Juliette
Conflicting nerves swirlaround my stomach as I sit in the back of the car in an unusual silence. Typically, I need to stop myself from rambling. Even when Harrison is his stoic self, I feel a level of comfort between us that has me letting my guard down.
Tonight, though, I’m as quiet as a mouse, trying to process my mixed emotions.
He senses my hurt, but he’s done no wrong. He warned me this would happen.
I know, though, by how he’s holding me and continues to blabber on about random, pointless information in a fast, nervous chatter, he’s worried about asking me if I’m all right.
Only, I’m not sure if I am…
It’s as if my heart let me down.
It beats rapidly day and night for this wonderful man who feels so much more than casual to me, yet I know deep down it deceived me.
He warned me about this, too…that there’s no future between us, yet my heart tricked me into believing he’d wantmore if he spent time with me. I know he has genuine feelings for me too.
“Jules,” he whispers my name, finally giving in to the urge to talk. “You’re so quiet, baby. What’s wrong?”
“I’m fine, Harrison. Just ready to go home.”
His body stills, and he leans back to look at my face. “You want to go home?”
I can sense his twinge of disappointment, but honestly, I’m not up for anything else. “Yes.”
He settles back into his seat, still facing me. “Why?”
“I don’t blame you, but what happened tonight does not sit well with me.” I pause, thinking of my dad. He wouldn’t like this, I know it. He continuously encouraged me to stand up for myself, so I pull strength from him to open my heart and speak from it. “I deserve more than to duck and dive out of a beautiful event because you can’t be seen with me. I should be more than someone’s dirty little secret.”
A flash of surprise and hurt crosses his face. “You’re not my secret, Jules. It’s just Sebastian?—”
“You don’t need to explain. I know you’ve told me this, and I agreed. It still doesn’t make me feel any different.”
“I’m going to make this up to you. It will be the best night.” He kisses my forehead. “I promise.”
If I had any self-preservation I would object and ask to go home again, yet even knowing how this will end, I want to soak up every minute I have with him, knowing my heart will most likely suffer the consequences.
To distract myself from my warring thoughts, I take my phone out of my bag to check on Mom and see I missed a message from the realtor.
I sigh, not wanting to look at this.
“What is it?”
I show him my phone. “The realtor is sending us spaces within our budget, but it’s nowhere near home, and with early mornings, it’s going to be too far of a trek for Mom.”
“And you.”
I shake my head. “I’m going to move out once we settle on a place, to wherever it is. I can’t live with Mom forever, even though she’d love me to.”
“What? You’re moving?” His voice is odd—something in his tone I can’t decipher.
“There’s no other choice if we need to move the bakery downtown.”
He stares at me like he doesn’t understand, then clears his throat. “Can I ask you something?”
“Of course.”
He takes a deep breath. “I know we still haven’t discussed it, but it’s public knowledge that you were hit by a taxi. Didn’t you receive a settlement from the city or cab driver?”
