Chapter 30
Juliette
“Shit…” I was running late for book club.
I wasn’t really in the mood for it tonight, but I’d fallen into a funk over the last week since I’d seen Wes, so I was forcing myself to go.
I grabbed a bottle of wine, walked over to Pam’s, knocked on the door, and waited.
When she opened, she had a funny expression on her face. And when I looked over her shoulder into the living room, I knew exactly the reason why.
I put the bottle of wine on an end table as I stormed inside. “What the hell are you doing here?”
Wes sat in the circle with a shit-eating grin on his face.
“Wes joined the book club,” Pam explained.
I looked back at her before returning to glare at him. “Why?”
“I had fun the last time I was here.” He popped a cheese curl into his mouth.
“We don’t have any rule that men can’t join,” someone said.
“I thought he was a friend of yours,” another woman chimed in.
Clearly, Pam hadn’t made the connection that the guy I’d needed to follow in her car that one night was Wes.
And I was a little relieved. Either Pam hadn’t seen the news about us, or if she had, she was good at playing dumb.
But the fact that she’d invited him tonight made me pretty certain she was clueless about my identity.
Wes smiled over at me as I took a seat in the circle of chairs. Since I was late, the book discussion was already underway.
One of the members tilted her head. “Wes, as you were saying…before Juliette arrived…”
“Yeah.” He cleared his throat. “I think the concept of a why-choose romance makes a lot of sense. I mean why choose one when you can have both hot guys?”
I rolled my eyes.
He reached for the book he’d placed under his seat. “I actually annotated my favorite parts.”
To my shock, there were, in fact, colored tabs throughout the paperback.
He flipped through the pages. “Pink for sex scenes, blue for parts that made me swoon, and green for things I was curious to get your thoughts on.”
I sniffed the air, noticing a familiar smell. “You brought smoked sausage, didn’t you?”
Wes grinned. “How did you know?”
“I can smell it.”
He nodded. “Stopped in West Hollywood to get it.”
“Better here than in my fridge.”
He smirked, and I rolled my eyes before someone interrupted our moment.
“What was your favorite part of the book, Wes?”
Without skipping a beat, he shifted gears.
“I loved how Aiden actually helped Marina see Adam’s perspective when Adam fucked up.
Aiden convinced her that sometimes lies of omission aren’t personal.
Sometimes they’re meant to protect. Adam was doing what he had to, but Marina took it personally, when she shouldn’t have.
” He looked over at me. “That said, she was totally right to be angry with him. But Aiden helped her see that Adam really loves her and never meant to hurt her. It surprised me, though, that it was Aiden who stepped up to help Adam when they’d originally been competing for her love. ”
He grinned and bit into a piece of chocolate. “I thought maybe the two guys were going to start fucking after that, but realized this wasn’t that type of book. It’s MFMM—not MMMF.”
I turned to him. “Impressed that you know the lingo…” I wanted to be angry, but there was something truly adorable about the fact that Wes had read this book cover to cover and done his research.
I also couldn’t help but notice how damn hot he looked tonight.
He seemed more tan and less stressed than he had when he was working for my father.
But that reminded me of why he’d been so damn stressed while working for Vince; Wes had been lying to me the entire time. I sighed.
After the book discussion, I went over to the appetizer table and begrudgingly took a piece of the smoked chorizo Wes had brought. As strong as it smelled, it did taste damn good.
He came up behind me. “Happy you’re still willing to eat my sausage, despite everything we’ve been through.”
I glared at him.
He raised a brow. “Too soon?”
“Much too soon.” I lowered my voice. “Seriously, what do you think you’re doing infiltrating my book club?”
“How else am I gonna get to see you? And there are no five-minute timers here.” He winked. “Is that a hint of a smile?”
I pursed my lips, staving off any shred of amusement that tried to peek through. “No.”
Wes raised his chin. “If you hate me so much, why are you wearing my cock and balls around your neck?”
“What?” I blinked.
“The cactus necklace I bought in Venice.”
Crap. I clutched the charm. I’d forgotten I’d been wearing it a lot lately.
“I’m taking it as a sign of hope,” he added, then looked around. “I’m a little disappointed that they didn’t read another bodyguard romance.” He winked. “I kind of like those.”
“Even when the hero turns against the heroine?” I bit into the chorizo angrily.
“Yes. Especially when she gives him a second chance,” he whispered into my ear, sending a chill down my spine. “And then they live happily ever after.”
I pulled away. “Too bad that doesn’t happen in real life.”
I walked back to the other room, but after several minutes of trying to immerse myself in conversations that didn’t include Wes, I could no longer avoid him. It was time to go.
“Can I walk you home?” he asked.
Not wanting to make a scene, I nodded.
“Where are you living now?” I asked as we strolled back to my house.
“At the Magnolia Apartments off of Sunset.”
As we passed all the flowers he’d put in, I stopped. “Thank you for these, by the way. But it wasn’t necessary.”
“Again, just a way I could still be connected to you, when you’re otherwise making it tough.”
We resumed walking. “What other creative ways are you going to come up with to invade my life?”
He looked down at his feet a moment. “Actually, speaking of that…”
I stopped again. “What, Wes?”
“I’ll be at the early screening of your movie next week. And before you think it’s a stalking situation…I have no choice. I’ve started working for a private security firm, and they assigned me to none other than Bradley Wilson.”
My eyes went wide. “You’re kidding…”
“No. Believe me, I have no desire to work for that douche. But here we are.” He sighed. “So, yeah. That’s why I’ll be at the early screening—not to stalk you.” He paused. “Congratulations, by the way. You’re obviously going, right?”
I nodded. “Yes, of course.”
“Tommy going with you?”
“He’s following me.”
“Since we’re both going to the same event, would it be possible for me to pick you up and take you?”
“I’m actually going with someone else.”
His expression fell, and I didn’t elaborate.
When we got to my door, Wes didn’t say much else before he walked away, looking defeated.
***
The following week, I was a barrel of nerves as I got ready for the early screening of Autumn’s Husband, which was the first feature film made from one of my screenplays.
It had been tweaked quite a bit by other writers, yet I’d adapted the majority of it from the novel and was extremely proud.
But my nerves tonight had nothing to do with the film.
Not only would I have to see Wes, I would be bringing a date—a film agent a friend had connected me with.
Allan Kraft and I had started talking casually over the phone a few weeks ago.
When we realized we were going to the same event, he asked if we could go together.
I’d agreed to the date before I knew Wes was working for that private security firm, though now he’d think I’d brought a date just to stick it to him.
I shouldn’t have been thinking about how Wes was going to react, but I couldn’t help myself.
That evening, when Allan picked me up, he had no idea that Tommy would be shadowing us.
“You look amazing, Juliette,” he said as we got into his car. “I’m so glad this worked out.”
“Me too.” I smiled nervously, still preoccupied with Wes.
“You said this is your first feature film?”
I shrugged. “Yes. Not my first adapted screenplay, but the first full-length project that’s been produced.”
“Amazing. Do you have family attending?”
My family attending. Yeah, right. “No…” I shook my head. “They’re all on the East Coast.”
By some miracle, it also seemed Allan hadn’t been privy to the news coverage about me. I kept feeling him out to see if he was playing dumb, but he seemed genuinely unaware. And I certainly wasn’t going to volunteer that information.
“How long have you been an agent?” I asked.
“About ten years. I love it, but it’s cutthroat. Generally, once a client hits it big, other agents try to swoop in with incentives to jump ship. I’ve had very few loyal, big-name clients over the years.”
“That stinks.”
He glanced over at me. “Well, that’s show business, as they say, right?”
Within minutes of arriving at the auditorium, I spotted Wes standing near the door. I could hardly breathe with how damn amazing he looked in a dark suit.
His eyes met mine, and his mouth curved into a smile—which faded the moment he noticed Allan next to me. Allan placed his hand at the small of my back, and Wes almost immediately turned away. I couldn’t blame him.
During the screening, I was barely able to think of anything besides Wes. When the show ended, Allan spoke into my ear. “That was fantastic. You must be very proud.”
“I am. Thank you.”
“How about we hit the after party?”
I opened my mouth, prepared to forge ahead, but then I shook my head and made an executive decision for my mental health. “I’m not feeling so great, actually. So if you don’t mind, I’d like to head home.”
“That’s too bad.” He frowned. “But of course.”
Allan drove me home, and when we got to my door, he leaned in to kiss me.
I moved back.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I—”
“No. I’m the one who’s sorry.” I shook my head and inwardly cringed. “It’s not you. I’m just not ready for this. I apologize if I’ve led you on. I’m just getting out of a relationship. I thought dating would be good for me, but I misjudged, and I’m so very sorry you got dragged into it.”
“I totally understand.” He smiled sadly. “And I think you’re fantastic, so if at any given point you find yourself ready to date again, you know where to find me.”
“Thank you, Allan.” I nodded. “That’s very sweet of you.” I waved as I closed the door behind me.
But alone in my house, I wondered if I’d ever be ready for another man as long as Wes was alive.