Page 58 of His Juliet

My mind went blank as I tried to think of a good excuse.

“The phonebook,” I blurted out.

Juliet stayed silent for several excruciating seconds. “They still make those?”

I nodded vigorously.

“Riiight. So… did you need something?”

I ran my fingers through my hair. How was it I could keep my cool in front of deadly syndicate leaders, but one minute in Juliet’s presence turned me into a bumbling idiot?

“I was in the neighborhood.” I gestured at her hallway as if to demonstrate whatin the neighborhoodmeant. “And I was thinking of you and wondering how you were celebrating Christmas.” When she didn’t say anything, I added, “I texted you but didn’t hear back.”

Juliet bit her lip and I was sure she was going to tell me to fuck off, but then she opened the door a bit wider. “Do you want to come in?”

I let out a relieved breath. “Yes.” I pushed inside and closed the door before she could change her mind. Of course I’d been in this apartment before, but Juliet didn’t know that.

“Nice place.” It was not nice. Water stains and years of caked paint lined the walls, which were so thin I could hear her neighbor moving around in the next apartment.

Juliet crinkled her nose. “Thanks.” She crossed her arms and my eyes immediately went to her boobs. Her sweatshirt was oversized but if I had to guess, she wasn’t wearing a bra. I forced my eyes away. Must focus.

“Can I get you something?” she asked.

“Oh, no.”

Awkward silence descended upon us as we stood, staring at each other. Literal torture wasn’t as bad as this—standing uselessly in front of Juliet, who definitely looked like she was crying, in her shitty apartment. I cast my eyes around for something to say. Her apartment was a studio—just one large room with a small bed in the corner, a worn loveseat, a folding card table with a microwave balanced on it, a single chair, and a kitchenette. My brow furrowed when I realized there was no TV.

“What do you do for fun? There’s no TV.”

She shrugged. “I mostly read.”

“Doesn’t that get boring?”

Her jaw dropped. “You didnotjust say reading is boring.”

My lips twitched at her sass. “Who would say such a thing? But you need some variety in your life.” A plan was quickly forming, something I could do to make things better for Juliet. I whipped out my phone and shot off a text.

“Have you eaten dinner?”

“I… Romeo, what are you doing here? I appreciate you wanting to wish me a Merry Christmas, but I’m sure you have better places to be.”

I swallowed hard around the lump in my throat. “No, stellina. I don’t have anywhere better to be. I want to spend the rest of my Christmas with you, if you’ll have me.”

Her cheeks turned pink and she hugged herself tighter. “Oh. Okay,” she whispered.

“Now, what should we order for dinner?”

“It’s Christmas. Everything’s closed.”

I grinned. “It’s New York City. Things are always open.”

I headed over to the loveseat and sat down, patting the cushion next to me. Juliet shuffled over in her pink fuzzy socks and gingerly sat beside me.

“Do you like Chinese food?”

She nodded, and I showed her my phone screen. “Add what you like, angel.”

She took my phone like it was a loaded bomb and added a single dish to the cart before handing it back. I huffed and added six more things before placing the order.

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