I shrugged. "She's going to find out eventually. There are people coming and going from this place all the time, and weneed to go into town before work starts tonight to get you some new clothes. Someone's bound to recognize us."
"I guess so." Juliet frowned as she stared down into her coffee as if the froth held the answers to all the questions swirling in her mind. Eventually she looked back up at me. "Are you okay with that? Won't Garrett come after you if he realizes I'm staying here?"
"Wasn't that the point of you coming to me, so he'd know you have my protection?"
"Yes, but…" Juliet's lip wobbled.
"But what?"
"I didn't really think it through, the impact being caught up in this thing between me and Garrett might have on you."
I looked at her steadily. She was sitting forward in her chair, both hands wrapped around her cup, genuinely worried about me. I let that register before I responded.
"Listen to me." I waited until she met my eyes. "You don't need to worry about what Kane can do to me. There is nothing he can do to me. What I need from you is to trust that I can handle this and to follow my lead when I tell you to." I paused. "Can you do that?"
She thought about it for a moment before nodding decisively. "Yes."
"Good. Now go call your mother, then I'll take you into town."
As she headed off to her bedroom, I took our coffee cups to the kitchen where Eileen was busy chopping onions.
"We're going to town to pick up some supplies for Juliet," I told her.
Eileen smiled approvingly. "She's a nice girl. You could do a lot worse."
I rolled my eyes at her matchmaking attempt, but as I walked away, I couldn't help thinking she was right. Garrett Kane hadmade a mistake in thinking Juliet was a prize to be acquired. She was a woman to be treasured, protected. And I would be the man to do it.
Chapter Five
Juliet
The drive into Oakridge took us through some of the most beautiful countryside in California, but I found it hard to enjoy the scenery as I replayed the conversation with my mother. We'd never had the warmest relationship, but her casual dismissal of my feelings tore at my heart.
The call had been tense even though she hadn't so much as raised her voice. That wasn't her style. She made her feelings known in other ways. Her disapproval came in clipped sentences and long pauses. Although she was hundreds of miles away, her coldness chilled me.
By the time I ended our call, I was emotionally drained. No matter how many times I tried to tell her I wanted nothing to do with Garrett Kane, she refused to listen. It made me want to crawl into bed and pull the covers up over my head, but I couldn't do that. Apart from not wanting to appear childish in front of Nate, I was looking forward to our trip into town. I couldn't continue to wear clothes belonging to Nate’s assistant.
"Is everything okay?" Nate asked after we'd been driving for a while. I appreciated that he'd allowed the silence between us to continue for so long. It gave me time to gather my thoughts.
I turned to him with what I hoped was a convincing smile. "Yes, of course."
He glanced at me briefly, before focusing on the road once more. "Don't conceal your feelings from me, Juliet. I can see you're not okay."
"I'm fine."
He snorted disbelievingly. "So why are your shoulders up around your ears?"
I had to admit I was pretty tense. Trying to relax, I sank into the surprisingly comfortable seat of Nate's beat-up old truck. I'd been shocked when he insisted on driving it, rather than the Audi I'd rented or one of his own luxury cars. It seemed he preferred to be more down to earth when he was away from the city. I understood the desire to lead a simpler life.
"I'm fine, really," I assured him. "It was a difficult conversation with my mother, that's all."
"You have a lot of those?" Nate must have picked up on the weariness in my tone. With him, I didn't feel like I had to hide it. For some reason he put me at ease.
"Unfortunately. She hates when she's not the one calling the shots."
"I assume she wants you back in L.A."
I nodded. "There are events I'm scheduled to attend. It's important for the Caldwell brand."
