I headed over to where Wes had left the car across the street. The car door was unlocked.Hmm... That was unlike Wes. I did a quick sweep of the vehicle to make sure no one was hiding in it. Then I got in and leaned my head against the backrest, taking a moment to sit in quiet and recover from whatever the hell that had been.
When I heard the driver’s side door open a few minutes later, I opened my eyes to find a somber-looking Wes.
“Juliette, I’m really sorr—”
“No. No. Don’t you dare apologize. You did me a favor. I should thank you for intervening. I don’t want anything to do with someone who operates like that. You saved me hours of my life, maybe more—time that would’ve been totally wasted.”
“Well, I’m glad you’re not mad. I sat here and debated it for a while before I went in. But I couldn’t let you sit across from that guy without giving you the opportunity to make an informed decision about it.”
I had to laugh. “I was ready to kill you when you walked in.”
He nodded. “I knew you would be. I hated those minutes where you thought I was just being an insensitive jerk who didn’t care about boundaries.” He chuckled. “I mean, I know Icancome across that way sometimes, but I wouldn’t have stooped to that level for no good reason.”
“What took you so long to come back out?” I asked.
He shrugged. “I gave him a little piece of my mind before I left.”
Nice. I turned toward him. “You left the car unlocked. That’s not like you.”
His face turned red. “My head wasn’t on straight. I wanted to fucking kill that guy for disrespecting you.”
Something like a jolt of electricity shot through me. It was one thing for a man to protect me because he’d been hired to do so. But Wes looking out for me today now seemed totally different. And I wasn’t used to that.
Wes started the car, and as he pulled into traffic, I remained quiet, looking out the window. “Please just take me home,” I said after a moment.
“Are you sure? It’s a nice night and still pretty early.”
I shook my head. “I’m not in the mood to do anything.”
When he passed the exit for my house, I turned to him. “Where are you going? I said I wanted to go home…”
“Will you trust me?” he asked, glancing over. “I promise you’ll like it.”
When I noticed the signs for Venice Beach, I couldn’t help but smile. I hadn’t been there in a long time, and maybe it was just the thing to take my mind off this.Screw it. I was wearing my pretty yellow dress, and the weather was gorgeous.
After we parked, Wes came around to the passenger side before I had the chance to exit the car. He smiled as I stood. “They have the best churros here.” His eyes sparkled, almost like a child’s.
“I’m just glad you didn’t take me to West Hollywood for smoked Portuguese sausage.”
“The night is young.” He winked.
I smiled, grateful that he hadn’t let me go home and mope. Lord knows my father wasn’t one to care whether his workers were kind. But it seemed I’d gotten a good one.
Wes and I scored his beloved churros and walked around for a bit. We then stopped at a cute shop that sold blown-glass trinkets, among other things.
After a few minutes, Wes ventured to the counter to purchase something. I tried to see what he was up to, but he kept his back to me.
He held up a small gift bag as we walked out of the place. “I bought you a present.”
“Oh! I assumed you were buying something for yourself.”
He handed me the bag, with a snicker. The small box inside held a tiny pendant made of glass on a silver rope chain. My eyes widened. “You bought me a penis pendant?”
“Ah.” He laughed. “That’s what it looks like, doesn’t it?”
“It’snota penis?”
“No, dirty girl. It’s not. It’s supposed to be a cactus.”
