Page 178 of Alive At Night

“And why’s that?” I jumped on the opportunity to ask the very thing I’d wanted to know for months.

Gemma bit down on her lip, debating whether or not to tell me. But after a few seconds, she gave in. “It’s mostly anxiety, nerves. Makes her lose her appetite. I think she gets so in her head about not fitting in or being wanted, about people not liking her…”

Her words drifted away, letting me figure out the rest on my own. And I did, my thoughts chasing down memories of all the times I’d urged Juni to eat something. At the football game when I’d introduced her to Noah, on the way to Sofia’s wedding, at Sofia’s wedding…

The early days in the office with me.

I made her nervous. Sharing an office with me made her nervous because she thought I hated it, hated being around her.

But I only hated it because I knew I wouldn’t fucking survive being that close to Juniper day in and day out. I knew all our walls would come crumbling down, and they had been the only thing keeping the status quo intact.

“I thought she’d be really nervous about Sofia coming or about the relationship reveal,” Gemma mused. “But I guess not.”

“I guess not,” I muttered, my eyes tracking Juniper’s movements and her bright smile again.

Later, after dinner and drinks and a round of long-winded goodbyes, I had to snatch Juniper from the upstairs hallway. She kept hovering in the doorway to Josie and Gianna’s room, chatting endlessly with them, and I was tired of waiting.

“Say goodnight,” I whispered in her ear before barely giving her a chance to do it and whisking her away.

Juni protested weakly as I brought her into my childhood bedroom, leading her to my bed. She wore the same pajamas that she’d packed when we went to New York for the wedding, and the memories…well, they were good memories.

“It was nice of Sofia to come,” I said, wanting to hear more of Juniper’s thoughts about the night.

“It was.”

I scanned Juniper’s face, hoping to glean more from her expression. But it was neutral. Calm.

“Would you ever want to reach out to your birth mom?” I asked. “Maybe if she came with Sofia sometime?”

Juniper sucked her bottom lip between her teeth, thinking before she shook her head.

“I don’t think that’s something I need. I think I remind her of something painful, of my birth dad, maybe. I don’t know exactly, but it’s okay. She has her family, and I have mine. It’s been so nice getting to know Sofia, to finally have a sister of my own, but earlier today, my mom reminded me that blood only counts for so much. And I have more than a few people in my life who would consider me their sister.”

“Yes, you do,” I agreed. “A lot of them are in this house.” And in case there was any confusion, I added, “I’m not one of them, though.”

Juniper laughed. It sounded lyrical, magical. “What do you consider me, then, Julian?”

“You’re the love of my life, Juniper,” I answered without thinking twice. “And you are a part of this family,myfamily. You always have been, and you always will be.”

I didn’t miss the shine in her eyes as she crawled across the bed, cupped my face, and kissed me. She kissed me, and it wasn’t gentle or sweet. She might have smelled like roses and tasted like tears, but there was a fierceness to Juniper that I adored. She would love me as fiercely as she kissed me, and I knew that to be the absolute truth.

“I have to grab something,” she murmured against my lips once her kisses had grown soft.

Before I could protest, Juniper jumped off the bed and crossed the room to rummage in her overnight bag. She pulled out an envelope, bringing it over to me.

“What’s this?” I asked, taking it from her.

She shrugged. “For your birthday.”

“You didn’t need to do this,” I sighed. This was already the best birthday I’d ever had, simply because I had her.

“You don’t even know what it is yet,” she argued with a smile.

“I know it’s something you didn’t need to do,” I said before pulling out the card inside. A folded sheet of paper fell out, and I went for it first, opening it only to realize what she’d given me. Plane tickets. Plane tickets to…

“Grayson told me there’s an alumni game in September,” she said tentatively. “I know I’ll never be able to go back in time and watch you play in college, but I thought maybe you’d be willing to play for me now. Plus, Nessa will have had the baby by then, so I thought you’d probably want to go and visit them, and—”

I cut her off with a kiss because I didn’t have any words. Juniper giggled against my mouth as I whispered thank you between kisses. My thoughtful girl.

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