Page 142 of When You Blush
I wasn’t kidding earlier. I’d do a lot of illegal things for the chopped chef salad that Juliet keeps stocked in her grab-and-go section, which I grab two of, along with some bread for sandwiches and some chocolate chip cookies.
“What do you want to grab?” I ask Blake, holding my finds to my chest like they’re my treasure and I refuse to share.
Because that’s exactly what they are.
He smirks and grabs his own salad. We approach the counter to pay, but I frown when I see Juliet brush a tear from her cheek before forcing a smile at us.
“Hey, guys.”
“Whoa. What’s wrong?” I set my stuff down and walk around the counter, not giving a shit that I don’t even work here, and take her hand. “Who do I have to kill?”
Jules shakes her head and sniffs. “No one. I’m fine. You seriously love that salad.”
“Who made you cry?” I ask her, not giving in, and she side-eyes Blake, and I immediately know. “Ah. A stubborn Blackwell man.”
“I haven’t evenseenJules,” Blake insists, making us both chuckle.
“I had to call a tow truck this morning,” she says, and Blake nods. “He wasn’t happy about that.”
“You know, you live here, too,” I tell her. “You can’t just hide from him and stay out of his way so you don’t piss him off. I don’t know what the story is there, but it’s not fair of him to expect you not to live your life, Juliet.”
“Yeah, it is,” she whispers, then shakes her head. “I’m going to be just fine. Thanks for asking, though. It means a lot. I don’t have a lot of friends here anymore.”
“I’m your friend,” I remind her. “Ava is, too. I like Brooks, and his brother is mine, but that doesn’t mean I can’t be a good friend to you, too. Now, ring me up because I’m starving, and if I don’t eat that salad in the next thirty minutes, I will become someone who Blake doesn’t want to see.”
Jules laughs and bags up our food but shakes her head when we try to pay.
“Enjoy it. You made me feel better, and that’s all the payment I need today.”
“Jules,” Blake begins, but she shakes her head.
“I won’t take your money today.” She winks, and more customers file in behind us, and we leave so she can get back to work.
“I hate that,” I mutter when we’re back in the car headed home. “Brooks isn’t a mean guy.”
“He can be an asshole,” Blake says. “But no, not as a rule. He’s stubborn when it comes to her.”
“Blake, I like her a lot. She’s my friend. Is that going to be a problem?”
“Not for me.” He pulls my hand up and kisses myknuckles. “I like her too. But there’s more there than either of us knows about it. And at the end of the day, it’s none of our business.”
“I know. I feel bad for them.” I clear my throat and shift in the seat. My side is a little better today, but this hip is aching like a bitch.
When we get home, we eat our lunch and then end up on the couch to watch a movie and make out.
It’s not a bad way to spend an afternoon.
Chapter Thirty-Four
BLAKE
“How are you feeling, sugar?”
Harper’s fixing her makeup in our bathroom, and I brace my hands on the counter on either side of her hips and press my lips to her bare shoulder. She’s in a gorgeous little green sundress that doesn’t have any straps, showing off her toned and tanned shoulders, and fuck if I can keep my hands, or my lips, to myself. She smells amazing, like roses and clean air. I could breathe her in all fucking day.
“I’m nervous,” she admits, meeting my gaze in the mirror. I wrap my arms around her and tug her against me and press my lips to the crown of her head. “I kind of liked having this secret to ourselves for a while. For the most part, anyway.”
Come to find out, when Harper and my sister found out they were pregnant a month ago, Ava claimed Harper’s test as her own to take the focus off my girl and to buyher time.
