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’em. Oh, and Hunter says hey . . .

xoxo

—J

Julia

Hailey Abbott

her balcony. She slipped on her flip-flops, unlocked the door, and padded outside. Before her eyes even adjusted to the light, Jules felt the sun beating down on her, making her sweatshirt u

Jules stared out across the beach and wondered if Remi was sitting on the beach somewhere. She wondered what sort of books he read, what he did for fun, where he hung out. She imagined sitting next to Remi on a towel, him glancing over her shoulder as she sketched fellow beachgoers. Just imagining the closeness made Julia

Three distant but sharp beeps snapped her out of her daydream and she looked up, a

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around at the Moores’ place. Did these people have to ruin everything? Julia

After a quick change, Julia

Julia

Refilling her father’s glass from a huge, blown-glass pitcher, she turned her eyes back to the beach in front of her. It was a perfect early-summer afternoon—hot without being humid, the sun the color of butter.

“I’ve got a tip for you—don’t quit your day job.” Edward Kahn chuckled softly to himself, pulling Jules’s attention back. “You have many talents, Julia

Hailey Abbott

huh?” she teased.

Julia

Chloe sat up straight in her chair and squinted through her giant gold-rimmed sunglasses. “Speaking of building things, what’s going on over there?” She jerked her thumb toward the construction equipment gathered around the new neighbors’ property. All sorts of destructive-looking vehicles were lined up around the house.

Julia

“Nuuhmuh.” Dad shrugged between mouthfuls of fruit salad.

“Come again?” Chloe asked.

“I said, ‘Nothing much,’” their father repeated. “It’s the same thing that always happens. People move here for a summer kingdom and start building their castle.

They’ll get bored and go back home soon enough.” He leaned over the side of his chair to pick up a grape that had escaped his grasp and wedged itself between the wood slats of the deck.

“The bulldozers don’t strike me as a sign of bore-26

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dom,” Chloe started, shaking her head.

“They showed up last month, immediately dug a foundation, and erected this crazy greenhouse-looking thing. It looks like they’re trying to expand down toward the beach now.” Julia

“Can they do that? Just keep going and going like that?” Julia

“Yeah,” Chloe added incredulously. “If they keep moving at this rate, they’re going to plow that whole stretch of beach right under.”

“In a few weeks, they’ll decide it’s all more trouble than it’s worth and sell the property for twice what they paid for it. Just wait. Don’t lose any sleep over it, girls.

It’ll be fine,” their father assured them. “But, speaking of sleep, it was nice of you to wake up and join us for lunch, Julia

In the distance, Julia

Chloe said as much out loud. “Gosh, Jules, you must have been out cold to make Dad notice you snoozing the morning away. He’s been in his studio all day. Way to make your absence known. Hmm . . . I 27

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wonder what you possibly could have been dreaming about until almost noon . . .” Julia

Abruptly changing the subject, Chloe burst out with,

“Hey, didn’t the Moores come over with their surveyor practically first thing when they moved in?”

“Chloe, don’t get all worked up over nothing,” Dad said. “Both of you girls worry too much. The neighborhood might be changing, but it doesn’t mean much for us.

Well, except for longer, meaner lines in the supermarket,” he added, winking. “The Moores aren’t going to win any conservation awards for building up all that ground, but their crazy glass mansion won’t really affect us.” Well, if Dad isn’t worried, I won’t worry, Julia

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flicking a particularly round grape at Chloe’s head.

“Now there’s something to worry about,” he declared before the table broke out into an all-out grape-shooting gallery.

Julia

“No, here’s something to worry about—the invasion of the hot summer guys! It looks like our Jules is already halfway to being beamed up.” Chloe giggled.