They always sat in the same seats. Harrison at the head of the table, Juliet and Cash on one side, her mom and Harry on the other. No one was welcome to sit on the other end, opposite Harrison, unless they were a dinner guest.
“Yes, it went well,” she confirmed, stabbing a strawberry with her fork.
She remembered on her first tour how her mom had juggled around her schedule to come to as many of Juliet’s shows as possible, even though Cash and Harry had been babies at the time. During her second tour, her mom had come to a few less shows but had still made it to several.
And Juliet, of course, knew that the last show her mother had attended ever had been on that tour, and had been the one where she’d walked into Juliet’s dressing room after the show, and had seen Juliet about to kiss Courtney Carson, the actress she’d been having a fling with at the time.
The affair with Courtney would have fizzled regardless – she was how Juliet came about her rule regarding never being involved with someone who was actively seeking out real relationships with men – but the realization dawning on her mom’s expression hadn’t helped matters.
Not that they’d ever spoken about it. The only reference that had ever been made was her mom shaking her head when Juliet had gone after her. She’d said,“I didn’t see anything, Jules.”
And that… was that.
Immediately following that tour, Juliet had purchased her house in L.A., and stopped coming back to Prosperity unless she had to.
“I noticed that Darcy Kincaid was at your show,” Harrison commented, clearing his throat.
His tone was conversational, breezy even, but Juliet knew him better than to believe his words were just a meaningless remark.
Juliet’s fork froze halfway to her mouth, her stomach churning with both agitation and uncertainty. She forced herself to finish taking her bite and chew the piece of pineapple nice and slow, as if she was completely unperturbed.
Harrison lifted his gaze to her, narrowing his eyes. “Well?”
Juliet dabbed her mouth with her napkin. “Sorry, I didn’t realize you were asking a question. Yes, Darcy was at the show.”
She saw the way Harrison’s jaw twitched slightly, the way it did whenever he felt like he was being challenged. And even though she didn’twantto start anything with him, she also couldn’t help but feel gratified.
“Was that something you two arranged when you were in Pineford?” He asked, reaching down and picking up a slice of his toast without taking his eyes off of her.
Juliet lowered her fork into her bowl, clenching her jaw. “And… how do you figure I went to Pineford?”
No, Juliet was never under the illusion – not in years – that Harrison wasn’t keeping tabs on her. But usually, as long as she was doing what she wassupposedto do, she couldn’t feel his thumb pressing right down on her. She didn’t feel the pressure, the squeeze, of his scrutiny constantly, not now that she’d figured out the system.
He slowly tilted his head as he finished chewing his toast. “Are you going to deny it?”
“No,” she evenly stated, placing her fork down before her hand could rattle against it, both in anger and this desperate powerlessness that she fuckinghated. “Darcy and I wanted to start planning the song we’re doing for Nik Kosta’s soundtrack. Given that I was in the area, it seemed like a prudent thing to do.”
She waited, not looking away, not even blinking, for whatever would come next. What could he say to that? Juliet had gone to Pineford in service of hercareer, as far as he knew.
Everything else – Blythe’s house, their conversation at the piano, the way Juliet could still feel the echo of Darcy’s words in her chest, how much she’dneededto pull Darcy into her – that was all her own.
Harrison’s eyes narrowed into a glinting glare. “Riiiight. That soundtrack. Thomas and I will be having a conversation about that. Soon.”
Cash, her twelve-year-old brother, hummed,“Ohhhh,” under his breath with a little smirk.
Harry snickered.
Yep, Little Harrisons, the both of them.
Juliet’s hackles rose, her heart beating a little quicker. “What are you talking about? This is a great opportunity.”
Thomas might consult frequently with Harrison on Juliet’s career, but he never turned her away from something that could be a big money maker. The only thing that kept Juliet certain of that fact was that whenJulietgot a big payday, so did Thomas. His financial success as her manager was commensurate with her success.
And itwasa great opportunity. Doing a song for a soundtrack of a movie like Nik Kosta’s was the only way for Juliet to ever eye an Academy Award.
Yeah, a few months ago she’d have been annoyed as hell that the opportunity was only coming her way because of Darcy. But now, it thrilled her.
Because it meant she and Darcy would have to shack up together for days at a time, and no one would blink an eye. No one would ask any questions. And after so many nights of – well, ofjust nightstogether, she was ready for that. She wanted it.
