Page 86 of Any Kind of Life

“Of course.” The woman reached under the counter and smiled. “Done. But there is a fifteen-minute delay on it. You won’t be able to leave until that time runs out.”

Great. Now Juliet was locked inside a store and couldn’t get out when she needed to. This was a nightmare. She quickly unlocked Paige’s phone and sent a message to Henry.

Can you pick us up from the jewellers on Finch Street. ASAP. Someone is taking our picture!

Juliet locked Paige’s phone and shoved it in her pocket. A day that was supposed to be beautiful and unexpectedly romantic was turning out to be just another day filled with shit.

“I know him!” the woman spoke up suddenly as she peered through the window. “It’s one of those bloody paparazzi!”

“I’m sorry?” Paige followed her to the window. “How do you know that?”

“Had a footballer and his wife in a couple of weeks ago. He bloody hounded the poor couple from the moment they arrived. I had to clear the place for them and let them out the back door.”

Paige sighed. “You hear that, babe? It’s just paparazzi.”

Juliet didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. This feeling of being constantly on edge was really tiring her out. She turned to Paige and the store owner. “Are you sure?”

“Yes, love. I had to ask him to leave once they’d escaped out the back. I don’t know why he’s here now, though. Maybe because of your news articles?”

Juliet smiled. “No, he’s not here for me. He’s here for my fiancée.”

Paige groaned and turned away. “I’m not starting all this shit. I’m not being chased down the street. I was a fucking support act. Nothing more.”

“A support act who is seeing record numbers of downloads and streams. Don’t sell yourself short, Paige. You’ve earned the right to be known.”

“Well, I don’t want to be known. I just want to come into stores and buy you nice jewellery.”

Juliet grinned as she looked out of the window. The paparazzi was sitting on a wall across the street, waiting to pounce again. “Maybe we should escape out the back door, too. He’ll be sitting there a while before he realises we’ve gone.”

Paige took the small bag from the counter and shoved her receipt in her wallet. “Good idea. Can we do that, um…”

“Ivy. And of course you can.” Ivy cocked her head towards the back of the small store. “Follow me, ladies. I’ll get you out of here no problem.”

And just like that, the good people of Liverpool came through for them.

Chapter 30

Today feels different.

Paige stared up at the ceiling—alone again—but feeling…different. She couldn’t put her finger on why she felt that way, she had barely opened her eyes, but the atmosphere had changed since last night when they’d got home from ring shopping. Juliet seemed far more relaxed, their evening reminiscent of the days before Paige had gone back on tour. The days before everything became heavy and uncertain. The days before the trauma Cara caused.

She rolled from the bed, pulled a hoodie over her head, and approached the open bedroom door. The first thing she noticed was the scent of perfume in the air. Then she got a waft of coffee. What the hell was going on? She glanced back over her shoulder and eyed the clock on the nightstand. It was ten a.m., and the apartment felt as though it had some life back in it.

“Babe?” Paige strolled out of the bedroom, not wanting to make a big deal out of whatever was going on. Juliet came from the main bathroom with a smile plastered on her mouth. “Hey.”

“Good morning, sleepyhead.”

Paige wanted to play it cool, but Juliet was dressed, wearing makeup, and looking as fine as ever. “Do we have plans that I don’t know about?”

“We do have plans, but there’s no rush. Take your time.”

Ah. Juliet had spent the night tossing and turning again. She had probably decided to get dressed purely for something to do. “Bad night again?” Paige moved towards Juliet and took her hand. “I don’t know how many times I have to tell you to wake me up.”

Juliet fixed her earrings in place and smiled. “I slept right through. I actually woke up with a crick in my neck because I didn’t once move in the night.”

Paige’s brows rose. “Oh. That’s…amazing.”

“I certainly feel better for it, but I have a feeling I’m going to be catching up on a lot of sleep in the coming weeks.”

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