finally walked in that direction. As she did, she noticed Caitlin chatting with a group of other teenagers in a corner. She scanned the room but didn’t see Juliet yet. She might have worried but she knew her mother’s friend Stella would be driving her to the breakfast.
Caitlin laughed at something her friends said. It sounded forced, which didn’t really surprise Olivia. The mood around Sea Glass Cottage had been so strange all week. Caitlin seemed subdued. She had refrained from sniping at Olivia like usual and she stayed mostly in her room. Olivia and Juliet both had tried to talk to her about what might be bothering her, but she had simply said she was busy with homework.
Juliet, on the other hand, seemed determined to show she hadn’t been affected by the rift between her and Henry. She was over-the-top cheerful, working hard on her exercises, practicing her knitting, writing thank-you notes to everyone who had helped out after her accident.
Olivia wasn’t fooled. She had come across Juliet more than once looking tearful. Her mother would quickly wipe at her eyes and put on a bright smile, as if she really thought she was fooling anyone.
Henry was here but she hadn’t had the chance to talk to him yet. It would be interesting to see how they reacted to being in the same room together, once Juliet arrived. As far as she knew, this would be the first time they had seen each other since that night he had brought her home.
She glanced at Caitlin again, tempted to approach her niece and her friends and ask to take their picture for the social media campaign, but she still wasn’t quite sure where she stood with Caitlin and didn’t want to risk an explosion of snark.
Her mom finally arrived a short time later. Olivia couldn’t resist finding Henry, just in time to see his expression turn even more stoic, if possible, as he nodded at something his friend said.
What was the real reason her mother didn’t want a romantic relationship with Henry? Olivia was convinced the conflict couldn’t simply be about the age difference. Her mother wasn’t that vain and shallow that she cared what others thought at the expense of her own happiness, was she?
She had a job to do here, Olivia reminded herself. One that didn’t involve meddling in her mother’s love life.
Still, when Henry passed her on the way back from throwing away his plate a short time later, she couldn’t resist stopping his progress. “Hi, Henry.”
If Juliet acted almost maniacally happy right now, Henry Cragun seemed the opposite. He had deep circles under his eyes and more lines around his mouth. He looked as if he hadn’t slept in days.
Impulsively, she reached out to give him a quick hug. “How are you? I’ve been meaning to ask how the landscaping project went at Hidden Creek.”
“Good. It turned out better than I’d hoped. You ought to drive down the coast to take a look for yourself.”
“I really should take Melody for an outing, since she did all the hard work of helping you find the right plants. I’m sure she would love to see them in the ground.”
“Definitely.”
Maybe she could get away on Monday, since business at the garden center was slower that day. It would be good to take pictures of the landscaping work for the Harper Hill social media properties.
“The hotel doesn’t officially open for another two weeks but there are people coming and going all the time. You should be able to get through the gates, but if you have trouble, send me a text and I can give you the access code.”
“Thank you. I’ll do that.” She looked around to make sure no one else was within earshot. Then she touched his arm. “How are you?”
He looked startled. Then his mouth tightened. “I suppose you’ve been speaking with your mother.”
“A little. She hasn’t told me anything, really, only that the two of you are taking a break from your friendship because you want different things.”
“That’s one way of putting it.”
Olivia knew she should probably mind her own business. Okay, there was no probably about it. Both of them were hurting, though, and from the outside, the whole thing seemed so pointless.
“I’m sure it’s no consolation, but she seems pretty miserable right now.”
Henry glanced over to where Juliet was sitting in her wheelchair, surrounded by friends. She was laughing at something one of them said, her face bright and cheery.