Page 44 of Accidental Husband
"You realize they're mocking you?" Chloe asks.
"Yeah, but they're still talking about me," he says. "That's a win."
She laughs in thatI love how ridiculous you areway of hers.
"Sunshine, you keep doing that, and I'm going to get hard." He pulls her onto his lap.
She squeals as she wraps her arm around his shoulders. "Here?"
He nodshell yeah.
She shoots Jules an apologetic look. "I can't take him anywhere."
"Damn straight." Dean sets her back in her seat—their side of the table is a booth—and blows her a kiss. "Juliette, you look good too. Not as good as my man, Griff, but you clean up pretty nice yourself."
"Oh, thanks." She unravels her napkin and lays it in her lap.
"You may have shit taste in music, but you have good taste in friends," Dean says.
Which is his idea of a compliment.
"Are you talking about yourself?" Chloe's nose scrunches in confusion. "Even for you—"
"Talking about Mister Aloof over here." He motions to me. "Doesn't he look extra mysterious in his suit?"
Chloe nodstrue.
"Thanks, I think." Jules crosses one leg over the other. "But I'd really rather not talk about me."
"Luckily for you, Dean loves talking about himself," Chloe teases.
"Love talking about interesting subjects." Dean motions to me and Jules. "How long have you been friends?"
"Since third grade," I say.
"Fourth," she says. "You didn't talk to me in third grade."
"I did. You just didn't talk back," I say.
She shakes her headno way.
Dean smiles. "You met in school?"
"Yeah, on a group project," Jules says. "I did the written part. He did the drawing. It was worse than you'd expect, considering." Her fingers brush the tattoo on the inside of my wrist. The one I got for her. The one that mirrors hers.This too will pass.
Cheesy shit.
But perfect.
She had a secret, one that was a weight around her neck. I figured it out. God, I was so fucking angry that she was hurting like that. That I hadn't seen it. That I didn't help.
I was an asshole. Made it all about my pain and my failure. About how I didn't see it. About how she betrayed me by lying to me. About how I couldn't handle it.
She was the one who was drowning.
She needed help, acceptance, support, not my stupid ego insisting I had the right to every one of her secrets.
Once I got over myself, I drew up the design for her. It was the only way I could explain how I felt about her.
