AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Juliette kneels on the other side of Murphy, shooting me a nervous look.
“You could have told her no,” I say and she lets out a laugh.
“Says the man who is inmultipleTikToks with her.”
“Did you watch them?” I ask and she smirks at me.
“Every. Single. One.”
“I’m going to throw her in the pool,” I say and Juliette laughs.
“Okay, Juliette you put your arm around Murphy,” Maddie calls out, looking at us through her viewfinder. Juliette follows instructions, our arms pressing together. Her breath catches at the contact and our eyes meet.
For a moment, everything slips away. There’s no camera clicking, no family watching us, nothing but her green eyes and raspberry lips. The very lips I almost kissed this morning … and the same ones parting in what seems like anticipation now.
“Perfect!” Maddie shouts, snatching us back into reality. “Now both of you look at me, lean in close, and smile.”
Juliette blinks a few times like she’s coming to and then turns her head. We press in close, our faces almost touching above Murphy’s head.
“We’re going to look like one of those cringey couples on the cover of an L.L. Bean catalog, except without the flannel,” Juliette murmurs, coaxing a laugh out of me.
“Murphy, look up here,” Maddie coos and shakes the treat bag above her head. Murphy looks up, but he also charges forward. Juliette falls into me as a result and I wrap my arms around her on instinct. Her sweater rides up and my pinky brushes her warm skin as my hand splays across her back. I wonder if she can feel my pulse with her face pressed into my neck like this. She starts to giggle, her breath below my ear making me shiver.
“I don’t think this happens during professional shoots though,” she says as she pulls back to look up at me. Her green eyes are shining with joy. A full smile stretches my lips as I take in her beauty.
“You never know.”
“Hey Sunshine, the game’s on!” Grayson yells out, making my smile fall into a scowl. “Oh, sorry, you seem busy.”
Juliette’s porcelain skin tints pink.
“You could throwhimin the pool,” she suggests. I grin down at her.
“I like the way you think. Get Maddie to film it. This is one TikTok I don’t mind being in.”
We pull apart and after helping her up, I make my way over to Grayson. Because he’s so observant, he catches on right away and bolts. I chase after him, the sound of Juliette’s laughter filling the afternoon air. I’ve never been one for music, but her giggle might just be my new favorite song.
Chapter twenty-three
Juliette Monroe
“Ifyou’renotinthe hospital right now I’m going to kill you for calling me this early,” Caroline whispers through the phone speaker.
“Don’t even. I know you haven’t even gone to sleep yet, you insomniac. What show are you watching?”
She huffs. “My Deadly Bus Driver.It’s a show about bus-driving serial killers.”
Lovely. Can always count on Caroline to find the most obscure crime shows.
“Sounds terrible. Pause it and help me through my crisis, please.”
She sighs like I’m a huge burden, but she’s the one person I’ve never actually felt that way with. Well, her … and Adrian.
“What kind of crisis are you having that has you up this early?” It’s five in the morning here, which means it’s two in California where Caroline is.
“I’m a morning person now, I forgot to tell you.” She snorts and I frown. “It’strue, but anyway, I’m about to see Adrian for the first time since the party at his family’s house and I’m freaking out.”
“Oh, you’re a morning person so you can seehim. That makes more sense.” She pauses and I hear some shuffling in the background. “Okay, I walked outside to talk that way I don’t wake Josh up. So if someone kidnaps me I’ll shout out every characteristic I see and you’ll have to hunt them down.”
