Page 109 of Sweet Somethings

"Don't you want to do that?" he asked in surprise. "It's your dessert."

"It's theirs now. I'll leave it to you."

He followed her out of the house. "Juliette, wait. Why are you rushing away?"

"Because," she said with a helpless shrug. "I can't talk to you right now."

"Why not?"

"I don't want you to tell me that you're leaving. And I know you will. Maybe not tonight, or tomorrow, but soon. When I'm not so tired, I'll be able to handle it better. I'll wish you well and offer to throw you a good-bye party and pretend everything is great." Her voice caught, and she had to blink back a sudden welling of tears behind her eyes.

"Hey," he said softly, taking her hand. "Nothing is decided."

"Isn't it, Roman? You're in good shape. You'll go back to the Marines. Maybe it won't be your exact job, but it will be something. I want that for you, because you want it. You're a soldier. That's your life. I just need a little time to…I don't know…sleep." She pulled her hand away from his. "Happy Valentine's Day. I'll see you around."

She walked quickly to her car, hoping he wouldn't follow. She didn't want to cry in front of him.

* * *

As Juliette pulled out of the driveway, he felt torn between going after her and letting her have the space she'd asked for.

He'd seen the emotion in her eyes and knew she was barely holding it together, and he'd hated to see her so vulnerable. He'd wanted to reassure her that whatever was between them wasn't ending, but he didn't want to lie to her.

He didn't know what was going to happen with his job, where he'd be a week from now or a month or a year. The uncertainty had always been okay with him before. He'd never had anyone to worry about except himself.

Still pondering the best move, he went back into the house. He'd just entered the kitchen when his grandfather and Cecelia walked in.

"Roman," his grandfather said with surprise. "I heard someone in here; I thought it was Juliette."

"She just left. I was supposed to bring you the dessert, but you beat me to it."

"Oh, the cake looks lovely," Cecelia said, eying Juliette's latest masterpiece of chocolate and strawberries. "She is so talented. And chocolate and strawberries are my favorite combination." Cecelia turned to Vincent. "You remembered that?"

"We dipped strawberries in chocolate on our second date," he said. "I've never forgotten the look of joy on your face."

"I can't believe you remember that," Cecelia said in wonder.

"I remember a lot of other times, too," he told her.

"So do I," she replied.

As his grandfather and his love exchanged a poignant look, Roman felt very much like a third wheel. He cleared his throat. "I'm going to get out of your way and let you enjoy your night."

"You can stay and have cake with us," Cecelia suggested.

"No, he can't," Vincent said, shaking his head.

Roman laughed. "I really can't." The last thing he wanted to do was cramp his grandfather's style.

"You don't have a date tonight with Juliette?" Cecelia asked, giving him a speculative look.

"She's about to collapse from all the baking."

"Oh, I'm sure that's true. But I bet she'd still like to spend some time with you."

"She actually told me she wanted to go home and sleep," he said. "Anyway, you two have fun."

"Tell Juliette thank you," Cecelia said. "Not just for the cake, but for everything. When you see her," she added with a mischievous smile.

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