Page 41 of Rebel Heart
Love.
This was what love was.
How could Beau not know what that was like? Worse, how did he feel inside to think it didn’t exist?
“It was a miscommunication,” I explained. “It’s okay. I’m going to be fine.”
I wasn’t quite sure I believed all that just yet, but I didn’t want them thinking the worst and doing anything crazy as a result.
“Jules?” Liam called.
I turned my attention to him. “Yeah?”
“Are you sure that you’re okay?”
“I will be,” I whispered.
He smiled. “Good. Now, it’s your birthday, so I can’t see anyone here upset. What do we have to do to turn this around?”
Of all my brothers, I was closest with Liam. And I was so grateful he found a way to ease the tension.
I grinned. “You could hand the babies over and go do some manly fighting thing in the pool.”
Liam looked at Rosie, who was still tucked safely in his arms. Then he glanced at Marco, who was holding Jack. “You heard the lady. We’ve got to hand over the babies.”
My brother brought Rosie over to me, and she must have known I needed her cuddles, because she didn’t put up a fight. Marco passed Jack to Ivy, and Cooper brought Lily over to Skye, so she could nurse under the shade of the umbrella.
Then they returned to the pool and didn’t hesitate to be just rowdy enough to keep us entertained.
It wasn’t until I was back home much later that night that I decided to take Layla’s advice and give Beau some grace. I responded to his text, but I didn’t give him much.
JULES
Thank you for the birthday wishes. I had a good day.
Having not slept well for a few nights, I was asleep before I got a response.
11
BEAU
“So,do you want to tell me what this visit was really about?”
Apparently, I was doing a lousy job of hiding what was going on inside my head. Even though I’d been caught, I pretended I had not a clue what Jamie was getting at. “What makes you think it was anything other than what I said it was? Can’t I just want to spend some time with my friend who’s had a difficult time recently, doing that while getting in a good workout?”
Jamie narrowed his eyes on me. “I’ve been perfectly fine lately. I’m not still hung up on Sarah. And you have your own gym at home to workout in, so I know there’s something else going on.”
I should’ve just come right out with it. Instead, I prolonged the inevitable just a bit longer. “Well, I did want to tell you about the call I had with Wes Blackman.”
Surprise littered my friend’s features. “Oh? What did he have to say?”
Wes Blackman was the owner of Blackman Boards, the brand that sponsored my friends and me for skating.
“He wanted to talk about the upcoming mini demo tour we’ve got scheduled,” I shared. “Apparently, he’s planning to make it out to one of the stops.”
“No kidding? It’ll be cool to see Wes again. It’s been a while since we last saw him.”
I nodded my agreement. “I said the same thing to him. Wes is looking forward to seeing everyone, too. He said we could thank his wife, Charley, for the visit. Evidently, she’s been dying to take a trip to New York City, and now that their kids are grown, he figured the demo would give him the perfect opportunity to make that happen.”
