Esme ran into the room not long afterward, dressed in sparkly black leggings and a fluffy green jumper, her hair in two small braids. “Hi Juliet!” She threw her arms around Juliet.
Juliet hugged her back. “Cereal, right?”
“Yup. Plus milk to drink.”
“Got it.”
The coffee had just finished perking and Esme was already eating her cereal when Jake walked into the kitchen with Esme’s backpack. He paused at seeing his smoothie waiting for him, then—after placing the bag by the door—came around the counter to give Juliet a big kiss. “Thanks, Jules.” He poured a coffee and handed it to her. “Toast?”
“I’ve got it going.” She ate a piece of crust left over from cutting Esme’s sandwich. “Can you check?” She passed over the lunchbox. “I don’t want to have missed anything.”
Jake opened the lid and smiled. “She’ll get a kick out of that,” he said about the sandwiches. “You just missed her juice box. It goes here.” He pointed out the spot she’d thought must be for an extra snack.
“B plus?” she suggested.
Rubbing his shaved-clean jaw, he said, “Nah, I’m not a tough grader like you. A minus.”
Dear Lord but he was gorgeous when he was being playful. Leaning in, she kissed that jaw that had been bristly last night, scraping over her in delicious ways. “Talking of grading, I haven’t showed you my oral skills yet.” She flicked her tongue against his skin.
He groaned. “You’re a devil woman.”
She went to say that was why he loved her… but Jake had never said those words.
“Jules!” Esme was waving her milk cup. “I finished!”
“Wow, that was fast!” Juliet swiveled. “Your dad and I better hurry up.”
But it turned out they didn’t have to hurry—having Juliet taking charge of meal prep while Jake got Esme ready had bought them time, and they sat together at the table for a few minutes, talking and finishing up breakfast before Jake rose to walk Esme to school. “You can take my car,” he said, passing Juliet his keys. “Price is a kiss.”
Juliet paid it gladly.
Afterward, she bent down to hug and kiss Esme. “Have a great day at school. Make sure you show your teacher your special travel book with all your notes, and don’t forget to hand in your homework. I’ll see you tonight.”
It was as Jake was walking out the door with Esme that he turned around and, dark eyes intent, said, “Hey, Jules—you make sure you call me if anything happens.”
The world shimmered in front of her before settling into its new form where she had someone who belonged to her, someone for whom she was a priority. “I will,” she promised, her voice husky.
Reid had said “I love you” weeks after meeting her.
Jake had never said it.
But words were easy. Having a man who stood by her, a steady, loyal presence who’d face the world with her, come what may? That was real, that was what mattered.
Juliet’s eyes burned, her heart full.
33
Game On
Juliet didn’t look up the news and gossip sites until she was at her desk at work. As expected, Reid was firing off a few cheap shots, but his attempts were no longer gaining much traction—not with everyone fascinated by Jake and Juliet’s emergence as a couple. One reporter had managed to dig up an old school photo that featured all three of them—Jake, Calypso, and Juliet.
Her heart ached. “Miss you, Cals,” she murmured under her breath. “Hope you’re good with me and Jake.”
An unseasonably warm wind blew through the open window, brushing the scent of freesias across her face. Throat thick, she said, “Thanks. I promise I’ll love him and your baby.” Could be the landscaper who looked after these premises had planted them downstairs, but freesias had been Callie’s favorite flower, and on the day of her death—before Juliet had ever learned that her friend was gone—she’d been standing on a rocky beach in Samoa when she was enfolded in the scent of freesias.
Callie, saying goodbye.
Believing her friend was in a better place, from which she occasionally dropped by to watch over them, Juliet took a deep breath in readiness to start work. That was when she recalled what Alison had said about Jake’s lost laughter and found herself clicking to another site, one she’d learned about during a previous promotional campaign. She was buying the tickets before she could second-guess herself.
The tickets weren’t for till after his training camp and the big game to follow, so she’d keep them to give him after. No point distracting him in the lead-up. If he decided not to use them, she knew people in the office who’d love them.
Then she got to work, ignoring any and all calls from the media. Of course they were waiting outside when she walked to Jake’s car after work, but she kept her comments short, not giving them anything new. As she drove to Jake’s, she thought about her house, all her things.
The idea of letting it go at some point in the future was a tough one. It had taken her so much hard work to afford her own place. Part of her also remained scared that Jake would change his mind, decide she was too much trouble. It’d probably take her years to get over that. Maybe she could rent her place out so it wouldn’t be such a big deal if she and Jake didn’t make it.
Who’re you kidding, Jules? It’ll be a big freaking deal regardless. You’ll be devastated.
“Shut up,” she muttered to that bluntly honest voice.
A big, black SUV she didn’t recognize was sitting in the drive when she arrived home. Parking behind it, she got out.
“Juliet!” Charlie, dressed for work in a slimline gray dress that did spectacular things for her petite body, ran over.
Joy welling up at the sight of her friend, a friend with the same gentle heart as Calypso, Juliet hugged her close. “What’re you doing here?”
“We wanted to catch up. We brought dinner.”
Again, Juliet found herself in a kitchen full of conversation and laughter. Esme was playing on the swing outside but ran in every so often to check on things before running back. Gabriel, big in every way, gave Juliet a hug when she walked in, and though she was startled, she hugged him back. He was part of the family, she realized, a family by which she’d been embraced.
“Tell me about your honeymoon,” she said to Charlotte afterward.
As Charlotte regaled Juliet about the pleasures of sun and snorkeling and laziness, followed by what appeared to have been a lovely visit with the Samoa-based Esera grandparents, Jake spoke to Gabriel about the New York shoot. At one point, she heard him relaying the story about the female model and how Juliet had “spanked” the ad exec, and there was so much pride in his voice that she felt ten feet tall.
The dinner that followed was as full of laughter and conversation, with Jake ragging his brother on his workaholic ways. “If you tell me you didn’t work the whole honeymoon, I’ll eat my manky old running shoe.”
“We negotiated a contract beforehand,” Gabriel said, his arm braced on the back of Charlotte’s chair. “I got two hours a day to clear major issues. I picked up the phone again at my peril—my wife would not have been amused.” His smile was sinful as he looked at Charlotte.