And things hadn’t always been easy for Julian either.
“You had to switch colleges and move home after Dad died,” I said softly. “Had to be a surrogate father for Theo and me.” And we both knew how shittythathad been. “Had to sit through a billion of my high school football games even though you barely understood what was going on.” I chuckled a little and gave him a smile. He reallyhadbeen an excellent, excellent brother. Still was. “You had to put that convertible of yours up on blocks and never drove it again. But you don’t have to give this up, too. Take a stand, Jules.”
It was the pep talk I would have given myself under different circumstances. Like, in a world where the guy I was dating wasn’tliterallythe guy my mother blamed for most of her financial problems and wasn’t sixteen years older than me to boot. In a world where I wasn’t still trying to live down my past, and he wasn’t hyper-focused on his business, trying to build a future.
In a world where Micah and I could really be together.
“Hey. Which of us is the older brother?”
“There’s never been any doubt about that, Jules. But there are a couple of things I do better than you. Knowing how to be happy is one of them.” Knowing how to fake it, anyway, which was pretty much the same thing.
Or had been.
Until recently.
“Okay, I’ve gotta get home,” I lied. “Mama’s got me doing a couple landscaping jobs this afternoon.” I snuck a glance out the front window, hoping to see darkening clouds out there.
“That’s odd,” Jules said, frowning. “It’s too late in the season for mowing and too early for leaf cleanup.”
I rolled my eyes. Julian didn’t get involved in the landscaping work anymore, and I knew for a fact that Mama had never mentioned a word to him about her finances, because she knew responsible Julian would do something drastic to fix it for her, and it wasn’t his problem to fix.
“Gotta keep up with Micah’s Blooms.” I said lightly. “How dare someone else start a business that competes with ours, right? Now we work twice as hard for half the money.”
Julian stood up and shook his head. “Such a hellion, you are. Tell me again about the joys of irresponsible living?”
“I blame you,” I said, knocking my fist into his shoulder, “for being a good role model.”
I took a step toward the door, then turned back.
“Listen, I’ll do what I can to get people to shut up.” Micah said I was good with people. Convincing. “I’ll tell themit’scomplicated.”I grinned. “Theo said even old Hen Lattimer from the hardware store is on ‘The Facebooks’ now, so he’ll get it.”
“Thanks. I appreciate it. Now I’ve gotta talk to Daniel. After I take a look at Macarena, of course.”
“It’s gonna be okay, Jules.” I gave him what I hoped was an encouraging smile. “If he’s a decent guy, he’s not gonna be nearly as upset as you think he will just because you spilled the beans while trying to save his reputation.”
It seemed so simple and straightforward.
Probably because I didn’t have to live it.
My phone buzzed in my pocket and I took it out, checked the screen, and nodded goodbye as I stepped outside onto the chilly street.
Micah:Heard there’s rain coming. See you this afternoon?
I bit my lip as an excited little bubble rose in my throat.
God, this wasbad. So, so bad.
One stupid general text aboutnothing, and I was standing on Weaver Street, all weak-kneed and wanting.
The trouble was, my situation was nothing like Julian’s. Unlike Jules, I didn’t have an entire lifetime of good-son brownie points that I could use up if my secret romance ever came to light. And also unlike Julian, my career goals hinged on my mother’s goodwill. If I ever wanted to convince her that Ross LandscapeDesignwas a good investment, I needed to keep doing exactly what I was doing—working hard, staying quiet, not complaining, and keeping my relationship with Micah Bloom very, very secret.
And maybe that was fine. I mean, Micah had sure as hell never said anything about taking our relationship public or wanting us to be more than we were. We were together, no doubt, but Micah’s first commitment was to his business. And I was okay with that. Mostly.
Con:Yes.
Micah:Excuse me. Is this Constantine? Constantine Ross?
Con:Lol. What?
