Nicole mutters a swear word.
“Right? How do you even respond to that?”
“How did you?” Heidi asks.
“I kissed her.” They both suck in a breath, and I nod. “It was not the best move.”
Nicole guffaws. “Did she slap you with a chest hit? I showed her that striking technique. Can stop a heart if you do it right.”
I shake my head, although what Julia actually did stopped my heart, too. “Nope. She kissed me back.”
Heidi gasps. “Our Julia? I’m actually shocked. She doesn’t usually do impulsive things like that.”
“Naw, you know what?Good. She deserves to be kissed.” I’ve earned the first hint of approval from Nicole. But I’m too stuck on what she said to bask in my success.
“What do you mean, she deserves it? Her husbanddoesn’t—?”
“Fuck Richard, that’s what I mean,” Nicole interrupts. She tips back the last quarter of her drink and slumps in her seat, crossing her arms.
Heidi gives me an apologetic grimace. “We have some strong feelings about Richard. He’s not our favorite.”
Alarm bells go off in my head as adrenaline floods my system. Every muscle tenses, ready to defend my mate. “Does he hurt her?” I growl.
“Yes,” Heidi says at the same time that Nicole says, “No.”
They trade looks. “What Nic means is that he doesn’t hurt her physically,” Heidi explains. “He hurts her other ways all the time. I don’t want to air their dirty laundry, but…he’s not a kind person.”
“Or faithful one,” Nicole chimes in.
My teeth clench so hard, I think they might crack. Is this why she thinks love has to hurt? As much as I don’t like Julia’s husband just because he exists, I want him to treat her well. I want her to behappy. “Why does she stay with him, then?”
“Loyalty?” Heidi guesses. “She’s the kind of person who keeps her promises.”
Nicole shakes her head. “It’s the girls. She doesn’t want to mess up their lives.”
“And maybe the money.” Heidi sighs heavily. “I mean, she’s not materialistic. She’s just been a stay-at-home mom for a long time and her familyis all overseas, so she doesn’t have any of her own resources. It’s all his. She depends on him to support her.”
My ears perk up at that. I can’t ask Julia to break her marriage vows or mess up her kids’ lives, but I can definitely support her financially, if that’s what she needs. “Good to know.”
“The only good thing about that dickhead is that he’s gone a lot,” Nicole declares. I file away that little factoid, too. His current business trip is a regular thing, not a one-off.
Before I can press for more details, my attention is drawn back to the stage as the first few notes of a bright, electronic pop song play. Julia crosses to the mic and brushes her hair back from her face. She looks nervous as she stares out at the slowly growing audience, but then she opens her mouth.
She’s good. Really good.
A few lines in, and her shyness falls away. Her shoulders square and she wrenches the mic from its stand so she can strut over to our side of the stage and sing directly to us while we cheer her on.
She has the voice of a goddamn siren, and I’m completely in her thrall. The song’s a fierce, punchy anthem that she delivers in a breathy staccato. I only understand the occasional English line, but her meaning is clear: she’s living life on her own terms and not going to take any shit from anyone.
She looks beautiful, and she sounds powerful. I can’t look away. I’m completely mesmerized by the goddess in front of me.
“WOW,” Heidi mouths at me across the table when Julia makes her way over to the other side of the stage, where she finds another receptive audience.
Nicole nods in agreement in my peripheral vision. “I didn’t know she had this in her. I mean, I knew she could carry a tune. Her usual karaoke is a lot more shy. Who is this bitch?”
A smile quirks the side of Heidi’s mouth. “That’s our girl.”
I like these women. I like how much they care about Julia. How they’re protective of her and want the best for her. “I’m really glad she has you two in her life.”
