Page 37 of His Juliet

I staredat the massive pile of brand-new clothes on my bed. It had taken multiple trips from the mailroom to bring up all the packages—none with a return address or receipt.

They were all perfect. It was mostly winter clothes—soft, cozy sweaters more luxurious than anything I’d ever owned, fleece-lined leggings, wool socks, and a gorgeous emerald green peacoat. But there were also two pairs of jeansthat fit perfectly, a green jumpsuit that almost felt like velvet, a floor-length black sequin dress with a high slit up the side, and an abundance of lacy bras, underwear, and bodysuits. Tears dripped down my face as I ran my fingers over an especially soft sweater.

Juliet

I can’t keep this

My phone vibrated, but instead of a text, Romeo was calling me. I considered declining the call, but in the end, I answered.

“You’re keeping all of it,” he said, jumping in without small talk. “Unless you don’t like something. Then I’ll get you a replacement.”

“You can’t,” I said weakly.

His low chuckle made me shiver even through the phone. “I certainly can.”

“But this isn’t something friends do.”

“Sure it is, beautiful.”

“Friends buy you piles of lingerie?” I snapped.

“Mmm, I picked those out myself. Do you like them?”

“Romeo,” I said, exasperated.

“Juliet. Be a good girl and saythank you.”

“Thank you.”

He laughed at my sullen tone, and it warmed me from the inside out. I still didn’t feel like I could accept the clothing as a gift from afriend, but it made me feel so special. I blinked as tears dripped down my cheeks.

“Angel?” Romeo’s laugh cut off immediately. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” I sniffed as I wiped my tears.

“Talk to me.” I couldn’t resist his gentle words.

“This is just really thoughtful.” I sniffed again. “And I have no idea how you got my sizes right.”

“I just couldn’t bear to listen to you complain about laundry again.”

A watery laugh burst from my chest and the heaviness lifted. “So this is a selfish gift?”

“Completely selfish.”

I was still smiling when I got off the phone.

18

ROMEO

I fucking hatedhearing Juliet cry, and I hated that she was so overwhelmed by a few pieces of clothing. It just made me want to buy more things for her.

I was glad she hadn’t pushed how I’d known her correct sizes because I certainly wasn’t going to admit to breaking into her apartment while she was at the bookstore and taking pictures of all her clothing tags and sending them to Sienna, who did the bulk of the shopping—besides selecting the lingerie. I did that myself.

It was getting harder and harder to convince myself that Juliet and I were just friends, especially when I woke up hard after having a vivid dream of her modeling her new lingerie for me.

I wanted to cup her gorgeous tits and suck on her nipples. Kiss a line down her soft stomach and spend hours between her thick thighs.

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