Page 82 of All's Well that Friends Well
“He’s straight-up your boss,” she says briskly. “So what are you going to do?”
I sigh and slump over to the couch, settling next to India. “I don’t even know,” I say.
“I think you need to tell us more about him,” Aurora says. “If this is the man you’re going to fall for, we need to make sure he’s worthy of you.”
I smile a little at this. “It’s true he’s grumpy and a little abrasive, but…” I trail off. “He’s kind. He has a good heart.” I pause. “The bag of stuff he gave me when he said he needed closet space—it was just an excuse. I didn’t tell you,” I add apologetically when they look at me with confused expressions. “But he put work clothes from our closets in there. Stuff I could wear to work after he saw my pink tweed. I think he didn’t know if I had other clothes, and he realized I probably needed some.”
I watch them digest this piece of information, their expressions clearing as they both nod slowly.
“I can admit,” Aurora says grudgingly, “that that does boost him a little in my book.”
“He tries to take care of me without looking like he’s taking care of me. Like he wants to do it secretly,” I say. “And he has this face he makes when he wants to laugh but he’s trying to be serious—and he’s so fun to tease, and he—he?—”
Finally I break off, because I don’t know how to explain it. So I shrug. “I just really like him.” I pause for a second and then add, “He sees me.Me—the real me. Past the pink and the blonde—and I love those things about myself, they make me happy, but they’re not all there is to me.”
“Of course they aren’t,” Aurora says, her voice soft.
“And he doesn’t think I’m dumb.”
“He’d better not,” India says hotly, while Aurora says, “Yeah—because youaren’t.”
I swallow as my eyes begin to burn, seeing them look like they’re ready to go to war in my defense.
“But I sort of feel like I am, you know?” I can’t quite look at them when I say this. “And I know I’m intelligent in different ways. But it still really sucks to feel—to feel stupid. To feel like there’s not a place for me in modern grown-up society.”
They must be able to tell that I’m not looking for automatic assurances, because neither of them say anything, and I’m grateful.
“Anyway,” I go on, exhaling slowly and playing absently with the ends of my hair. “He says we’re not going to kiss again since I’m going to be his assistant.”
“So…are you giving up?” India says, sounding skeptical.
A little smile flits over my lips. “No,” I say. “I’m not going to be his assistant forever. And even if I were…” I shrug. “I would figure something out. He’s the first man I’ve ever wanted to have a future with, and I think he’s developing feelings for me. I can tell. So I may have to adjust course a little or approach things differently, but…” I shake my head. “No. I promised I would take my cues from him. But as long as he’s okay with it, I’m going to keep trying.”
“And what will that look like?” Aurora says. She almost seems scared to hear the answer.
I think about it for a second before deciding. “He said we’re not going to kiss again, so we won’t. And I’ll try not to be so pushy.But…I could show him what he’s missing,” I say, and my eyes jump to India as an idea begins to form. “In fact…”
“That look scares me,” India says.
“Mm-hmm,” Aurora says, her brow furrowing.
I just smile. “Could I borrow your boyfriend?”
LUCA
I rarely have restful weekends,but they’re usually notthisbad. My sleep is even worse than normal; I toss and turn all night. Whatever magic Juliet’s kiss worked has vanished. I’m listless throughout the day, too, my mind racing with things I don’t want to think about.
Things I don’t want to think about—and yet I can’t stop. Rodney’s words play on a loop in my head, broken up only by Juliet’s smiling face that pops in every now and then.
I think I might be losing my sanity. At any moment I’ll find myself fixating on a patch of yellow wallpaper, slipping slowly into madness.
The madness never comes, though. I just exist in a perpetual haze of brooding thoughts. I walk through a house my realtor suggested, and it’s perfect—small but not too small for growth if I have a family someday, with a low-maintenance yard—so I start preparing to put in a bid. It’s a welcome distraction, but Monday arrives sooner than I’mready. It shows up bright and early, and I wake with my heart already pumping too fast.
I just don’t know what it’s going to look like, having Juliet as my assistant. Because when I think of an assistant, I think of someone unobtrusive, quietly filling their role.
I don’t think Juliet has been quiet a day in her life. And imagining her otherwise feels…wrong.
My body is somehow both tired and laced with energy as I get ready for work, and on my way to Explore, my hands clench the steering wheel tightly while my lids droop. I’m a mess.
