AllFreeNovel
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“The heart wants what it wants,” she replies with a grin, swinging her legs from her spot on my counter. “Who taught you to cook?” She grabs a grape out of the bowl beside her and pops it in her mouth.
“My mom. She said she didn’t want any of her kids unable to take care of themselves. All of us learned to cook from a young age.”
“That’s smart. When I first moved out I had to teach myself.”
“I was annoyed with it at the time, but now I’m grateful for it.” I flip the sandwich, revealing a buttery brown top. “She was the best.”
“I wish I could have met her.”
Emotion lodges in my throat. “I wish you could have too,” I say, my voice coming out more gravelly than intended.
I take the sandwich off the pan and turn the stove off. Then I tug my necklace out from under my t-shirt and turn toward Juliette. “I got this a few years ago on the anniversary of her death.” I lift the sunflower pendant and step in between Juliette’s legs.
Her fingertips brush over the gold, a soft smile on her lips. “That’s a beautiful way to honor her.”
I take a deep breath, preparing to be vulnerable in a way that I haven’t been with anyone in a long time. “Tomorrow’s her birthday.” Juliette looks up from the pendant, surprise evident on her face. “My family likes to get together, but the last few years I’ve made myself busy. It’s uncomfortable to talk about her with all of them.”
Maybe it’s because I haven’t grieved much on my own, but talking about my mom in front of my siblings makes my chest tight. I feel like they expect me to act a certain way, but on those difficult anniversaries and holidays I never have the energy to pretend.
“Do you want me to go with you? Or we can be alone, or I’ll even let you be if you want to be by yourself.”
I smile down at her. She’s the kindest person I’ve ever met. And she doesn’t expect me to be someone I’m not.
“Maybe if you came it wouldn’t be so bad. I’m more comfortable with you than anyone else.” I tuck her hair behind her ear and she wraps her dangling legs around my waist to draw me closer.
“Thank you for being vulnerable. I love being the one you talk to.”
I love you, I think to myself. Perhaps it wouldn’t be so bad to admit it out loud, though. I gaze into her forest-green eyes before leaning in and softly kissing her. She wraps her arms around my neck and tilts her head to deepen the kiss.
I’m quickly lost in her. My hands settle on her hips as she toys with the hair on the nape of my neck. The world around us disappears and my senses are dulled to everything but Juliette. I can only hear her breathing, taste the honeyed sweetness of her lips, feel her hands in my hair, breathe in the vanilla scent she wears. All I want and need is more of her. Everything else is muffled like hearing a song playing in another room.
I break our kiss, resting my forehead against hers.
“Jules,” I breathe out, overwhelmed by the heady feeling of her mouth on mine. “I–”
A loud series of knocks cuts off my confession. I stiffen for a moment, preparing to protect Juliette from whatever could be outside.
“Adrian, if you don’t answer this door I’m going to assume you’ve been murdered,” Grayson announces.
I growl in frustration, but Juliette just giggles and drops her arms from around my neck so I can step back. “Go away,” I yell to him.
“So you are alive. That’s good to know, especially since you’ve had the entire family worried about you.”
I sigh and stalk over to the door, ripping it open to reveal my brother leaning against the support beam. “What are you talking about? Why are you here in the middle of the day?
“Well, when you sent that vague text this morning and then ignored my returning texts and calls, I was concerned that you were in the hospital and not telling anyone.”
I roll my eyes at him. “I did thatonetime. It was just my appendix bursting, not even a big deal.”
Grayson narrows his eyes and crosses his arms. “So, once I could get away from work I came to check on you.” He tilts his head to the side to look past me and smirks. “Oh, that explains things. Hi, Juliette.”
“Hey Grayson, nice seeing you again!” Juliette says, sliding up beside me. “Did you really go to the hospital and not tell anyone?” She looks up at me with wide eyes.
“Yes, he did. This is the man you’ve chosen. If you get cold feet, I look just like him and I actually talk to my family.” Grayson winks.
“I think I’m okay,” Juliette laughs. “I prefer a brooding Mr. Darcy over the amiable Mr. Bingleys of the world.” She grabs my hand and gives me a sly grin.
“Who and who?” Grayson’s brows furrow.
