“Your dad just thanked me for getting in a fight,” he says slowly.
“He thanked you for defending me. There’s a difference.”I take the garment bag from him. “Come on. Let’s get you cleaned up properly. We have a wedding to get to.”
“JuJu—”
“What?”
He looks at me. Opens his mouth. Closes it. Whatever he was going to say gets swallowed back down.
“Nothing,” he says finally. “Just thank you. For not being mad.”
“I am mad. You got in a fight at my sister’s wedding and got detained by the police.” I unzip the garment bag. “But I’m also?—”
I stop because I don’t know how to finish that sentence.
Garrett never defended me. Not once in three years. Not when his friends made jokes. Not when his mom made comments about my skating being a “hobby.” Not when anyone said anything.
“Garrett never defended me,” I say quietly. “Not once. And you broke his nose for me.”
“I’d do it again.”
“Please don’t. Once is enough.” I pull out the shirt. “Now sit still and let me finish cleaning you up. We have forty minutes to make you presentable.”
When I’m satisfied, I help him into the fresh shirt Owen brought, buttoning it carefully.
“How do I look?” he asks.
“Like you got in a fight.”
“Can’t hide the swelling.”
“No. But you can own it.” I adjust his collar. “Everyone’s going to know what happened anyway. Might as well look good while they gossip about it.”
“You’re handling this remarkably well.”
“I’m in shock. It hasn’t fully processed yet.” I step back. “But Romeo?”
“Yeah?”
“Thank you. For defending me. For fighting for me. For all of it.”
“Always, JuJu. Always.”
There’s another knock on the door. “Jules! We need you back uphere!” Olivia’s voice, still sounding delighted. “You need to finish your hair and get in your dress!”
“Coming!” I call back.
I look at Rodriguez standing there in Owen’s dad’s shirt. Bruised but determined.
“I’ll see you for photos,” I say, heading for the door, still in my bathrobe and slippers, still processing everything that just happened.
My boyfriend’s name is Romeo. He got detained by police for defending my honor. My dad thanked him for it. My entire family knows we’re Romeo and Juliette. And we still have a wedding to get through.
This is possibly the strangest day of my life.
22
RODRIGUEZ
