Page 152 of Little Sunshine

Chapter 25

Do Something Calming

MILA

“Mila!”

I wasn’t sure I would ever get used to people being happy to see me. Not because I was there to do my work and theirs. Not because they needed a favor. Not because they were a creepy shift manager who wanted to fuck me.

Just plain happy to see me.

But as I approached Juliet’s little corner of outdoor paradise, that was exactly how she greeted me.

“Hi,” I said, just as happy to see her. Kind of. I would be once I addressed the elephant in the room.

Or the Daddy and the security lurking.

“Hi, Elliot,” she greeted him like it was no big deal. And from what Ash had said, it wasn’t.

He stayed at a distance as she ushered me into her area and played the hostess perfectly again. “Sit. Can I get you anything? Tacos? Cheese plate? Double rum and Coke?”

“Juliet,” a suited man rumbled.

A big, scary suited man without a single laugh line on his stoic face. I hadn’t even noticed him, which was surprising because he was not a slight man. He was beyond muscular, like he went to the gym as a warm-up before going to a secret strongman gym with workouts a normal person couldn’t even fathom.

This must be Marco.

Juliet just rolled her eyes at his warning. “Don’t mind Marco. He has the sense of humor of a cactus.”

“Right,” I said.

“But seriously, do you want anything?” She cut off the big guy’s interruption with her own. “Other than the cocktail. I have water and Diet Coke, but we can get anything sent over.”

“I’d kill for a Diet Coke,” I said.

She grabbed us each one from the wicker cooler before picking up a paper bag. “Okay, so this is probably really awkward, and feel free to tell me to shove it.”

“Okay,” I drawled, trying not to jump to the worst-case scenario.

Trying but failing.

“So when Ash told me that you liked the first dress and he wanted to buy more, I just grabbed stuff from my finished pile for Hilda’s.”

Am I?—

I didn’t have the chance to freak out that I’d gotten clothes meant for someone else when she pointed toward the door. “Hilda’s is a dress boutique inside where I consign some of my stuff. It’s cute. Well, most of it. Some”—she grimaced—“is not my personal style.” She took another big breath. “Anyway, hearing that you liked it was great, but seeing you wear those two dresses…” She put her hand to her chest. “It meant so much to me. Because even if it’s awesome when I find out someone bought one of my designs, I never get to see them wearing them, and that’s the fun part. You know what I mean?”

When it came to my own meh clothing, I didn’t get it. Not at all. But I could see how it would be different when the clothes were so lovely.

Still, I nodded.

“Anyway, I’ve been working on a really fun dress. Super sexy. Ash might thank me or vow to forever snitch on me. I’m not sure yet, but I’ve been dreading handing it over to Hilda’s because then I’d never see it again. But it would look so amazing with your dark hair and blue eyes. I took it in and adjusted the length, but if it’s not right, I can fix it. And I know the sizing on the other stuff is off because, like I said, I just sent it over. So I can alter that, too.”

I already liked Juliet a lot. But at the kind gesture and the nervous way she spoke, I didn’t just like her.

I felt a connection to her.

“Oh, it’d help if I gave it to you, huh?”

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