“I hate you.” She stumbled out of the room with Vi’s story of Juliette’s future following her to the stairs. “You’re still coming with me tonight!” she called over her shoulder.

“Can Daisy and Mr. Pickles come too?” Vi chased her down the hall. “You know how they hate being away from you. Plus they’ll want to meet their new daddy. Oh!” Clapping her hands, Vi skipped up the first step after Juliette. “We’ll get you one of those cat purses and you can take all your babies with you everywhere! Or a kitty stroller.”

“I will push you down the stairs, I swear to God.”

Vi’s cackling followed them all the way to the top.

Randy arrived promptly at seven in his Dodge Ram and clean, pressed jeans and black coat. His hair was still damp at the ends as though he’d left straight after his shower. The smell of soap and shaving cream wafted off him when he moved in to brush a kiss to Juliette’s cheek.

“Hi.”

Forcing her mouth to obey, Juliette smiled up at him. “Hey, you don’t mind if Vi tags along, do you? She had nothing to do and I felt bad leaving her alone.”

“No! Not at all. It’ll be great to get to really meet her.” He looked past her to Vi, who was taking an unnecessary long time to lock the front door. “Hey Vi, how are you?”

Pocketing her keys, Vi joined them at the bottom of the steps. “Good. I’m good. Excited, actually.”

Randy’s eyebrows went up with interest. “Yeah? What’s up?”

Vi’s arm snaked through Juliette’s. “Juliette has agreed to get a kitten.”

Juliette shoved her.

“She’s always wanted a kitten,” Vi went on, unfazed.

“I will cut you,” Juliette warned under her breath.

Vi simply grinned.

Randy peered from one to the other, genuinely baffled. “Oh, well, that’s great. I love cats.”

Vi elbowed Juliette. “Daddy!”

“Okay, can we go please?” Juliette marched towards the truck with the other two following behind her.

They drove to the movie theater in silence. In the backseat, Vi’s simmering disapproval coiled through the cabin, making the air bitterly uncomfortable. Juliette wondered if Randy could feel it too, but at a glance, he seemed only focused on the road. There was a calmness to his profile she envied. The sunlight toyed with the ends of his damp hair, making the rich strands shine. It highlighted the fine curves of his lashes to delicate gold. Juliette never understood the term Adonis like, but if she could picture anyone as the deity, it was Randy. He fit the persona, the Hercules body and Adonis’s face. Any girl would be lucky to have him.

The thought curdled something in her chest, turning what little happiness she still harbored into guilt and self-loathing. She was a bad person. There was no other explanation for it.

“Oh, I nearly forgot.” Randy pulled to a stop at a red light and turned his head to Juliette. “I won tickets today at work for that new botanical gardens that’s opening up this weekend.”

Juliette’s eyebrows lifted. “Wow! Really?”

He nodded. “I didn’t even know we had a contest going or anything, but my boss just walked up to me and said here, you won.”

“That’s so great!” Juliette said, meaning it. “I’ve been wanting to go since I heard about it.”

That seemed to perk Randy up. He grinned as the light turned green and he put the truck into drive.

“Yeah? Well, good, because I was hoping you’d go with me.”

Juliette stiffened. “Oh…”

“Vi can come,” Randy said quickly. “I only have two tickets, but I’m sure we can pick another one up—”

“No, that is totally cool!” Vi piped in from the backseat. “I don’t even like flowers. You guys should go.”

Say yes! The voice urged when Juliette could only sit and stare at her hands curled in her lap. This was what she wanted. It was what she needed. She had to make this work.

“I would love to go,” she heard herself say, and the hollowness in her voice was painfully evident even to her own ears.

Bad person. Such a horrible, miserable, rotten person. She didn’t deserve Randy. He certainly didn’t deserve the screwed up mess that she was. He’d been nothing but good to her and all she could think about was how wrong it felt being in that truck with him. She should tell him. He needed to know that there was a very good possibility that she might never love him. That they might never be more than two awkward strangers.

“Juliette?” She must have made a sound, because Randy was darting concerned glances her way. “You okay?”

Tell him!

But the words remained stubbornly lodged in her throat. Instead, she was smiling and nodding as though she wasn’t an absolute coward.

They arrived at the theater and did what they always did; they got their tickets, their popcorns, and made their way to the proper door. Juliette had no idea what movie they’d decided on. She didn’t even watch it. She spent the entire hour trying not to stare at Randy’s arm taking up the entire armrest. She knew he wasn’t doing it to be an ass. He was no doubt hoping she’d do the normal thing and put hers next to it and she should, because that was what people dating did. They held hands at the movies. They kissed. They cuddled. What they didn’t do was flinch every time their shoulders brushed.

The movie ended and everyone rose. She followed Randy’s back down the aisle with Vi right on her heels.

“Are you guys hungry?” Randy asked as they left the theater and made their way to the truck.

“I have school tomorrow and homework to finish,” Vi said. “But if you guys—”

“I actually have to start work really early tomorrow,” Juliette blurted. “I should make sure I have clean clothes.”

Randy nodded. “Fair enough.” They arrived at the truck and he yanked open her door. “But we’re still on for this weekend? The event starts at like eight so I can get you at seven, if that works for you?”

Juliette nodded. “I’d really like that.”

Chapter 33

The low chatter of voices, the soothing hum of flutes and violins rolled along the smooth sheets of glass sweeping high into the evening sky in a gleaming dome over a breathtaking sea of colors. The conservatory brimmed with people Killian had never met and had no desire to meet now, but he remained and greeted each one politely. Somewhere in the mess was Maraveet. She hadn’t spoken to him since their argument, but he could feel her frothing anger and disappointment like an icy breeze. He made a mental note to track her down before the night was over and hopefully calm some of her feathers.

In the meantime, he circled the room, playing the ever gracious host. He laughed and talked like his bowtie wasn’t choking him, like his suit wasn’t uncomfortably too tight. It was all in his head, but it still made him want to tear it all off and go home.

“Killian McClary!” Nelson Miles cut through the crowd of silk and gems, large palm extended. “Good to see you again.”

Killian plastered on his required smile and turned to greet the man. “Mr. Mayor, I’m glad you could make it.”

“Of course. Of course!” He released Killian’s hand. “Wouldn’t miss it. Nora couldn’t stop talking about it for weeks.”

Small and fairy-like in her green sequined gown, Nora smiled at Killian. “A garden is just what this city needed. It’s absolutely gorgeous.”

Killian offered her a smile and the inclination of his head. “Not nearly as beautiful as you look tonight, Mrs. Miles.”

Her pale cheeks flushed. “You’re too kind.”

Mayor Miles tucked a gentle arm around his wife’s tiny waist and drew her comfortably into his side. It wasn’t a possessive gesture, but one that spoke of a long, happy relationship.

“She does look stunning this evening, doesn’t she?”

The color on his wife’s face amplified, but the shimmer of pleasure in her green eyes contradicted the playful swat she gave her husband.