Page 123 of No Way Home
“Wait.” Sophie grabbed my arm. “Is that…oh my word. It is!” Sophie squealed, jumping up and down like she was on a trampoline. That got their attention. “You got married to Juliette Serrant? My sister-in-law is Juliette Serrant, and no one bothered to tell me?” She skipped toward them, arms waving like she was greeting her childhood best friend at the airport after a decade apart.
“Yeah. But I call her Jules.” Griffin broke into a grin. Then he leaned over and said to his wife. “That’s Sophie.”
“My sister-in-law?” Jules asked, her smile wobbly, eyes wide with wonder as if the words themselves were too good to be true.
“Your sister-in-law,” Griffin confirmed, looking so pleased.
She fanned her face, trying not to cry.
Ten feet away, Sophie halted. “What did I do?”
Griffin laughed. “Nothing. She’s just really happy. She’s always wanted a sister.”
“Oh my goodness,” Sophie said. “Me too. And then I got Sage, but now she’s…” She couldn’t say the word gone. “Thank you for marrying my dingus brother.”
Jules laughed through her tears as they collapsed into a hug. Griffin wrapped his arms around both of them, making it a three-way.
“Juliette Serrant?” I asked Magnolia. “Am I supposed to know who this is?”
“Yes.” She laughed. “She’s the model for DayGlow cosmetics. It’s all the rage right now. Sephora can’t keep their cream blushes on the shelves.”
“Are you speaking German again?”
She slapped me on the chest. “I swear you live under a rock.”
“I like living under a rock.” My brows bounced. “As long as you’re under it with me.”
“No more rocks.” She reached for my hand. “Let’s go meet your sister-in-law.”
Without breaking the hug, Sophie reached up and smacked Griffin on the cheek. “Can’t believe you got married and I didn’t get to be a bridesmaid. Mom’s going to be pissed.”
He chuckled nervously. “Sorry, it was a spur-of-the-moment thing.”
Juliette stepped back, wiping her cheeks. “Very spur of the moment.”
“How spur we talkin’?” I asked Griff.
He scratched his forehead. “Met and married in under three days.”
I choked. On nothing.
Sophie sucked in air. “That’s even faster than Charlie.”
“Yes,” Griffin said sheepishly. “But unlikeLorne,” he bit out the name like it was putrid, “Juliette is quality.”
Sophie looked at me like,Are you going to tell him you can’t actually know a person after three days, or am I?
I shook my head, letting her know neither of us was doing that. Griffin was a grown man. He could make his own decisions. Maybe it would last, maybe it wouldn’t. But right now, he looked really, really happy.
Juliette gazed at him, eyes wide and expectant.
“Jules.” Griffin’s chest rose and fell like he was bracing for the lid of Pandora’s box to fly open. “This is Bowen.” When my name had no effect on his wife—no swooning, or sighing, no goo-goo eyes—he rushed on, “Bowen, meet my wife, Jules.”
Normally, I would’ve at least offered her a handshake, but with the tenseness of the situation, I just gave her a brief smile and said, “Nice to meet you.”
She studied me, head tilting side to side. “This is the brother girls always dump you for?” she asked Griff, like she found me completely underwhelming.
“The very one,” he said, shouldersstiff.
