“Thanks,” I say awkwardly.
“Oh, and Julia?”
“Yes?”
“Keep up the good work. I’m working on that letter of reference, and I can’t wait to see what doors it opens for you.”
He hangs up without saying goodbye. Instead, he leaves me with what sounded an awful lot like a threat.
And it has me wondering if Richard isn’t only producing Emmett. Because that felt an awful lot like he’s producing me too.
I walk up to the front door of my mom’s house and can already hear the chatter coming from inside.
Theo, Winter, and the kids are here for a visit, and with it being my day off, I decided to show up bright and early so we could spend the entire day together. It also gives me something to do while I wait for the bar owner to get back to me about meeting up. Ineedto get that signature or my ass is grass. But I will not worry about it. Everything always works out. I will drive all night to meet him if that’s what it takes.
I take a deep breath, turn the knob, and push into the space, trying not to perseverate on last night.
On Emmett.
On that kiss.
God knows I’ve already lost enough sleep staying up and replaying it in my head like a song stuck on repeat. It’s unhealthy to be this fixated on what wasjusta kiss.
I kick off my sandals, sporting a casual pair of cutoffs and a burnoutUniversity of Emerald LakeT-shirt.
“Hey, Mom!” I shout. “Hi, Winter! Hi, babies. Auntie Jules is here!”
Despite my clear greeting order, it’s Theo who rounds the corner first. He grins at me with that signature twinkle in his eye and spring in his step.
“What about me?” he quips, feigning offense.
I stop my forward motion, marveling at how good he looks.Happy.It warms my heart, but it doesn’t stop me from greeting him like a typical sibling. “Hey, asshole, good to see you too.”
Theo laughs and tsks me as he strides forward and wraps me in a brotherly bear hug. “Careful, Jules,” he rumbles as he squeezes me and pulls back, gripping my shoulders. “There’s only one asshole here, and I fear it is not me.”
From back in the kitchen, my mom calls out, “Sorry, Jules, I would greet you, but I’m covered in grandbabies!”
Winter’s laugh follows. “Sorry, Jules, I would greet you, but I’m enjoying just sitting here with nobody touching me. And Theo made me promise not to interfere.”
That comment sets me on edge, and I look back toward my brother with a quirked brow.
“That’s right, Jules,” he says. “You’re the asshole because you failed to mention to me that the bachelor you’re working with is Emmett Bush.”
I freeze for a beat, because where the hell did he get that information? I force an expression of confusion onto my face. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Theo throws his head back and laughs. A full belly laugh. The kind of laugh that tells me he’s laughing more at me than with me. “Nice try, little sis. The jig’s up, though. Emmett’s face and new job onRomance Ranch”—he waves a sarcastic hand through the air—“was plastered all over the internet this morning.”
My throat constricts as I process the news my brother has just dropped on me.
“I can’t believe you lied to me about this.” He looksthrilled.
I clear my throat and let out a heavy sigh. “I’m under an NDA, Theo. I can’t run around telling you things like this.”
“Butthis?” He runs his hands through his dark, short-cropped hair. “Jules, this is too good. This is… I would have signed an NDA just for the satisfaction of knowing that Emmett Bush is so fucking desperate that he signed up for a reality dating show.”
“Brandt.” It slips out without me even thinking.
Theo’s head tips. “What?”
