It was confounding and annoying and… satisfying, all in one. The universe had a very strange sense of humor in that way, she supposed.
“I’m expecting you to hold up your end of the bargain on that.” After all, Juliet had felt a rush at having Darcy publicly singing her praises.
“I never go back on a deal.”
As much as Juliet had held onto every possible negative thought about Darcy, she had to admit that everything about Darcy rang true as genuine. From her down-home wardrobe, to her shock at seeing the bottle of Château Cheval Blanc, she certainly gave the appearance that she would hold up her end of a handshake.
“Wait, did Dustin leave?” Darcy asked suddenly, after she’d taken another sip of her wine, then glanced around in question.
An amused chuckle escaped her. “Are youjustnoticing that he’s not here?” The room they were in wasn’t big enough to hide another person. “He left when you were in the bathroom.”
“I mean, yeah, I didn’t realize… when I came back in, our song was playing, and I was focused on you.”
Darcy’s candor as she returned that intense stare back to Juliet sparked through her. At the very least, she had to be relieved, really. That she had the ability to command Darcy’s unmitigated attention the way Darcy did hers.
Their entire “feud” would have been mortifying had Darcy simply ignored her.
She felt her phone vibrate with a text in her bag, which was wedged between her and the couch. Reaching back, she fished it out to find a text from Laura.
Hit more than the expected amount of traffic. Will be there relatively soon. Can’t wait to hear all about the Darcy Duet, but I’m assuming it went well since you didn’t return to the hotel in a rage or a body bag
She “liked” the message, before putting her phone back down.
“Who was it?” Darcy asked, propping up her head against one of her hands.
Juliet frowned at her. “And… why is it your business who I’m texting?”
Unbothered, Darcy shrugged. “It’s not. I’m just curious about you. What’s the harm in asking? I obviously know that you have no problem telling me to go fuck myself if you don’t want to answer me.”
Darcy was curious about her. And Juliet liked that.
So, she decidednotto tell Darcy to go fuck herself, as reward.
“If you must know to satiate yourburning curiosity–”
“I said plain and simple curiosity.”
“– it was my assistant, Laura.”
“Oh, her.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” There were very few people Juliet might be offended for, but Laura was one of them, and Darcy’s tone had been very flippant.
“Nothing, just that I should have expected it. She seems to be one of the people you spend a lot of time with.”
Cautiously relaxing, she nodded. “Well, like I said, she’s my assistant.”
And her best friend, but Darcy didn’t need to know that.
“Is she coming to pick you up and take you to celebrate our big win in the studio?” Darcy asked, clearly still feelingcurious.
Juliet couldn’t stand how much she enjoyed that spark of interest directed right at her. But she enjoyed it far more than she disliked it.
“No. I’m back on tour after this, and we travel together. We have a flight out tonight.”
“Your tour. Right,” Darcy murmured, seemingly to herself.
“What would you normally be doing to celebrate a great day in the studio?” The question slipped out before Juliet could bite it back.
