AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Juju: Dammit! Seems Jimmy gets another box today.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
Carefully, I shuffled my way out of the kitchen, not to wake Xander, past the small living room, and to the door. I opened it and she waltzed right in, with her signature sun-bright smile. She’d packed her blonde hair halfway up and wore black sunglasses.
Only Juliana Blair wore sunglasses in the morning.
“Good morning,” she chirped in a sing-song voice, twirled in her neon green sleeveless maxi dress, and dropped two boxes on the kitchen counter. She peeled the snoring child off my shoulder, placed him on hers, and rubbed his back when he stirred.
“I see the champion is asleep.”
Again, only Julianna dared wear bold colors in the morning.
“And I see you did the guessing thing. Again.”
She shrugged and sat down on the sofa while whispering soft coos in Xander’s ear. “I’m trying to find out how well we know each other. After all, it’s been a decade.”
Snatching my purse and car keys from the console table, I snorted, “In reality, it’s been almost five years, Julie. And yet, you get it wrong every single time.”
“Ten years, five years... potato,potahto. Feels like I’ve known you all my life.”
I smiled. It did feel like I’d known her all my life. We met shortly after I ran away from Alexei Petrov’s house.
Yes, I did my research the second I got a phone.
Alexei Petrov. Then thirty-five years old. Turned out he was a not-so-low-key business tycoon. Owned a chain of businesses, from respectable garbage hauling wastemanagement companies, to casinos, bars, and exclusive strip clubs. Rumors surrounding him were that he was affiliated with something called theBratva—a Russian mafia organization. I didn’t hesitate to believe it. I’d always known he was a dangerous man. I’d seen him gun down men like their lives meant nothing. And despite that, I’d spread my legs for him.
I cringed.
However, with Juliana, my life spiraled in a different direction. A good kind of different.
She was fifteen when we met. Young and bubbly and asked a whole lot of questions about college experiences. She’d been like the light amid the turmoil. Kind, caring, compassionate. Years rolled by, and she’d become my friend, Xander’s babysitter, anda smart college student.
Somehow, Juliana reminded me of Carla. Sometimes, I wondered what her life had become. But that was all in the past.
“Sue me for thinking, one day, Vanessa Collins will wake up and decide she’ll be taking donuts to work.”
Plus, dramatic. Taking away drama from Juliana would have been like taking out the breath from her lungs. She couldn’t survive without it.
Grinning, I flipped my hair over my shoulder. “Alright, then. My lawyer will be sending you the papers. But thanks for picking them up.” I smiled.
She snickered and eyed me. “Someone’s looking sexy. I like it.”
That was another thing. After I had Alexander, I felt comfortable showing more of my figure than I was used to.
I tugged on the black checkered skort I designed myself and scanned the white-black patterned sleeveless turtleneck top, suddenly conscious of my very bare legs and nude-painted toenails peeking from my sandaled feet. “You don’t think it’s too much?”
“Oh, honey,” shetskedand shook her head. “Of course, it is. But that’s just what makes it perfect.Youlook perfect. Way better than seeing you in those dreadful, hideous baggy dresses you loved. Girl, you’re a fashion designer at Hilltop. Might be a local brand, but it’s the best one in the county. It’s high time your looks started selling your work.”
Chuckling, I grabbed one box of donuts, tossed my keys in the air, and caught it in one sweep, treading to the door. “Only you would sound silly and smart at the same time.”
“Thank God for education.”
I opened the door. “You do know I appreciate you using your semester break to take care of Xander, right? And I will always be grateful to you for being a friend to us.”
Her eyes crinkled at the edges and her grin broadened. “You do know, if you continue with the sappy shit, you’re going to get stuck in a five-minute-long traffic.”
That tore a laugh out of me. I waved, “Bye, Juju!” and before I shut the door behind me, I heard, “You’re the best, Nessa!”
