Page 110 of Once Smitten, Twice Shy

My cheeks heat. “Oh. Uh…sorry for interrupting…that.”

He gives me an arched eyebrow, a hidden smile behind his cup as he sips his coffee. “That’s all right. So…what’s going on?”

I set my coffee beside me on the porch and clasp my hands together, steadying myself. “It’s Juliet.”

He freezes, coffee cup halfway to his mouth. “What about her?”

I peer up at him, holding his eyes, searching them. “I…” My jaw works. I blow out another long breath. And then I tell him everything. How Juliet and I met in Scotland, and again in his backyard, and didn’t exactly become friends so much as romance workout buddies. How, when I wasn’t making the rounds with clients in the city or hanging out with the friend group, these past weekends, Juliet and I were going on practice dates. And then I get to the part that matters most.

“It changed,” I tell him. “Grew. We…It’s not practice anymore. For either of us.”

He stares down at his coffee for a beat, then sips it. “I see.”

My brow furrows. I watch him closely as he sips his coffee again and peers over at me. Is he…smiling?

That’s a good sign, I hope.

“I’m telling you this,” I say to him, “because I know she’s like a sister to you, because you love her like family and you’re protectiveof her, and she’s told me she had her heart crushed by someone she met through you, and it made things messy for a while. Given all that, I’d understand if you were wary of me…wanting to be with her.”

“Hmm.” He tips his head, his smile still there. “I think…if it were any other person, Orsino, I would be.”

“Yeah?”

His mouth lifts in a faint, knowing smile. “I’ve had a hunch for a while that there might be more going on. And while it might not have taken you long to fall for her, I know you haven’t entered into that feeling lightly, because I know you, friend. I trust you. And I trust Juliet to know her own mind and heart, too.” He brings his coffee to his lips and drains his cup. “You don’t need my stamp of approval, not that I’m even sure you came here for it.”

“I didn’t,” I tell him truthfully. Even if he didn’t understand, the choice to be together or not would be mine and Juliet’s alone. “But it would mean a lot to have it.”

He nods, his eyes holding mine. “Then consider it given. And now,” he says, pushing off the step and standing, “you’ll excuse me. I’ve got a big day ahead of me, an eclipse to see, a rental van to brave with Sula rambling about ‘the path of totality,’and, most importantly, a very demanding woman hoping I’ll come back upstairs. It’s not in my best interest to keep her waiting.”

•Thirty-Three•

Juliet

“Oh, birdie,” Mom says, her eyes shiny with tears threatening to spill over. “I’m so happy for you.”

I smile down at my coffee from my perch on the kitchen stool, then glance back up at her and Dad, still in their pajamas, Mom in her flower nightgown and knit sweater, Dad in his lopsided robe, his hair all over the place.

“He seems like a good, kind man,” Dad says, reaching for my hand and gently patting it. “That’s what you deserve.”

“Thanks, Daddy.”

“And you’re all traveling up to the eclipse, then?” Mom says.

I nod. “Big road trip. I’m excited to meet his family.”

“You’llloveIsla,” Mom says. “And Isla will love you.”

“I hope so,” I say quietly.

Dad winks. “There’s not a soul in this world who couldn’t love you, Juliet.”

My heart clutches at his words. “You’re sweet to say it, but…there are certainly people who don’t love me, and I’m okay with that.” I shrug. “I only need love from the people I love, too.”

Mom nods.

“There was…one more thing,” I say, peering down at my coffee, “that I wanted to talk to you about.”

They both ease onto the stools on the other side of the island, maybe sensing that this is something to settle in for.

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