Page 74 of Secret Submission

That startled a laugh out of Julie, which helped undo a few of the knots that had formed in her stomach the moment she’d read Connor’s message. She did want to talk to him. Should she go downstairs? Was it better to do it in a public space or wait until they were in private? She didn’t want to interrupt his time with his friends.

Pressing her lips together, she texted him back, letting him know that she was upstairs and that she could come down to talk or she could call him later if he let her know when he was home.

“I do think it’s a little different than with John,” Camille said thoughtfully, making Julie sigh again.

“I know it’s different. He was doing it for me. But like I just told Law, good intentions matter, but they aren’t everything. I am grateful for the effort he put forward in impressing my family, but I’m still mad he didn’t listen to me when I said we needed to leave. Especially since he knew how I’ve handled my parents in the past.”

“Valid.” Camille gave her a sympathetic look. “I just really want you guys to work out. He’s made you happy.”

“He has. We just… we need to talk. He needs to know it’s not okay to do that again.”

“And he needs to know to prioritize you and what you want over what he wants when it comes to your family,” Olivia added. “Connor’s first instinct is for people to like him, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but I’d be willing to bet he realized if he left with you, your parents might not like him. Add that into the idea that they might like your ex more than him… That would be hard for him to deal with. But that doesn’t mean it’s more important than how you choose to deal with your family or what you want to do in regard to them.”

“Exactly.” Julie sighed. It was such a relief to hear her own thoughts coming out of Olivia’s mouth, soothing away some of the self-doubt Law had stirred up in her.

Her phone beeped with another text message.

Connor: If you want to come down and talk, I’d love to see you. Or I can let you know when I get home. Whichever you’re more comfortable with.

That answer helped relax even more of her tension. He was giving her the reins of control, letting her know his needs, then leaving the decision up to her. Exactly what he hadn’t done at her parents’.

Maybe things would work out after all.

29

Connor

“Ah, shit.” Connor stared at the text message on his phone. “Julie’s upstairs.” And offering to either come downstairs or to call him later, which wasn’t the problem.

“So? Oh, did you not want to see her?” Asad asked, frowning at him. “I thought you did want to see her.”

“He does, but remember who else went upstairs as soon as we got here?” Q asked, tilting his head significantly at Asad. It only took a moment for the light bulb to go off in Asad’s head.

“Oh… oh.” Asad turned his head toward the back of the restaurant, where the stairs to the second floor were, as though he might be able to see through the walls and up to where Law and Iris had gone. “I thought they went up there cuz… you know.” He tilted his head in the opposite direction without looking, so as not to draw attention from the booth he was indicating.

Asad and Q had known that Morgan and Sam were going out tonight with Noelle, Amy, and Marissa; they just hadn’t realized the women were going to be here until they’d also arrived for dinner. Noelle had immediately shot a dirty look at Iris, then Iris and Law had gone upstairs, so Asad probably wasn’t wrong.

“That might have been why, but…” Connor couldn’t shake the feeling that Law would probably say something to Julie if he saw her. It had been all his friends could do to convince Connor to come out tonight. The main reason he’d agreed was because it would be a helpful distraction, rather than sitting around waiting for Julie to get in contact with him.

Now, he wished he’d stayed home.

But he did text her back, letting her know he would talk to her wherever and however she was comfortable. If she didn’t want to come downstairs and talk to him at the Marquis bar while his friends were here, he couldn’t blame her. And he fought the impulse to immediately leave and go home so she could call him.

She was here, too, which meant she might not be able to talk right away and then he’d just be sitting at home waiting, and not doing that was the entire reason he’d come out tonight in the first place.

“Five bucks Law couldn’t keep his mouth to himself,” Asad said, catching Connor’s drift.

“You’re on,” Q replied, reaching out to shake his hand and seal the deal. “He knows not to get involved in another couple’s business.”

Asad snorted, releasing Q’s hand.

“Yeah, but it’s Connor. Law’s gone all uber protective because he’s worried about Connor’s balls. And also the fact that he’s a people pleaser.” Asad glanced at Connor. “Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but sometimes you go a little far with it and ignore what you need.”

“I…” Connor cut off what he was going to say, frowning. It was hard to argue with facts. He knew he liked to make people happy. He knew that sometimes he felt like he’d been taken advantage of. Or he’d get resentful when people didn’t appreciate the fact that he’d bent over backward for them.

That had been part of the problem yesterday.

He’d had that feeling of ‘but look at everything I did for you.’ He’d been thinking about that today. He’d been feeling resentful that Julie hadn’t appreciated everything he’d done for her yesterday… but the inescapable fact that she hadn’t asked him to do those things kept popping into his head.

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