Page 107 of Once Smitten, Twice Shy

“And for the cupcakes,” I add, nodding to the box.

Kate salutes. “What sisters are for.”

I smile between them, my heart lighter, unburdened. No, I’m not at peace. I’m anxious about Will still, and my heart feels fragile. But I am okay. I can make it through this.

Groaning, I ease onto all fours, then stand upright. “Well,” I tell Bea, “we should probably get back, make sure we haven’t leftSula high and dry. But first, I need to go fix my hair in the bathroom real quick.” I feel around at it, half out. “It’s a mess.”

Bea stands up, too, dusting off her skirt. “I’ll head back and help. You take your time in the bathroom.”

Kate’s phone buzzes in her pocket. She pulls it out and frowns as she reads it. Then her expression blanks. She pockets her phone. “Actually”—she clears her throat—“maybe not the bathroom.”

She glances toward Bea. Bea frowns, her eyes darting between Kate’s. She checks her phone, which has started buzzing, too. Her eyes widen.

“Am I missing something?” I ask. I left my phone behind the desk. “Please tell me Toni isn’t sharing his puke live updates still.”

Bea pockets her phone. “Speaking of that…Toni, well, let’s just say what he did to that bathroom is not something you want to see, JuJu. Sula gave it a good scrub and air freshener spray, but…” She shakes her head.

I shrug, starting toward the closet door. “Eh, I’ll hold my nose. I really need a mirror to fix my hair—”

Kate darts in front of the door, splayed against it. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you, Jules. Sometimes the scars of gastrointestinal violence are no match even for industrial-strength cleansers.”

Bea gags behind me. “Too far,” she mutters.

I’m annoyed now. I don’t know what they’re up to, but I’m losing my patience and the pins in my hair are really starting to pull. “Okay, then. WhereshouldI go fix my hair?”

Kate smiles as she steps aside. “I’d suggest heading to the delivery bay.”

“Fine,” I mutter, tugging open the door and turning left toward where our delivery trucks back in for us to unload inventory.

Bea calls out, “Sula’s got a great piece of scrap metal back there! Works like a charm, if you don’t mind looking like you’re half as tall and four times as wide.”

I roll my eyes, turning the corner into the bay, and come to a dead stop.

There’s Will, standing just inside the doorway, hair wild and windblown, wrinkled gray T-shirt, ripped old jeans, boots whose laces aren’t even tied. My gaze dances over his high cheekbones, that long nose with the bump at the bridge, those wide silver-sage cat eyes with their gilded russet lashes. The faint freckles scattered across his skin.

Our eyes meet and those butterflies take off.

“I forgot,” he says quietly, his eyes holding mine. “In all the chaos of the week, I completely forgot I told you I’d come down yesterday. I got so wrapped up with all that we’re doing, I totally forgot to tell you there was just no way I could get to you before today. When I remembered, I was going to call you, but then I realized I didn’t have my phone. Andthatis because Eleanor—”

“Your niece,” I say softly.

He pauses, like I’ve caught him off guard. “My niece, yes, she told me she might have accidentally dropped my phone in the toilet. As in, shediddrop my phone in the toilet. She tends to sneak my phone when she’s at my parents’ and she’s gotta do a number two, because it takes her a while and she likes to watchBlueyepisodes while she waits. Her moms don’t let her havetheirphones for that purpose, given the risk of it ending up…exactly where mine did.”

My hand comes to my mouth. I’m smiling like a goofball, but the relief, the joy of seeing him, the flat-out hilarity of this anecdote, it’s too much—I can’t help it.

“I didn’t have your number memorized—I havenobody’s number memorized,” he goes on, “and even though I know I could have asked my mom to call your mom and get your number, I was afraid to do that, because we hadn’t talked about what you were comfortable with, who you wanted to know, and I know it’s been importantto you to keep this private. I didn’t want to dismiss that just because I was worried you’d be pissed at me, which would be understandable, obviously—”

I bite my lip. I have never heard this man talk so much. And he’s still on a roll.

“Then I debated driving straight to you last night, but, Juliet, I was so tired I couldn’t even see straight, and I knew, if I got behind the wheel that tired and got myself in an accident on my way to see you—”

“I’d have throttled you,” I tell him, stepping closer, clasping his hand. “Because your safety is precious to me.Youare precious to me.”

His eyes search mine. “I am? Even after I—”

I throw my arms around his neck and press my mouth to his, a long, firm kiss. His body relaxes; his arms wrap around my back, drawing me against him. “Even after,” I tell him. “And I hope…when I make my mistakes, you’ll feel the same way about me.”

He laughs softly, tucking his chin over my head. “Baby, I couldn’t feel any other way if I tried.”

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