obviously hurting. Olivia had to try to comfort her, if possible. Hadn’t she vowed to stop being a coward all the time?
She swallowed and uttered a silent prayer for courage. “Mom. Talk to me. What’s going on?”
Juliet made a hysterical-sounding sound. “Oh, nothing. I just completely ruined my friendship with Henry. That’s all.”
At that, her mother broke out into renewed sobs.
“I’m sure it’s not as bad as you fear,” she said, though of course she couldn’t be sure of any such thing. “You used to tell me there was nothing the Harper family couldn’t fix.”
Of course, that had been before her father died, before Natalie gave in to her drug addictions, before they both realized some wounds would never completely heal.
“I said a lot of stupid things to you, didn’t I?”
“I don’t remember those. Only the smart things,” she said gently.
“You wouldn’t say that if you could have heard me tonight.”
“What happened?” she asked. “Do you want to talk about it?”
Her mother buried her face in her hands. “I did what I had to do,” she said, her words muffled. “I broke things off with him. I...I ended our friendship.”
She wasn’t crying about a friendship. Or at least not only a friendship. This went much deeper than that.
“Why would you do that? Henry’s been a dear friend and support to you over the years. He and Lilianne both.”
“The man isn’t thinking straight. He gave me no choice.”
Olivia didn’t say anything, sensing her mother would tell her in her own way and her own time.
“He wants a relationship,” Juliet finally whispered. “He says he’s in love with me.”
Yeah. She really didn’t want to have this conversation with her mother. She knew her mother was a young and vibrant fifty-three, but she was still Olivia’s mom, and thinking of her having relationship troubles was just weird.
But Juliet was confiding in her, needing someone to turn to. Olivia couldn’t walk away from that.
“Why is that so terrible, Mom?” she began, choosing her words carefully. “It seems perfect to me. You and Henry have so much in common. You have both lost someone you love. You’re both in similar businesses. Caitlin and Jake are best friends. I’ll be honest—I don’t understand why this is stressing you so much.”
“Because it’s completely impossible! It’s ridiculous to even consider it. Look at the age difference between us!”
Olivia stared at her mother. “It can’t be more than a few years. Maybe five.”
“It’s eight!”
“Eight is nothing, especially at this stage of your life. No one will even notice.”
“I’ll notice. If he was eight years older than me, it wouldn’t matter. Nobody would say a thing. But in another dozen years, I’ll be an old woman while he’s still healthy and strong and energetic. I have a broken hip, for heaven’s sake!”
“That came as a result of you climbing a ladder at the business you own and operate. Very successfully, I might add. You’re not exactly a doddering old lady in a rocking chair.”
She had to be missing something here. Juliet seemed the last person who would be bothered by a few years’ difference in age.
“Is that the only reason you don’t want a relationship with Henry?” she asked carefully.
Juliet didn’t say anything, her breathing measured as she appeared to be trying to contain her emotions. Something told Olivia there was more to the story.
“Is this about Dad?” she guessed.
Juliet wiped her eyes. “I loved your dad with all my heart. He was a wonderful man. My first love.”
Olivia’s throat felt thick as she pictured her father and the adoring way he always treated Juliet, as if he was the luckiest man in the world to have her by his side.
“Yes. He was a wonderful man who wouldn’t want the woman he loved to spend her life unhappy and alone. You grieved a long time for him. Dad would be the first in line to tell you that you deserve a little happiness now.”
“I have been happy over the years, running the business, raising Cait, watching you grow into a strong, capable woman.”
Olivia didn’t feel very strong or capable at the moment, but she appreciated the sentiment coming from her mother.
“I don’t need a man in my life to make me happy,” Juliet went on firmly.
“I would agree with you in general terms. But when the idea of not having one particular man in your life, even as a friend, makes you this unhappy, maybe life is trying to send you a message.”