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He smirks. “Some secrets are good ones. You’ll find out soon enough.”
* * *
One week later, I pack the contents of my dorm room into boxes. With Sadie and Julian’s help, I load my things into the van Julian rented. His stuff takes up so much room there’s just enough for the measly things I own.
Sadie hugs me so hard my chest hurts. “Come visit me in The Hamptons this summer.”
“That’s not my scene. I don’t fit in there.”
Julian groans behind me.
Sadie shakes her head. “Stop it. You fit in everywhere you go. And my dad loves you. He told me to invite you. The pink guest room at the end of the hall is all yours.” She glances over my shoulder at Julian. “You, too. You’re invited. Make sure she comes to see me.”
“I’ll try,” he says. “But I can’t make any promises. You know how much she hates rich people.”
“I don’t hate rich people. I hate snobs. Big difference.”
They both laugh.
“I don’t hate you,” I say to Sadie. “Never, ever. And you’re not a snob like someone I know, so there’s that.”
“Hey,” Julian says. “I’m not a snob anymore.”
“You’re a recovering snob.” I give him a sly grin, and he takes this as his cue to smack a quick kiss on my lips. “And you’re my snob.”
He shakes his head, a smirk forming. “You’re lucky I love you.”
“You’re lucky I let you,” I quip.
“Oh, my God. Stop it, you two, I can’t take all of this cuteness right now.” Sadie wipes a few errant tears from her cheeks and smiles. “Love you, babe. Seriously, don’t be a stranger now that you’re shacking up with this one. I’m gonna miss you. Call me every day.”
I laugh at her silliness. “Every day? I have to work.”
She throws her hands onto her narrow hips. “Every other day then.”
“I can do that,” I promise. “And I’m gonna miss you, too.”
Sadie slides a pair of chunky sunglasses over her eyes and shifts the designer handbag on her shoulder. She waves one last smile before she walks over to the limousine her father sent for her.
“You used to be her,” I say to Julian, leaning against his chest. “You sure this is what you want?”
“Yes.” He wraps his arms around me as we watch Sadie drive off. “I never once had a second thought.”
“I don’t think I’m ever going to stop being insecure,” I say. “So, you’ll have to find a way to deal with it.”
“I know.” He kisses my cheek. “That’s why I tell you every day how beautiful you are and how much I love you. And how I’m never going to leave you. Ever.”
“So, we’re like a forever kinda deal?”
Even though I know his answer already, I had to ask. I hate that I need constant validation. Dr. Saxon says it’s a result of feeling abandoned as a child and having emotional trauma because of it. I try to heal myself, but no matter how much time passes, I can’t shake it. Not completely, anyway. But Julian helps me every day.
He nods against my hair. “Just give me some time to figure things out, and I’ll make our forever permanent. You’re the only woman I’ve ever loved. I want it all with you—marriage, children, the white picket fence, whatever you want.”
“No fountain girls that spit water from their mouths?”
He chuckles. “No, I hate those things. My dad has them all over his estate on Long Island.”
“Well, now that you’re living like the rest of us, we can just put a sprinkler on our front lawn and pretend it’s shooting water from some fancy sculpture.”
