I stepped back from the bag, puffing, and Zac undid my boxing gloves. “I’m fine. I think I’m warmed up now.” I smiled. I’d been imagining Richard’s head when I put the full force behind every punch.

Mum had called me several times a day, leaving increasingly irate messages, but she didn’t seem to be melting down. I’d answered the first few times but soon realised the conversations were getting us nowhere. She thought I was making a big mistake throwing away someone as wonderful as Richard and was adamant I was going to come to my senses.

The fact that Richard and I’d had no face-to-face contact since we parted ways in the alley was a relief. I couldn’t deal with the histrionics from both of them. Out of courtesy, I’d emailed him about Zac and Juniper’s wedding to let him know his attendance was no longer required. I’d received no reply.

“Juniper told me about you and Richard splitting up.” He put his hand on my shoulder. “Good riddance, I say. The guy was a dick.”

I snapped my head up. “Really?” I’d never heard Zac speak badly about anyone and his candour surprised me.

“I only met him that one time, but I got a bad feeling. I know you can do so much better.”

It was good to know I had someone else on my side. I’d committed social suicide when I broke up with Richard, and that was actually fine by me. The likes of Fraser and Stacy had never been people I would choose to spend my time with. I’d always been really happy in my own company, but I was glad to have a few real friends.

Zac started the session slower than usual, perhaps giving me a chance to recover from my self-imposed gruelling warm up. I’d been looking forward to seeing Zac all week, and I didn’t want him to go easy on me—I wanted to be pushed hard. I didn’t feel like falling apart. I did, however, feel anger towards my parents, towards Richard, but primarily towards myself. That was enough anger to push to the next level of my training.

“Holy shit, Jules,” Zac said, shaking his head. It was the first time I’d managed to blindside him and, for a few seconds, I’d had the upper hand. It didn’t last and Zac regained his superiority, but for those few seconds, it was exhilarating.

I left the gym that night feeling energised and happy. As I’d walked out the door, I automatically looked around for Richard. It was second nature and when I realised what I was doing, I smiled knowing I wouldn’t have to play along anymore. Practically skipping up the street, I became aware of the hair standing up on the back of my neck. It was hard to describe, but I felt watched and I couldn’t help stopping to look behind me. There were plenty of people around, so it was impossible to know if anyone was actually following me. It was just an uneasy feeling I couldn’t shake. Perhaps the guy from fight night hadn’t got the hint after all.

“Can you spare a dollar?” I practically jumped out of my skin when I turned back the way I was walking and was confronted by a man holding his cap out to me.

I reached into my bag, grabbed some loose change and put it in his cap.

“Thanks, pretty lady. God bless you.”

I smiled then jogged the rest of the way home despite my tired muscles. Richard’s parting words from the night we broke up had bothered me. “Watch your back, my love.” His display of aggression on Monday night replayed over and over in my head. He had been a stranger. Clearly, neither of us had shown our true colours for the full course of our relationship. I was starting to worry that his mask was shielding something far more sinister than my miserable and misguided quest.

Chapter Twenty

Leo

I’d spent all week thinking about her, and working on the stone wall at the farm did nothing to alter that. Juliette was irrevocably under my skin.

Smack.

It made no sense, but I knew there was nothing I could do about it. The physical attraction was clear as day—we were drawn to each other like magnets. She was drop dead fucking gorgeous, and the lust I’d seen in her eyes convinced me of our mutual desire.

Smack.

But it was more than that. Much more. I wanted to know every detail about her. That was a first for me.

Smack.

Was I that much of a masochist that I wanted a girl obviously laden with baggage, potentially unstable and attached to a man who couldn’t be less like me? Plenty of girls had made their interest known, but none of them had registered anything close to what I felt when I made eye contact with Juliette on fight night, or when I touched her briefly, or when I saw her mask settling over her perfect features and turning her to ice. Perhaps it made perfect sense and our lives were destined to collide exactly when they did.

Smack. Smack. Smack.

I dropped the mallet down on the rough earth and picked up my chisel and straight edge to smooth off one of the surfaces of the first stone I’d worked on in years.

I wasn’t ready to work on the house yet, so I’d decided to start on the drywall boundary—one of the features I loved most. My grandfather had built it with his own hands, and my father had shown me the technique when it had needed repairs over the years we still lived there.

“Leo!” Bea’s voice called out.

I looked up towards the house and saw her standing next to her yellow bug. “Over here.” I watched her turn and acknowledge me with a wave before wandering over.

“I was just at Beans, and Kayla said you were headed here. I had to see it for myself. Never thought I’d see the day,” she said with a sad smile.

“It’s not such a big deal.” I picked up my discarded shirt and wiped the sweat from my face and chest.

“It is a big deal, Leo.”

I shrugged my shoulders. I knew Bea, and Angus to a lesser extent, struggled with the fact that I wouldn’t talk about what happened five years ago, but verbalising it wouldn’t change anything.

“Leo Ashlar bashing on rocks again. That makes me happy.”

“I’m rusty as hell.” I bent over and sifted through my tool box, looking for something I wanted to show her. I found it behind the mallet head tooth chisel. “I could do with a break.”

We both walked over to the gazebo and sat down. I opened my palm for her, revealing a winged horse carved from stone. “I found him this morning when I went looking for my tools in the shed. Do you remember him?”

Bea took it from me, cradling it gently in her hands. “Oh my God. You were totally obsessed with Pegasus and all those Greek myths. I’d totally forgotten about this little guy. He was your favourite, wasn’t he?”

I nodded as Bea’s finger gently traced the intricate curves, her eyes glassy. A few tears slipped down her cheeks. “Where are all the others?”

“I’m not sure.” I took the small horse back from her and wondered how something so small could hold so many memories. “I haven’t seen them in a long time.” I looked up to see Bea’s tear-stained face.

“I’m sorry, Bea.” I moved closer to her and touched her shoulder. I would’ve given her a hug if I weren’t dirty and sweaty. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”

“No. No. I’m hormonal. I cried at a toilet paper commercial last night. I’m so glad you found him. He brings back such good memories of…” She couldn’t finish her sentence, but I knew what she meant. Bea wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. “So you’re here and you’re fixing the wall. Does this mean you’re ready to talk?”

I wiped my brow with the back of my arm and shifted on my seat. “There’s nothing to talk about.” I glanced up to the old, run-down stone house and closed my eyes, wishing looking at it didn’t bring back such horrifying memories.

Bea was clearly unhappy, so I said the one thing I knew would cheer her up.

“I met a girl.”

Her eyes lit up. “What?”

“I met a girl who… well, she kind of rocked my world.” Images of Juliette were now a permanent fixture in my mind.