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“Okay, I absolutely don’t want to know about mucous plugs. Can we talk about something else?”
The women laugh but it’s Simone who says, “We were only talking about my pregnancy, which means I’m going to be a designated driver for Jenna’s bachelorette party next weekend, along with Harlow. I’ll swing by and pick up your girl so she can let her hair down. I promise to have her home before dawn.”
The ladies laugh again and Jenna teases, “We thoroughly intend to corrupt her too.”
“Can you believe Juni’s never been to a bachelorette party before?” Danica chimes in. “We told her to stock up on five-dollar bills to stuff in the half-naked male dancer’s G-string.”
Every one of the playful jibes bounces off me, none of them bothering me in the least. What does bother me is the entire notion of the party.
I turn to Juniper. “I don’t think that’s a good idea for you to go.”
It’s like a bucket of ice water is dumped on the mood and all laughter stops.
Juniper’s expression is somewhere between confused and combative. “Why would you even say something like that?”
“Because it’s not safe,” I reply. My gut overwhelmingly tells me that.
She rolls her eyes, but her dismissiveness doesn’t irritate me. I get why she’s not all that worried anymore, and part of me is happy she doesn’t have that stress and worry on her shoulders.
But I’m fucking carrying it and it’s still my job to make sure she’s unequivocally safe. I glance around the table, knowing this isn’t the place for a personal discussion, but I’m also not willing to put this off.
I rise from the table. “Ladies… if you’ll excuse us for a minute. I want a few moments alone with Juniper.”
I hold my hand out to help her from her chair and she thankfully doesn’t fight me on the matter. But she draws her line in the sand as she stands up. “I’ll be right back and we can continue planning all the shenanigans for next weekend.”
I chomp down on the words of denial that want to spring forth, trying to quell the alpha need in me control. It’s never worked before because Juniper has always been her own woman, so I know I’ve got to tread lightly.
The women all wear smiles that tell me they’re confident Juniper will win this argument.
I lead her away from the patio, out into one of the beautiful, manicured gardens. When the din of the party fades, she pulls her hand from mine.
“I’m going to that party,” she says stubbornly.
“Will you at least hear me out?” I ask in a low voice. She huffs in exasperation and crosses her arms over her chest. “I get that you think Joshua is in hand and you might be right. Fuck… I hope you’re right. But I don’t trust him, Juni. I think he’s biding his time and he’s not going to give up on you.”
“And I think you underestimate the power his father has over him. Your mom confirmed he’s back there and trust me, he’s firmly under Preston’s thumb. That’s where he’s been his whole life. He doesn’t have the guts to go against his dad and I’m not important enough to risk his ire. Trust me on this… I know that better about him than you do.”
“I hear you.” I keep my tone calm, my attitude open-minded. “But you have to at least give me some credit for knowing him too. You’re the prize, Juniper, and I’d fucking battle a horde of monsters for you. I think Joshua is willing to go outside of his comfort zone. More importantly, the fucker is cracked in the head and you know that’s true. We cannot underestimate him.”
She throws her arms out. “Maybe you’re right, but what do you want me to do? Never go anywhere? Because I can’t live my life as a prisoner. I won’t. I did that for fifteen years and you don’t have the right to ask me to do otherwise.”
“Just for the time being—”
“No—”
“Let’s just give it a month or two—”
“No,” she snaps angrily. “Because in a month or two, you’ll still be standing before me saying it’s not safe enough. Joshua is back in Incline Village. He has an attorney working with my attorney. I am going to assume this is over and I’m moving on with my life.”
Sighing, I rub at my jaw. “You know he’s only a plane ride away.”
“And you’ve taken every measure to safeguard the house—”
“Exactly,” I pounce, pointing a finger at her. “You’re safe in that house and well protected. But you’re talking about going out in public and you’ll be drinking—”
“I’ll be drinking lots,” she says defiantly, and it’s that stubborn lift to her chin that has me understanding I will not win this argument.
Another sigh but this time, I pull her into me, wrapping my arms around her. She feels my capitulation in the gentleness of our embrace. “I just want you safe.”
