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From the corner of my eye, I see Taryn throw her arms around Henley’s neck, and I feel my hackles rise. Henley unpeels himself from her grip, and his eyes come to me. Ugh, he knows it annoys me when she touches him.
“What’s your brother’s story?” Rebecca asks. “Married or . . . ?”
“He had a girlfriend for years, and she was killed in a car accident three years ago.”
Her face falls. “Oh no.”
Henley hits his glass with a spoon, and everyone quiets down. “Dinner is just about ready, guys, but before we head out back to eat, I have something I want to say.”
Everyone falls silent as we wait for his smart-ass joke.
“I just . . .” He pauses as if collecting his thoughts.
“You what?” Blake says impatiently.
“I wanted to tell you . . .” His eyes come to meet mine.
What is he doing?
“So a few months ago I got a new neighbor.” He raises his beer to me. “And I didn’t realize how much I was in dire need of . . .” He tips his head to the side. “Her friendship.”
“I thought you hated each other,” Antony says. Everyone chuckles.
“We did,” he agrees. “What you don’t know is that Juliet and I already knew each other before she moved in. In fact, years ago we went on a date.”
“Oh no,” Taryn sighs. “Where is this going?”
Rebecca, Chloe, and I get the giggles.
“Spit it out,” Blake says.
“What I’m trying to say is that Juliet and I are . . .” His eyes float over to meet mine, and I smile at my beautiful man. “I’m very happy and extremely blessed.”
“For fuck’s sake, spit it out,” Blake sighs. Everyone chuckles once more.
“Juliet and I are together.” He holds his arm out for me, and I walk over and join him. His arm slinks around my shoulders, and he kisses my temple.
“Like together, together?” Taryn gasps, horrified.
“Yeah.” Henley smiles proudly down over at me. “Together, together, and you don’t know what a relief it is to finally fess up to you all.”
Carol bursts out laughing. “This is a joke, right?”
“What?”
“You honestly think we didn’t know?”
“Wait . . .” Taryn frowns as she looks around. “You all knew about this?”
“Of course we knew. It’s so obvious. You jump the fence every night.” Carol taps her nose.
“Oh.” Henley laughs. “Neighborhood watch . . . right.”
Henley kisses me softly, and everyone cheers. His eyes twinkle with a certain something. “Let’s eat. Dinner is served.”
He grabs my hand, and we walk out into the backyard with everyone behind us. “What the hell?” Henley yells.
My eyes widen in horror as I look around. “Oh no.”
