He glanced at Theo, Bowen, and Cash, like he couldn’t say anything in front of them.
I held up my hands, exhaling through my nose. “Fine. Guys, can you give us a minute?”
“Sure,” Cash said. “Boys.” He tipped his head toward the porch.
As they walked away, Theo called, “Don’t kill him, Griff.”
“I make no promises.”
Once they were out of earshot, I thought Liam would spill it. Nope. He shifted from foot to foot like he still didn’t want to say whatever was eating at him.
“Look.” I pointed at his chest. “I’m sorry your coach won’t play you, or Sariah Morgandale won’t go out with you, or whatever else is up your butt—but you don’t get to take it out on my wife. You hear me?” Mean? Yes. But at this point, Ineeded him to crack. Just blow up at me, and we’d settle it here on the front lawn.
But he didn’t.
In fact, he looked like he’d rather be anywhere else than standing here having this conversation with me. “I’m not taking anything out on anyone. And I’m not trying to hurt you. I’m trying to protect you.”
“Protect me? Are you serious?” A laugh came out sharp. “All you do is take verbal jabs at me on the daily.”
His jaw locked. “Because I love you, you idiot.” His voice shook. “I miss you, and I’m gutted that you left.”
I blinked, stunned. We never said that kind of stuff to each other. We were Dupree men, raised castrating bulls and roping calves. We didn’t gush about our feelings.
Not gonna lie, it softened me.
Until he hissed, “And I’m sorry if this hurts to hear, but it’s obvious that this woman either scammed you or scrambled your brain with her disturbingly beautiful face. Those are the only two scenarios where you end up married after three days.”
He might as well have called me a fool. I was used to his insults. But insulting Juliette? Nuh uh. He didn’t get to do that.
“Disturbingly beautiful face?” I growled.
“Dude.” He jammed his hand at the house. “It has to be one of the best faces on the literal planet,” he said, like being that pretty made Juliette a professional con artist.
He was in the NFL and had dated some really beautiful women. So I knew what he was really saying. Why would she want to marry you unless she was getting something more out of it?
It was the same thing I’d been asking myself since I met her. The idea that Jules was using me made my head swim andmy chest go hollow. Because the truth was, I loved her. Man, I loved her. But it didn’t make sense why she’d love me back.
My gaze cut to the living room window. Juliette was watching—her face a wreck of fear and something else entirely. Something that looked like love. For me.
She loved me. She did. Whether I understood it or not.
And just like that, I saw red. Liam was jealous, and he was trying to tear us apart.
“I’m sorry you can’t understand it,” I spat. “And you can’t handle seeing me happy without you.” The way he crumpled at that should’ve been my cue to stop. But I couldn’t. What was it about this place—these people!—that I went right back to being the worst version of myself? But I was in it now, and I couldn’t find the brake. It felt good. So I continued, spewing every hateful thing I’d bottled up for two years. “But you, of all people, don’t get to stand here and question my wife and expect me to play along. So if you’re done insulting the two of us, I’d like to go back inside now.” I didn’t wait for his go-ahead. It wasn’t actually negotiable. With how I felt, I shouldn’t be anywhere near him.
As I turned to leave, he caught me by the arm. “She’s not who you think she is.” His voice had gone quiet in a way that was harder to dismiss than the shouting.
I wrenched my arm free and stepped back. “What does that mean?”
“Just…you need to do a little digging. She’s not telling you the truth.”
“About what?” I asked, low and brusque, so Bowen and my cousins couldn’t hear. “That she was a foster kid? That her name is actually Julie Skinner? That the backstory the world thinks is true was concocted by DayGlow? I know all of that.”
I thought he’d look shocked or regretful. But he shook his head like he already knew all of that. “No. It’s way bigger. I’m telling you there are things you don’t know about her.”
“How would you know what I know?”
“Because I know you.” There were tears in his eyes. “And if you knew the whole truth, you wouldn’t want anything to do with her.”
