It was to be one of the busiest days of their trip, including a couple of meet and greets with the head honchos of the new retailer, as well as shooting for both still and moving ads. Turned out he’d be strutting his stuff above Times Square, not just staring down at it.
Juliet grinned at him when he groaned at that little bombshell.
“The other side wanted dinner too,” she said, “but I made it clear that they were already pushing the hours they’re asking of you. Also, where you go, Esme goes.” She tugged on Esme’s messed-up ponytail.
“Yeah,” his daughter said firmly. “Daddy go, I go!”
“So we’re going to do the meal at lunch instead.” Juliet placed a kiss on Esme’s tousled head. “Esme can come, but sweetie, you’ll have to bring your bag with books and games so you don’t get bored. That okay with you?”
Esme gave Juliet a solemn look, then patted her on the cheek. “I like you, Jules.” A dazzling smile. “I’m gonna put on my glasses and pack my bag now.” Tumbling off Juliet’s lap, she ran into her room to organize.
Jake raised an eyebrow at Juliet. We still doing this? he asked silently, his entire body tense.
“Don’t blame me when it goes down in flames.” A bad-tempered mutter.
Good thing he knew his Jules, knew she hid fear and worry behind an armor of prickles. But even as he took his first real breath since she’d left the room, she glanced quickly over her shoulder toward Esme’s room. “Not in front of Esme though, right?”
Jake had never introduced any of the women he’d dated to his daughter. He’d always meant to do it once the relationship got serious enough, but nothing had ever reached that point. This, with Juliet, was definitely at that point, the idea of a life without her in it no longer acceptable to Jake, but first, they had to figure this out between adults.
“Yes,” he said. “Not in front of Esme. You understand why?” After learning how she’d been treated by her family, he never wanted Juliet to feel rejected.
“Of course I do.” No tension in her, nothing but an active and protective acceptance. “It’ll hurt her if she gets attached that way and we can’t make it work.”
“Keeping things from her is going to make things interesting.” Esme was a smart cookie, and she was going to be attached at the hip to them this entire trip.
“I hear parents have trouble finding privacy for sexy times,” Juliet said with a straight face. “I’ll consider this a glimpse into an alien world.”
“Hah.” But he was smiling. She did that to him. Juliet. Jules.
His daughter reappeared, backpack on. “See?” She spun around to display the princess’s sparkly face. “I’m ready!”
The next morning went well. Esme was a touch quiet, but they got through the meet and greets without problem. Having been forewarned, the relevant parties had set up the meetings in rooms with glass walls so Esme could play directly outside, beside the admin staff, and Jake could keep an eye on her the entire time.
It might not be how business was usually done, but Jake was who he was, and he was giving these people more time than they were contractually entitled to in return, so it wasn’t as if they weren’t coming out better off in the deal.
Esme chatted away to the staff for the first half of the day, but post-lunch, she sat quietly reading her book.
In the car on the way to the photo shoot, he said, “Boo, you feeling okay?”
Shaking her head, she leaned into him.
He tested her temperature with the back of his hand. She didn’t feel hot. On her other side, Juliet ran her hand down Esme’s back and shot him a worried look.
Turning from Jake, Esme snuggled into Juliet… and promptly threw up all over her lap.
“Sorry,” she said afterward, her eyes welling up as her lower lip quivered.
Sensing real distress, Jake went to snuggle her in his lap but Juliet was already cupping her face in her hands and smiling. “Baby, don’t be sad. You didn’t mean to do that. You’re sick.”
“I feel better now,” Esme said with a smile.
Jake exhaled quietly and told the driver to detour to their hotel. Then he grabbed a wad of tissues from the courtesy packet wedged in the back of the driver’s seat and handed it to Juliet along with a small bottle of water provided by the driver. He also used the opportunity to clean up Esme. She hadn’t gotten a spot on her dress, so all he had to do was wipe her mouth.
Meanwhile, Juliet cleaned herself up as best she could while keeping up a light patter to distract Esme, who—despite Juliet’s words—was despondent about messing up Juliet’s dress.
“It’ll wash out,” Juliet told her. “And now I get to wear another outfit. Want to help me choose?”
Esme nodded, her spark starting to come back. He’d keep an eye on her, but from past experience, he had a feeling she’d eaten something at lunch that didn’t agree with her and was feeling better now that she’d thrown it up. He made a note to more closely monitor her food intake tomorrow—he’d let her choose what she wanted from the lunch spread today because this trip was a treat with relaxed rules.
For now, he made her drink some water to replace her fluids, then caught Juliet’s eye. Thank you, he mouthed, because her response had led to his daughter’s smile.
A scowl was his reward.
Because Juliet was insulted that he’d think she’d have any other response. His Jules had grown up without love and affection. Instead of allowing that to harden her, she understood the value of being shown such softness. Esme would never want for a pair of loving arms or an affectionate word while with her.
Heart expanding on a rush of nameless emotion, Jake found a plastic bag he’d put in the side pocket of Esme’s backpack—because there was always need for one with a six-year-old—and got Juliet to put the dirty tissues in there. Her dress remained a mess, but at least she could walk now without dripping.
“Let me call the studio and tell them we’ll be delayed.” She made the call a couple of seconds later, her voice friendly but professional.
They arrived at the hotel soon afterward.
“Esme,” she whispered, “walk in front of me so no one can see the stain.”
Giggling, his daughter took up position, and Juliet put one hand on her shoulder. Jake also used his body to block others from seeing Juliet, and they were soon in the elevator. While Esme skipped into Juliet’s room with her, he waited in the corridor. And tortured himself with memories of Juliet’s naked curves.
The two of them stepped out only eight minutes later. Juliet now wore a hot red dress tailored to fit her body. It was very much a professional dress—but va-va-voom was an understatement.
“Look, Daddy! I picked Juliet’s dress!”
“Baby girl, you have excellent taste.” He wanted to wolf whistle, and Jacob Esera did not wolf whistle. “You look gorgeous, Jules.”
Juliet ducked her head slightly, a flustered kind of expression on her face, and oh fuck, it was adorable.
But then she smiled, and it dazzled him even more. “Let’s go, team. We have work to do.”
Jake grumbled the whole way to the photoshoot, but Juliet and Esme had a grand time once there.