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Oakley slides two draft beers in glasses to me and I give him a nod up toward the ceiling.
Oakley has a rooftop terrace at the top of the bar that no one knows about except for a few people, me included. He lets me go up there on occasion, though I don’t often take anyone with me.
It’s the quietest spot in the bar and no one will interrupt or overhear us up there.
“All yours, and congratulations. I saw the proposal on TV,” he says.
Thanks... I got lucky," I tell him because Juliet showing up tonight feels as unlikely as hitting the winning numbers in a six-digit lottery.
I grab the two beers off the bar top and then turn to Juliet.
Someone catches her eye, and she gives them a smile and a wave.
I follow her eyeline to find Tessa, Autumn, and Penelope at a bar top waving back.
Even though I’m happy that Juliet is making friends with the girls, I know well enough that if anyone is going to sniff out our secret, it’s those three.
“Come on, follow me,” I say, turning back to her with both beers.
We walk up the steep stairs, Juliet in front of me in case she trips. Just like the parking lot, I watch her carefully in case she makes a wrong step.
“What's up here?” she asks, her voice tinged with a blend of curiosity and anticipation.
“Privacy and a good view.”
She makes it to the last step and then pushes through the rooftop door, the night sky illuminating the space.
It’s a warmer night than usual and the full moon casts a glow on Juliet’s face. The small amount of tanned skin peeking through in the few places not layered in clothing looks like velvet.
The wind picks up and her cinnamon vanilla scent and fills my nostrils.
She smiles back at me when she sees the view of the Seattle skyline she wasn’t expecting, and her violet-blue eyes sparkle back at me.
“I would have never guessed this was up here,” she says, still making her way towards the ledge of the building that comes up just past her hips.
“It’s a hidden spot that Oakley lets me use from time to time.”
Juliet lays her bouquet on the ledge and then I hand her the other beer in my hand.
“To bring a woman up to? Is this ‘your spot’,” she asks, gazing over at me with a glint in her eye as if she caught me.
“I don’t bring women up here,” I tell her honestly. “I haven’t brought a single person up to the terrace beside you.”
“Really?” she asks as if surprised by my answer.
“I usually only come here if I want to be alone. Bringing someone with me would defeat the purpose.”
“Oh,” she says, looking down at her glass and smiling to herself. “Should I feel special?”
I look at the woman who agreed to marry a stranger to help him stay in the country so that she could spend every dollar she can to give her brother a better life.
“You are special, Juliet,” I tell her, holding my beer in one hand and tucking my other hand into the front pocket of my jeans.
Her eyes break away from her glass as she stares up at me. Her eyes search mine for sincerity.
I caught her off guard.
She wasn’t expecting that answer, and neither was I. But it’s true. Who else would offer so much of herself for someone else?
