“Okay, but Aurora, this is straight out of a romance novel! And he was so cute!”
“Slowwaydown, Jules.”
“Boo.”
Juliet’s frown is little more than a pout, her brows furrowed as she looks at me from the foot of my bed. India sits next to me, taking up way more than her fair share of room against the headboard.
Juliet reaches one leg out and nudges Indy. “Contribute, please,” she says.
“What I say depends on how Aurora feels,” India says with a shrug. Then she looks at me, her red hair pulled into a braid overone shoulder. “What kind of vibes does this Roman Drake give off?”
“Seconded. First impression thoughts, please. He was fancy in the holding cell,” Jules says.
“He’s still fancy,” I admit. “And—” I break off, thinking back to our office meeting. “He smirks a lot. Or grins. Whatever.”
“What did he think of Barf?” Juliet says, leaning forward and propping her elbows on her knees.
I can’t stop my little smile at this. “He doesn’t seem to think highly of him.”
“Good,” India says with a snort, and Jules nods vigorously.
“Yeah,” she says. “Good.” She pauses. “So he definitely heard all the stuff from the holding cell?”
“Yeah,” I say heavily. “He definitely heard, and he remembers.” I pause. “You guys haven’t told anyone about that, right?”
“I haven’t,” India says with a shrug, “and Felix jokes, but he won’t either.”
“Luca had very stern words for me,” Jules says, “but I appeased his concerns by promising it would never happen again.”
“Which it won’t,” I say, arching my brow at her.
“I know,” she grumbles, looking sulky. “Even if Barf continues being the absoluteworst?—”
“I’m sure he’ll go about his business,” India cuts her off, glancing at me. “Right? He and Mindy are doing their thing now. He’s obnoxious, but he’s not out to get you or anything.”
“No,” I admit. “He’s harmless.” Then I clear my throat. “Let’s talk about something else, please. Update me on your men. Are they behaving themselves?”
“Luca behaves himself always,” Juliet says. “I’m teaching him how to let down his hair a bit.” She pauses and giggles. “Still, there’s something about that expression he makes when he’strying not to smile…” She trails off dreamily, her eyes sparkling with some far-away happiness.
“All right,” I say, because if I let Juliet get started talking about why she loves Luca, she’ll go on all night. “India,” I say, nudging her, “please take over.”
But when I look at India, I’m surprised to find her face changing, her lips twitching, her cheeks flushing with color. “Well…” she hedges, and I straighten up immediately.
“Well?” Juliet says quickly, all signs of Luca Fever disappearing.
“Yeah,” I say. “Well?”
Indy clears her throat. “Okay,” she says, and when she takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly, there’s an expression on her face I don’t usually see—excitement, anticipation, but shyness, too.
India isn’t like Juliet. She doesn’t wear her heart on her sleeve. Still, based on what I see now, I can guess what she’s going to say.
“About that,” she goes on, her hands in her lap. She bites her lip, trying to suppress a smile, but it breaks free easily. “We’re actually…going to get married.”
Juliet’s shriek does permanent damage to my eardrums, but I barely notice. It’s been a long time since I’ve smiled like I do now, even laughing at the way India’s cheeks burn red. She pulls the neck of her t-shirt up over her face until just her eyes peek out, brimming with tears and crinkled with happiness.
Jules scrambles up the bed and flings her arms around Indy, just as I do the same, wrapping them both in the tightest hug I can manage. Soon we’re all laughing, half crying, too, and a rare flash of giddy, unbridled joy rises in my chest.
And it’s this, this right here, that makes me sure—I can’t justify wishing for romantic love when I have my family next to me. The most precious people in my life, the ones whounderstand me and know me and love me for who I am. To them I’m never a burden. I’m never too much, too intense, tooanything.
