29
Juliette lay in bed listening to the rain pounding on the windows. It was quite hypnotic, but sadly not enough to send her back to the land of Nod. She wasn’t due to be up for a couple of hours but had been plagued by dreams; although this time they weren’t about Laurie. Instead, she was playing detective and was on a mission to discover the deceitful one who had been spreading lies about Reid. But, of course, round every corner she turned in the haze of her subconscious, there was Leanna warning her off, blocking her path. If she wasn’t convinced of Leanna’s involvement before, she certainly was now.
Juliette had eventually walked into a kitchen she didn’t recognise, and there, on the steel stove, was a huge boiling pot; its lid lifting and rattling as steam escaped and water spluttered, spilling over the sides. She was stretching out her arm, about to lift the lid, when she somehow realised she was dreaming and had forced herself awake with a start.
She immediately blamed Kendric.
All that blooming talk ofFatal Attractionand bunnies…
Dexter had messaged the night before to say he’d finally got around to arranging some time off and would be arriving soon for his visit, which suited her fine. She reached across to check her phone and noticed a string of texts from Millie.
Hey, honey, are you up? I know it’s early but I have news xx
Jules, message me when you get this!
Ugh! Why are you sleeping in when I’m so excited and want to share news?
And finally, Don’t message when you read these, just call me, okay?
Juliette immediately hit dial, avoiding the video call button on account of her lack of sleep, and before the phone even had a chance to ring at the other end, she heard Millie’s breathless voice. ‘At last! Good grief, I thought you’d switched your phone off, which is totally unlike you!’
‘Hey, Millie, is everything okay? It’s five in the morning. What couldn’t wait?’
‘Are you sitting down?’
Juliette glanced at the ceiling from her recumbent position on the bed. ‘Not exactlysittingbut go ahead.’
‘He’s asked me to move to London!’ This was followed by a high-pitched scream, which forced Jules to yank the phone away from her ear.
She shook her head, feeling sure she’d heard wrong. ‘What?’
‘Harry has asked me to move to London to live with him!’
‘Bloody hell, Millie, that’s… that’swonderful!’ She forced moderation on her initial reaction.
Millie missed nothing and sighed. ‘I know you were going to say it’s fast. And you’re right. I know it is. But when you know, you just know. He’s the one, Jules. I’m finally in love.Reallove.’
‘But you hardly know him, lovely. It’s been a couple of months. I just don’t want you to get hurt.’
‘I know that. And I appreciate it. I really do. But I’ve met his family and friends a few times now and I really think I want to say yes.’
Juliette was experiencing conflicting emotions; some of them leaning towards downright selfishness. If Millie moved away, what would she do? They had been in each other’s lives for so long, she wasn’t sure she would cope. Of course, she didn’t utter a word of this out loud. ‘Well, if he makes you happy, sweetie, then I’m over the moon for you. I can’t wait to meet him.’
‘So… you think I should say yes?’
Juliette sat up straight now. ‘Wait, you haven’t said yes already?’
‘No, I haven’t given him an answer yet because I wanted to tell you first.’
‘Millie, you didn’t need to do that. I’m not in charge of your life.’
Millie sighed again. ‘No, I know that. It’s just… You’ve needed me these past few years and the last thing I want is to abandon you. I mean, obviously it’s only a couple of hours’ drive, so I can be there if you need me. I can run my business from there quite easily. And—’
Juliette immediately stamped on her selfish feelings. She wanted Millie to be happy. Of course she did. Especially after everything she had done for her. ‘Millie, stop. Please, say yes to Harry. You can’t spend your life hanging around in caseIneed you. I love you for caring so deeply, but the last thingIwant is for you to pass up a chance at happiness because of me. I’ll be fine. Iamfine. Go and be happy, honey, okay?’ Her voice broke. Millie had been holding her up for so long she’d evidently forgotten how to make a decision that didn’t consider her first. Guilt and love fought for supremacy in Juliette’s heart.
‘Thank you, Jules. Thank yousomuch. You’ll love him. I just know you will.’
Juliette smiled. ‘If you love him, then there’s no doubt in my mind that I will. Now please, go and call him and tell him to clear you some space in his wardrobe for your ginormous designer shoe collection, for goodness sake!’ She giggled.
