Love Redesigned

Julian hears Dahlia is hurt and rushes back to the house immediately. He feels guilty for not being there, but Dahlia tries to assure him that she is fine aside from a likely broken arm. Julian insists on taking Dahlia to the hospital rather than the local doctor, carrying her inside. Everyone in the family group chat checks on Dahlia while Julian continues to worry for her, though a few hours later she has a cast on and is okay.

Julian visits Rafa the following day and learns from Nico’s nanny Ellie that Rafa’s ex-wife is coming to town. Rafa has a complicated relationship with his ex-wife, Hilary, and he is considering moving across the country so that Nico can spend more time with her, something that terrifies Julian. Julian lets it slip that he bought Dahlia’s engagement ring, and Rafa worries that Julian’s feelings for Dahlia will cause him trouble.

Julian brings Dahlia the rolls of paper she tried to retrieve from the attic before breaking her arm. Inside one of them is a blueprint for the finished Founder’s house; on the other, there is a blueprint for a nonexistent gazebo.

On the back of the second blueprint, there is a letter from Gerald Blake, one of the original founders of Lake Wisteria, written to a woman he is in love with named Francesca. The letter reveals that Gerald wanted to marry Francesca but was refused by her father. He founded Lake Wisteria to prove that he could build a home for Francesca, and plans to propose to her once he finishes building a gazebo at his house, as Francesca always wanted to get married under a gazebo like the one the two met in.

Later at a family dinner, the Lopezes and Muñozes discuss how the Founder’s house Dahlia and Julian bought is supposedly haunted.

After dinner, Josefina gets Julian to drive Dahlia to the library, where she plans to look into the history of the house. Julian follows her in, and the two scan through newspaper records from the late 19th century to see what they can find. They discover that Gerald died before the Founder’s house was completed and never married Francesca. Dahlia and Julian fight about Gerald and Francesca’s relationship, revealing feelings about their relationship and suggesting they both regret their past actions.

Julian goes to the local bar after dropping Dahlia off. While there, he runs into a business rival, Lorenzo Vittori, whom he has outbid on several properties in the past year. Julian is unable to stop thinking about Dahlia and tries to devise a plan to get her away from him as soon as possible. He asks his business partner, Ryder, if they can get the Founder’s house project done in the next three months, a plan that Dahlia immediately sees through.

Julian is looking into expanding Lopez Luxury and building homes in the neighboring town of Lake Aurora. When meeting with his assistant Sam, Julian sees that he is watching an episode of Dahlia and Oliver’s home renovation show. Both men can clearly see how bits of their relationship bled into the show. Sam reveals that the show is still scheduled to have another season before Dahlia arrives.

Julian tries to avoid Dahlia as she takes a space in the Lopez Luxury offices, but he has a hard time doing so. One night both end up working late, and Dahlia hurts Julian when she mentions how he does not seem happy despite his great wealth.

Dahlia loves the original carpentry of the Founder’s house and wants to replicate it. She knows that Julian used to do the carpentry for his company himself, yet he hasn’t been able to step into his father’s woodshop since he died. Since she too is avoiding Julian, Dahlia gets Ryder to ask him, but Julian refuses to help.

Ryder hires a new carpenter the next day, but Julian immediately decides to fire him when he sees him flirting with Dahlia. Julian overhears Dahlia talking about starting production on a new show in the new year, three months away.

Josefina needs a favor from Julian, which requires him to borrow a truck from the owner of the local rental company and drive it to Detroit. The owner of the company, Fred, hates Julian for ruining his flower bed when he was a teenager. However, Fred loves Dahlia because she was the one who restored the flower bed, so she comes along to get the truck. Afterward, she insists on going with Julian to Detroit, a few hours away, and Julian begrudgingly agrees.

When they arrive in Detroit, Julian and Dahlia find the place they need to visit is closed. When Julian calls his mother, it is clear she already knows this is the case and only asked them to go so they could spend the night together.

Dahlia is surprised when she finds herself actually enjoying Julian’s company. When they check into the hotel rooms that Sam reserved for them, they discover that he only booked one room. As the hotel is entirely booked, they are forced to share a bed for the night, but Dahlia assumes they can be mature about the situation and stick to their respective sides of the bed.

After taking a long time to fall asleep the night before, Julian wakes up with Dahlia’s arm around him, which he tries to enjoy while he can. He wakes up to hear a couple in the adjoining hotel room loudly having sex, and Dahlia begins to poke fun at them by moaning and slamming the bed’s headboard against the wall. She goads Julian into joining in, but things quickly become too serious when Julian imagines having sex with Dahlia. He knows how easily he could ruin their already tenuous relationship.

It is clear to Dahlia that Julian is attracted to her, but the two still circle around their attraction before she suggests having a casual relationship. Though Dahlia is terrified of what will happen, the two set boundaries for a temporary relationship that will be “fun and simple” (236) until the house is done and Dahlia moves back to California in the new year. Julian performs oral sex on Dahlia but refuses to do anything else until her broken arm is healed, and the two agree to keep their affair a secret.

Dahlia and Julian get back to town just in time for the Harvest Festival, where they run into Callahan Kane, Alana’s fiancé and the heir to the country’s biggest media conglomerate. Callahan mentions that his brother’s family is moving to town and that they would like Dahlia to design the property they’re buying, but Julian says that she is busy, hinting at his resentment toward the Kane family.

Dahlia’s agent calls to inform her that Oliver has eloped, likely as a publicity stunt, with his high school sweetheart. Due to the drama, Dahlia’s upcoming show’s network is pulling out of the deal. Not wanting to confront her feelings, Dahlia goes to the local bar, where she meets Lorenzo Vittori.

Julian asks around to try and find Dahlia when he receives a phone call from an unknown number. He recognizes Lorenzo’s voice and hears Dahlia in the background. Lorenzo won’t tell Julian where they are, trying to extort him into letting him buy a property in Lake Wisteria, which is just the first part of Lorenzo’s plan to become mayor of the town.

Julian recognizes the sounds of the bar, where he finds an incredibly inebriated Dahlia. The bartender gets Lorenzo to go, leaving the two of them alone in the bar. Dahlia tells Julian about Oliver’s elopement and the truth about their breakup, explaining that she cannot have children because she carries genes that, if passed down, would cause her child to suffer.