Page 23 of Backhanded Compliments

Remi waggles her brows like she’s twelve again. “Did you?” she asks impatiently.

As if she has any right to know.

“Why would you ask that? And why would I tell you?” Juliette grinds out.

Remi grins. “So, you did.”

“No!” Anger burns in the back of her throat, and she’s sure a flush is crawling across her face. “I will not be sleeping with Luca Kacic,” she clarifies sharply.

Remi raises an eyebrow, judgmental and thoroughly unconvincedat the same time. “She is your soulmate, isn’t she?” Her chin jerks down to Juliette’s left arm.

“None of your business,” Juliette snaps. So this is why Remi is suddenly interested in her. All for the gossip and drama.

Remi, having perfected the art of looking extremely skeptical and also completely sympathetic, gives her a look. “Sex with your soulmate is nice, that’s all I’m saying.”

There is a sudden quiet tenderness to Remi’s voice that makes Juliette pause. She blinks, suddenly uncomfortable with how weirdly open Remi is being. She has been dodging questions about her soulmate for years, even though she’s confirmed she’s in a relationship. “You found your soulmate?”

Remi shakes her head. “Oh, no. You do not get to ask questions about me when you’re in denial.”

“I hate Kacic,” Juliette says, but it sounds lame, even to her.

“Right,” Remi says slowly, drawing out the word.

The sound of footsteps approaching ends the conversation, so Juliette doesn’t dignify Remi with a response.

Zoe rounds the corner with Kacic, her hands moving animatedly as she tells Kacic something. As if drawn by magnets, Kacic’s eyes slide to Juliette and her lashes flutter as she blinks rapidly. She’s wearing a bikini now, stark black against her pale skin, and Juliette forces herself to look away.

“Hey, girls,” Zoe says, leaning on the couch back, close to Juliette. Her long, sable-black hair tumbles over her shoulder. Her dark brown eyes are brighter now compared to before, and she arches one bushy but artfully manicured brow.

“How was your flight?” Juliette asks.

Zoe shakes her head. “Didn’t take a flight. A train from London.” She fiddles with the gold rings on her fingers. “Long but peaceful.”

Maybe Juliette could do that to avoid planes.

Zoe looks from Juliette to Remi. “We’re heading to the beach. Want to come?”

Remi hops to her feet. “Oh, hell yeah. I need some sun.” She stretches, her crop top riding up. Juliette glances behind Zoe to seeKacic standing by the kitchen island. She fidgets with her fingers, a nervous tick, perhaps. One Juliette has never noticed because she usually sees Kacic with a racket in her hand.

“I’ll join later. I need to get something to Livia.” Juliette glances down to see her files have loaded and Lightroom is up and running.

“Don’t wait too long. It’s gorgeous out,” Zoe says.

Juliette glances back at Kacic, noticing all the uneven tan lines that fade from cream to tan, a gradient in some places. “Don’t forget sunscreen,” she tells Kacic. “You’ll need it.”

Kacic frowns, a wrinkle appearing between her brows. “I haven’t forgotten.” She sniffs, looking away. She shuffles her straight honey-brown hair over her shoulder, pulling her sunglasses down from the top of her head and onto her face.

Juliette rolls her eyes and pulls her headphones back on, cranking up the music. She feels the heat of Kacic’s gaze on her, even long after she leaves.

TWELVEJULIETTE

Juliette doesn’t go to the beach. The idea of having to interact with others when her head is stuffed to the brim with confusing thoughts of Kacic seems like torture. Especially when Kacic is going to be there, sweaty and wearing hardly any clothes.

Instead, she finishes editing her photos and shoots them off to Livia, who responds within nanoseconds with the winky face emoji. Then she spends time on the loungers by the pool, soaking in the sun. She must have fallen asleep, because she wakes up to the sound of laughter carrying up the path, and the sun has slunk beneath the trees, honeyed orange rays blinding her.

She rubs her eyes and sits up in time to see Leo carrying Octavia on his back. She is grinning more than Juliette has seen in months, and her usually straight ironed glossy hair is curling from the sea salt. Claudia has her arm threaded through Remi’s, and they skip toward the house.

Zoe is talking to Kacic, and she says something that makes Kacic laugh. A sharp feeling carves through Juliette’s stomach, like she’s missed a stair. Kacic’s smile is luminous, something carefree in the honking noise of her laughter.

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