“You’dbetternot be doing it on my couch.”
Time to change the subject. “What’s on tap for today?” I asked as I sipped my coffee.
She wiped her mouth with a napkin. “I have a yoga class.”
“Oh, sounds like fun.” I beamed.
Juliette looked a little scared. “You’renotcoming inside with me.”
That’s what you think.
CHAPTER 6
Wes
This is the day from hell.
It was barely noon, and I was already being subjected to my third round of torture. The first had been another braless morning at home. This time, the camisole was white, and I could clearly make out Juliette’s areolas as she pranced around making a damn smoothie. Thankfully, she’d changed before going to yoga, and the new outfit wasn’t see-through. But watching her stick her ass in the air during an hour-long class was definitely torture round two—and the gift that kept on giving. Because now that I knew how limber her body was, I couldn’t stop imagining all the positions I could bend her into. Still, this third round of punishment was the worst of them all—watching her eat lunch withJett.
I’d known the guy would take a renewed interest in Juliette the moment he saw me with her. The way he’d sized me up the other day told me he was one of those guys who liked to keep his options open and only paid attention when he felt threatened. So I wasn’t surprisedwhen Juliette’s phone rang as we were walking into the house after yoga.
What pissed me off was that she immediately rearranged her whole day to accommodate him. Still, even that irritation didn’t compare to what I was feeling now as I sat in my car, watching the jerk check out another woman’s ass while Juliette was busy looking at the menu.
I sat, stewing and watching Juliette toss her hair around and laugh for almost an hour. Then, because apparently my shitty day could only get worse, my phone buzzed.Vince.Great. Just fucking great.
I took a deep breath and answered. “Hello?”
“I hear it’s going to behotout there today.”
Vince Ginocassi did not call anyone to shoot the shit about the weather, so he had to be referring to something else—something I didn’t like the sound of. I sat up straighter and kept my eyes on Juliette as we spoke. “Oh yeah. How hot?”
“Blistering. You should stay indoors.”
“How long is this heat wave supposed to last?”
“How the hell would I know?I’m not a fucking weatherman. Just stay inside until the UV rays come down. Until then, I’m gonna ship you another gallon or two of sunscreen.”
“I got it covered. I don’t need more sunscreen.”
He raised his voice. “You need what I tell you that you fucking need.”
Blood pumped through my veins. It was insulting he thought I couldn’t handle protecting his daughter, especially if we were on freaking lockdown. Yet I swallowed the urge to argue. “Have you told our mutual friend?”
“That’syourjob.”
Great. I had to give the news to Juliette.
“The line sounds staticky,” Vince said. “Maybe you should get a new phone. When you do, text Frankie Knuckles the number. Make it soon.”
“Got it.”
“Good.”
The line went dead without so much as a goodbye. I glanced around the street. Juliette wasn’t exactly safe sitting at an outside table on Hollywood Boulevard, but with people and cars everywhere, they’d have to be idiots to take a shot at her here. Then again, these guys weren’t the brightest. As I watched, the waiter walked over to their table and handed her lunch date what I assumed was the check. I figured I’d let her finish up and then break the good news about lockdown at home.
Ten minutes later, Juliette walked down the block to where I was parked behind her. That asshole Jett didn’t even walk her to her car.
I turned on the ignition and rolled down my window. “I need to make a quick stop before we head home.”
