commercials, that's all. I don't know what it is, but I'm sure you'll
figure out what you want to be doing."
    She sighed. "I don't know. I hope so. I'd love to not
work for Mother anymore."
    "Hold on--you work for her?"
    "Yes. Don't even start on me. Holly has already put in
her two cents, and that's enough from the Grainger family."
    Cody was quiet and finished eating his food. He drank his
coffee as Julia ate about a third of her sandwich and then pushed it away.
    He said with a grin, "Holly does have a way of butting
into people's lives."
    She gave a reluctant laugh. "The thing is--she's
usually right! It can be very irritating."
    "You don't have to tell me, I'm her brother. Believe me
when I say I've had more Holly lectures 'for my own good' than I can
count."
    "Somehow she says these things that from anyone else
would upset me, but from her they don't