Page 111 of Fake Shot

Jules’s door is shut, and when I crack it open and peek in, I realize that she’s curled up on her side, still fully clothedand on top of the sheets. The curtains are wide open, and the moonlight casts a cool glow in the room. I take my clothes off, and the minute I climb onto the bed, she rolls over. Then she sits straight up like she’s just awoken from a nightmare.

“Oh my god! What are you doing here?” She reaches for me like she’s not sure if I’m real or not, and I meet her hand, lacing our fingers together and squeezing lightly. Just being in her presence again heals something in me—it’s like there was this gaping wound, and her touch has stopped the bleeding. I fucking hate being apart from her, and I’m not sure what to do about it.

“There was no way I wasn’t going to be here for you after the shitshow that happened tonight.” I pull her close to me, wrapping her in my arms. “Especially because it seemed like you had a moment when you weren’t sure if you could trust me, and that gutted me.”

Her face falls. “Therewasa moment when I wondered if there was any truth to her accusations. But when I thought about it, it was obvious that her claims were impossible. Since you’ve lived here, you’ve done nothing but show me that I can trust you. You’ve been here for me, and with me, non-stop. I know you’d never cheat—that’s just not in your character.”

“I’m so sorry this happened. I’m sorry that Jameson and I got involved. I know we wouldn’t be in this situation if we hadn’t stepped in.”

The relief I feel as she rests her head on my shoulder is indescribable. She slides her hand along my abdomen like she’s going to wrap her arm around me in a hug, but her fingers hit gauze and tape and she pulls back. “What’s this?”

I lift my arm. “Take it off and see.”

As she reaches out to peel back the tape holding the six-inch square piece of gauze, her nose scrunches up like it always does when she’s intensely focusing on something. It’s cute as hell and I just want to lean in and kiss her, but I don’t want to interrupt her from seeing what’s under that bandage.

When she gently pulls the gauze away from my skin, she sucks in a sharp breath. Right there, directly under my heart, is an intricately inked pair of Tinker Bell wings. Her eyes fill with tears.

“When did you get this?”

“Tonight. I’d just left the tattoo studio and was headed back to the hotel when you messaged me.”

“Why this, though?”

“C’mon, Tink,” I say, my words and tone clearly indicating that she already knows the answer to the question. But she obviously needs to hear me say it. “You’ve worked yourself so deep into my soul, there’s no reason you shouldn’t be inked on my skin as well.”

She burrows her face into my chest, and I feel her tears as they slide down her cheeks and meet my skin. And as I wrap her in my arms and hold her tight, she whispers, “I love you so much.”

I press my lips to her head, grateful that she’s finally trusting her own feelings.

“I love you too, Jules. I always will.”

She squeezes me tight. “I know. And that’s the only reason I’m not afraid of falling...because I know you’ll always catch me.”

I’m in the kitchen making a pot of coffee when Jameson arrives the next morning. He’s got Lauren and the kids with him, which I wasn’t expecting, but right behind him, I see Audrey and Graham, followed by Morgan, and it all makes sense. Their family is coming to stand shoulder to shoulder, to be with Jules and to figure out how to fix this mess Jameson and I created.

“Where’s Jules?” Lauren asks as she looks around the kitchen. There are fake flowers and strands of leaves, along with candles and glass vases, everywhere. I know they’re hosting a bridal brunch for Lauren here tomorrow, and I’m guessing she wasn’t supposed to see all of this now.

“Upstairs getting dressed. She just got out of the shower a few minutes ago.”

It was a long night, full of tears and admissions of our feelings, and promises about our future. We were both too tired for anything physical, but I’d more than made it up to her this morning—which means we are now running quite late.

“I’m going to get a movie started for the kids,” Audrey says, heading toward the family room as Graham, Iris, and Ivy all follow her.

“I’ll get this mess cleaned up,” Morgan says as she starts scooping up supplies and heading toward empty cardboard boxes that sit in the entryway.

Lauren moves toward the stairs, and in the now-empty kitchen, my eyes meet Jameson’s. There’s a lot that passes through that look—two former teammates who remained best friends and business associates, recognizing that we are now going to be linked together as family.

We help Morgan put away some of the decorations, andthen Lauren and Jules are heading down the stairs. Even in leggings and a tank top, with her face free of any makeup and her wet hair pulled back into a low bun, she takes my breath away.

I guess this is what love feels like—not the desperate need to cling to someone, but the deep peace they bring you just by being there.

With the kids in the living room watching a movie, we all gather in the kitchen. Surrounding the coffee and the box of pastries that Lauren and Jameson brought, we spend some time figuring out the next steps.

“AJ thinks you should have a statement prepared in case Jasmine tries to go public with this story,” Jameson says.

“You told AJ what happened?” I ask. Out of respect for Jules’s privacy, I’d been careful not to give her any details when we texted last night.

“Like there was another option,” he says, releasing a sigh. “You’re my client, and this woman is trying to fuck with your career.”

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