Chapter 7
Juliette
I rubbed my tired head the next morning. “Who called?”
“It was your father.” Wes sighed. “He said the threat is over. I guess Altieri and his people were in town for a wedding. It’s been confirmed that they’ve left LA.”
I yawned. “Good riddance.”
Although, there were certainly worse things than being holed up with Wes. Despite having too much to drink last night, I’d actually had fun. Wes had made it fun.
In fact, the more time I spent with the guy, the more I saw good in him. What he’d done for me last night had taken not only creativity, but heart. And it wasn’t anything I’d soon forget.
But alas, I really should try to forget the feelings that seemed to be brewing for Wes. The last thing I needed was to let my little crush on him grow any bigger.
After I had my coffee, I decided to text Jett to confirm our date tonight.
Juliette: Hey! Still on for tonight?
The little dots moved around as he typed.
Jett: Absolutely. Looking forward to it.
Juliette: Where should we meet?
Jett: How about Rosa’s on Sunset at 7?
Juliette: Sounds perfect. Love that place.
Jett: See you then.
Juliette: Looking forward to it.
Jett: See you soon. xo
I exhaled. Well, that was that.
Wes startled me as he came up from behind. “What’s the plan for later today?”
I hated having to admit where I was going. But I couldn’t lie. “I have a date tonight, remember? With Jett.”
His expression fell a bit. Or was that my imagination? He definitely didn’t look happy.
“I guess that’s happening, huh?” Wes cocked his head. “Where are you headed?”
“Rosa’s on Sunset.”
He nodded. “Okay. I’ll go in with you and sit at the opposite end of the restaurant.”
“You can’t go in with me.” I frowned. “He’ll recognize you.”
“Not if I wear my shades and sit far enough away. I’ll stay out of your way.”
I placed my hands on my hips. “No, Wes. I’m putting my foot down. You can’t come in.”
He gritted his teeth and fell silent.
“You wait outside when I’m at work,” I pointed out. “How is this different?”
After a long hesitation, he finally conceded. “I’ll wait outside, but if I can’t find parking right across the street, I’m coming in. So you’d better hope I find a spot.”
From there, Wes gave me the silent treatment for most of the day—a stark contrast to last night’s jovial mood. I guess I’d pissed him off by asking for space.
That evening, after I got all dolled up in a sexy yellow sundress and matching shoes, I announced to Wes that I was ready to leave. He grabbed his keys but said nothing as he followed me out the door.
The tension lingered the entire ride over to the restaurant as Wes said nothing.
Leaving him waiting in the car, I headed inside Rosa’s.
There was no sign of Jett. That surprised me, since I was a couple of minutes late and assumed he’d be waiting.
I was pretty sure Wes had taken his sweet time getting here on purpose in order to make me late.
Hopefully, Jett wouldn’t be too much longer.
I hated when dates were late. It showed apathy, although I couldn’t be sure he hadn’t hit LA traffic.
That would be the only acceptable excuse.
More than ten minutes passed before I spotted Jett walking in the door. He ran a hand through his hair, looking flustered, but his mouth curved into a smile once he noticed me.
Grinning, I waved him over to the table.
“Sorry I’m late.” He sat down across from me. “Traffic.”
At least he had a good excuse. “I figured.”
He placed his napkin in his lap, leaned back in the chair, and grinned. “You look absolutely stunning, Juliette,” he said, seeming a little out of breath. “Yellow is most definitely your color. It accentuates your dark hair beautifully.”
“Thank you.” I felt my cheeks heat.
Jett and I ordered drinks, and it seemed like things were going well, the conversation flowing easily.
But then the tide shifted as I looked over at the entrance and found Wes stalking toward our table.
My pulse raced. What the hell is he doing?
Anger raced through me, leaving a trail of heat.
I couldn’t believe he’d gone against his word.
“Hey, friend!” He flashed a fake smile as he approached the table. “Didn’t expect to run into you tonight!”
“What are you doing here?” I gritted my teeth.
“Well, I was in the area and decided to come in for a bite.” He pulled out a chair and made himself comfortable. “You don’t mind if I join, do you?”
I opened my mouth, and then closed it. What could I possibly say?
The nerve of him after he’d specifically promised he’d wait in the car.
I wanted to tell him to beat it, but Jett thought Wes was a family friend, so my reaction needed to be in accordance with that story.
I had to suck it up, as it would’ve seemed rude to kick him to the curb.
Wes leaned back in his chair and scratched his chin as he perused the menu. Jett stared at him incredulously.
After Wes ordered a drink, I did my best to turn my attention back to Jett. We talked shop for a while, basically ignoring Wes, until my trusty bodyguard finally spoke.
“Do you mind if I interrupt?” Wes cleared his throat.
My stomach sank. I’m seriously going to kill him.
It was bad enough that I had to deal with having a bodyguard, but had I given Wes the impression that my life was a toy he could play with?
Had I been too nice to him, and he thought he could do whatever he wanted now?
He would be getting the biggest piece of my mind later.
Jett narrowed his eyes. “Something tells me you’re going to interrupt regardless of my answer, so go right ahead.”
Wes leveled him with an incendiary stare. “I have a question for you, Jett…”
Jett took a sip of his drink and crossed his arms. “Okay…”
“Do you always suck face with one woman right before going out on a date with another?”
I immediately looked up.
Jett’s face went white. His mouth opened and closed a few times.
Wes continued, “Like, literally a minute before your date with someone else?”
Jett remained silent as Wes took out his phone. He slammed it down on the table so that both Jett and I could see. It was, indeed, an image of Jett kissing a woman. He was wearing the same shirt he had on now, and the photo had been taken just outside on Sunset Boulevard.
Holy crap. Wes wasn’t joking.
“Juliette,” Jett finally said. “I’m not sure what to say.
I’m certainly not going to deny what’s obvious.
I was with a date before I came here.” He shook his head.
“But it’s not serious. So technically, I don’t owe her, or anyone else, an explanation for meeting you after.
But I can understand why this would be upsetting. ”
I just sat there, my mouth agape.
No, Jett wasn’t my boyfriend. We weren’t exclusive.
We were just on a casual date. But kissing someone a literal minute before coming in to meet me?
I was certain he’d probably told that woman he had a business meeting or something.
He’d likely be going back to her or someone else later.
This was a giant red flag. Jett was now someone I didn’t feel deserved my time.
“You know what?” I stood. “I’ve had a rough week.
Rather than sit here and try to figure out whether this is right or wrong or how to respond to you, I’m gonna protect my peace.
” I nodded once. “So, if you’ll excuse me, I’m leaving.
Have a good rest of your evening. Hope it’s as exciting as your afternoon seemed to be. ”
I lifted my chin high and walked straight toward the entrance without looking back.
I headed over to where Wes had left the car across the street.
The car door was unlocked. Hmm... That was unlike Wes.
I did a quick sweep of the vehicle to make sure no one was hiding in it.
Then I got in and leaned my head against the backrest, taking a moment to sit in quiet and recover from whatever the hell that had been.
When I heard the driver’s side door open a few minutes later, I opened my eyes to find a somber-looking Wes.
“Juliette, I’m really sorr—”
“No. No. Don’t you dare apologize. You did me a favor. I should thank you for intervening. I don’t want anything to do with someone who operates like that. You saved me hours of my life, maybe more—time that would’ve been totally wasted.”
“Well, I’m glad you’re not mad. I sat here and debated it for a while before I went in. But I couldn’t let you sit across from that guy without giving you the opportunity to make an informed decision about it.”
I had to laugh. “I was ready to kill you when you walked in.”
He nodded. “I knew you would be. I hated those minutes where you thought I was just being an insensitive jerk who didn’t care about boundaries.” He chuckled. “I mean, I know I can come across that way sometimes, but I wouldn’t have stooped to that level for no good reason.”
“What took you so long to come back out?” I asked.
He shrugged. “I gave him a little piece of my mind before I left.”
Nice. I turned toward him. “You left the car unlocked. That’s not like you.”
His face turned red. “My head wasn’t on straight. I wanted to fucking kill that guy for disrespecting you.”
Something like a jolt of electricity shot through me. It was one thing for a man to protect me because he’d been hired to do so. But Wes looking out for me today now seemed totally different. And I wasn’t used to that.
Wes started the car, and as he pulled into traffic, I remained quiet, looking out the window. “Please just take me home,” I said after a moment.
“Are you sure? It’s a nice night and still pretty early.”
I shook my head. “I’m not in the mood to do anything.”
When he passed the exit for my house, I turned to him. “Where are you going? I said I wanted to go home…”
“Will you trust me?” he asked, glancing over. “I promise you’ll like it.”