Page 73 of Angel Eyes

Even if there was some truth to what he’d said, I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of admitting it.

Spinning on my heel, I turned and ran like hell.

Twenty-Five

Gabriel

“Hand me the five-millimeter Allen wrench, would you?”

I reached blindly for the tool cart, my fingers sliding over the familiar shape of metal before handing it to James without looking up from my phone. I’d spent the better part of an hour reading articles about stomach viruses, and quite frankly, I was more alarmed about Juliet’s potential condition than I had been before I started. The internet was a dangerous place to diagnose an illness, but here I was, trying my luck anyway.

“She probably has viral gastroenteritis. Apparently, it’s fairly common, but maybe she’ll let me take her to a doctor, just to be sure.”

James looked up from where he was kneeling in front of his BMC Fourstroke, changing a tire that had gone flat during our morning ride. He eyed the tool.

“Gabe, this is a fifteen millimeter.”

I nodded absently, thumbing through the webpage of a local health clinic. “Hey, do you think I should go to the market for her? According to this article, she should drink plenty of clear liquids and only eat light foods, but she may not have some of this stuff.”

Ever since Juliet’s abrupt departure from the dinner party on Saturday, I’d been more than a little worried about her. Which was only made worse by the fact that she hadn’t been answering my calls. Against my better judgment, I had gone back inside after she left and tried to reengage in the conversation. But it was no use. All I could think about was how I shouldn’t have left her alone. In hindsight, I would have much rather dealt with her annoyance at my persistence than sit there with food turning to ash in my mouth while I wondered if she was okay.

A loud clanging noise interrupted my thoughts, and I glanced up to see James on his feet, frowning at me as he wiped his oil-stained hands on a rag, the wrench abandoned on the tool cart.

“What?”

“Did you even hear me?”

“Oh, sorry. What was it you needed? A ten millimeter?” I reached for the cart again, but he pushed it aside with a foot, stepping forward to block my path. I blinked in confusion as he closed the distance between us, coming nearly nose to nose with me.

“Um, is there a reason you’re invading my personal space?” James and I were good friends, to be sure, but I was pretty certain we had never been close enough to breathe the same air.

“Oh, my God,” he said under his breath. “You, my friend, have got it bad.”

I sidestepped him, even as something terrifying and wonderful unfurled in my chest at hearing the thing I’d known for weeks finally spoken aloud. Grabbing the correct size wrench off the cart, I sat down on the stool he’d vacated to finish removing the tire.

“Juliet and I are just friends, that’s all.”

“Are you really?” James scrubbed a hand over his jaw. “That’s interesting. Because you’ve never brought a woman to dinner at our place before. And you’ve spent what—three, four days with her over the past week?”

“Your point?” I rolled the flat tire away, finding its replacement lying on the floor near my foot. My phone chose that moment to vibrate, and I dropped the tire, snatching up the device. I swallowed a surge of disappointment when I saw it was only a message from Jean-Claude.

“That is my point exactly,” he said, eyeing the phone as I tossed it aside.

I applied the wrench to the wheel axle with renewed fervor. “So, what’s the story with Lily? Did your parents actually put her out, or is something else going on?”

“Oh no you don’t. You’re not getting out of this conversation that easily. Are you really going to sit here and spin me some bullshit tale about how you and Juliet are just friends?”

Finished with the tire, I stood up and turned my back to him, busying myself with organizing the tool cart. “It’s complicated.”

He snorted. “I doubt it. And if it is complicated, it’s because you’re making it that way.” He leaned against the wall, scrutinizing me while I cleaned the wrenches before returning each one to its tray. “Is this another tactic of yours to avoid intimacy?”

I scowled at him. “What are you, a psychologist now?”

“No, I’m your friend. I know you, mate. We’ve spent more days together than not over the past few years, so I know what I’m talking about when I say you keep people at a distance. To be honest, I’m starting to think Nora and I must be a fluke.”

“That’s not true. What about Lily?”

He rolled his eyes. “Members of my family aside, in all the time I’ve known you, I’ve never seen you let anyone into your life in any real way. It’s like you keep this shield up, making it impossible for people to get close to you. But with Juliet, you’re different. You positively glow whenever she’s around—” He dodged as I chucked an empty water bottle at him. “No, I’m serious. You light up like a bloody Christmas tree whenever one of us so much as mentions her. She’s special, Gabe, and I don’t want to see you blow it because you’re too stubborn to let her in.”

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