Page 108 of Backhanded Compliments

She loves Juliette’s goofy, broad smile. She loves how Juliette’s fingers trace her cheek, her dimple, the curve of her cupid’s bow. “We’re going to be insufferable, aren’t we?” Juliette asks with a huffed laugh.

Luca rolls her eyes, but the feeling of absolute, inescapable, incandescent love swallows her whole, and she doesn’t mind at all. “We’re already insufferable,” she counters, and she can’t stop smiling, even as Juliette leans in to kiss her again.

FORTY-TWOJULIETTE

Juliette has never been a morning person, but she doesn’t mind waking up next to Luca. Even so, her alarm blares too loud, and she smacks the bedside table to snooze it, sending it spiraling off the edge. She flops back, too sleep-addled to rescue it.

Instead, she turns onto her side and reaches for Luca. Her fingers graze sleep-warmed skin, and she wraps herself around any bit of Luca she can find.

Luca stirs, mumbling something unintelligible. Juliette buries her face into the space between Luca’s shoulder blades and slots their legs together.

Nine minutes later, as Juliette drifts pleasantly in the soft dozing stage of waking up, her phone blares again. She sighs and considers letting it scream on the floor until it eventually stops.

Luca smacks her hip, twisting in her arms. “Turn that off,” she whines.

Juliette huffs. “Fine, fine,” she mutters, nearly rolling off the bed to grab her phone and cancel the alarm. She considers going back to sleep, but she needs another flight to New York. Her father is surely going to want to maim her, but that is far away and unimportant at the moment.

What is important to Juliette is draping herself over Luca and peppering her face with kisses. She tries not to laugh as Luca’s nose scrunches in an adorably affronted way.

“It’s weird to watch someone sleep,” Luca grumbles.

“What were you dreaming about?” Juliette asks, resting her chin on Luca’s shoulder.

Luca sighs. “You.”

“Aw.”

“Letting me sleep in peace,” Luca adds, and Juliette gasps.

“How dare you,” she says, rolling off Luca and crossing her arms over her chest.

“No, I was joking, come back here, you’re warm.” Luca follows her and throws herself over Juliette.

Juliette considers playing hard to get but a loud banging on the door jolts them both out of their playful sleepiness.

“Who is that?” Luca asks, her eyes going wide.

“JULIETTE RICCI. OPEN UP, I KNOW YOU’RE IN THERE.”

Juliette’s heart stops, and she claws her fingers into the sheets.

Livia.

“THIS IS IMPORTANT.” The banging intensifies.

Juliette swings out of the bed, still shocked by Livia pounding on the door at the crack of dawn. She throws the door open and Livia bursts in, slamming the door shut behind her. She’s absolutely manic, panting and flushed as if she’s run a mile in three minutes.

“Livia, what’s going on?” Juliette asks. “And how did you figure out which room was Luca’s?” She glances back toward the bedroom.

“Doesn’t matter,” Livia says, grabbing her wrists. “Why aren’t you in New York?” she demands, her eyes wild and huge.

“Luca, obviously.” Livia squeezes, hard, and she winces. “Ouch, Livie.”

“Fuckingfuck, Jules.” She shakes her head.

“Livie, calm down. Tell me what’s wrong?”

Livia shakes her wrists. “There was a random pop-up drug test for you this morning,” she gasps out.

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