Chapter 27
Chapter Twenty-Seven
JULIETTE
The next morning, I awoke to the smell of bacon and the clatter of dishes.
“What the…?”
Theo didn’t even eat breakfast, except for the occasional bowl of Cookie Crisp, and he never washed anything by hand. If the dishwasher couldn’t get it clean the first time, he just ran that plate through on repeat.
My growling belly wanted that bacon. Desperately. So I stumbled out of bed, opened the door, and… screamed as I tripped, face-first. It died when I landed with a gentle thud onto… a plastic cloud?
“Th-Theo,” I sputtered, pushing up onto my hands. “Why is there an air mattress—” The words evaporated when I came face-to-face with Griffin.
Kneeling at the end of the mattress, hair still wet from the shower. He wore a green Zion National Park T-shirt he’d gotten on our trip and a pair of dark jeans that fit him a little too well.
My heart wagged happily.
“Good morning,” he said and popped the seal. The mattress deflated under me, air whooshing out.
“Did you sleep here?” I scrambled onto the floor.
“Yes.” He didn’t look up, working out the rest of the air.
“Right outside my door?”
“Yes.”
My insides went a little mushy. “Did you cook breakfast too?”
“Yes.”
“For me?”
“Yes.”
I stood and crossed my arms. “Why?”
He began to fold the mattress. “Because,” was all he said.
“Because why?” I insisted.
“Because you’re my wife and another man has been taking care of you for the past three months when I should’ve been doing it.”
Against my will, I went even mushier.
No. No mushy feelings. None.
“Didn’t you read the sign?” I pointed at the paper still on my door, the frustration evident in my tone. Why was he being even sweeter than yesterday? The sign was supposed to deflate him, just like this mattress.
“I did.” He stuffed the bed into a cloth sack.
“I don’t need you to take care of me, okay? And you’re not staying in Seddledowne for me either.”
“I am.” He tied the drawstring on the bag.
“No, you’re not.” I stomped my foot. “Don’t you get that I don’t want you here?” Had I just stabbed myself in the stomach? Because that’s what it felt like.
He stood too. Something shifted in him—the careful neutrality cracking just enough. “Why? What’s got you so afraid? What happened, Jules?”
“You left!” My voice shook. “You left me. Just like every other person in my life. I can’t trust you anymore.
” I hadn’t meant to say it. And yes, it was at least half my fault that things fell apart between us.
But it still hurt that the one person I’d pinned all my hopes and dreams on, the one person I thought would never leave, had abandoned me.
“I’m not going to trust you anymore. So just go back to Phoenix. Back to Boone and the hotshots.”
“No. I’m staying for good. I’m going to prove to you I won’t leave again. No matter how long it takes. All to pieces.”
All to pieces? What did that mean? “You’re going to uproot yourself and start over even if I divorce you?”
The D word brought a moment of panic. But then he righted himself and breathed a firm, “Yes.”
That confession froze my insides. He couldn’t be here. Not if I wanted to protect him. He needed to be as far from me as possible. “Then I’ll go.” I winced, hating that idea. I loved it here. And I’d made promises to Peyton and Ford, and I needed to be here to fulfill those promises.
It doesn’t matter. Keeping Griffin safe is more important.
“That’s cool,” he said, unruffled. “Where should we live next? I hear Alaska’s pretty in the summer. The daylight lasts anywhere from sixteen to a full twenty-four hours, depending on how north you go—”
“No, Griff, stop—”
“—or Savannah, Georgia, is lovely. Some of the streets are cobblestone, and they’re lined with oak trees draped in Spanish moss—”
“I don’t love you,” I nearly shouted, sounding unhinged.
He went quiet for two breaths, not moving, and I was sure I’d finally convinced him. But in the next breath, he said, “I don’t believe you,” with a terrifying amount of confidence.
My hands went rigid. “Then you’re delusional. You’re not following me if I leave here.”
“I am.”
“You’re not,” I said through gritted teeth. “So tell the Honeyville Fire Department that you made a mistake and go get your hotshot job back.”
The corner of his mouth lifted.
“Why are you smirking?” I asked, my pulse stabbing me in the throat.
“Because.” His smirk opened into a frustratingly handsome grin. “You love me.”
“Wh-what? No. I just told you I don’t.”
“Yeah,” he said, like it barely registered. “But your actions speak much louder.”
“You mean like that?” I thrust my index finger at the sign again.
“Jules.” He sighed. Reached over and tore my sign down.
I scoffed. “I can’t believe you did that.”
“Believe it, baby.” He balled up the paper, aimed, and made a free throw into the trash can across the room. “Nothing but net.”
I propped my hands on my hips, eyes fixed on that face.
“Don’t worry,” he said, a bit of his bluster gone.
“I’ll respect your wishes and sleep out here.
” He ran a hand over his scruff. “You can punish me however you want. I’ll do your dishes, your laundry, and rub your feet with lotion every night.
Heck, you can even divorce me. But I’m never going to stop loving you. ”
Aww.
No! Bad heart. Bad, bad heart.
He sighed. “But you’re wasting your time trying to make me believe you don’t love me.”
“I don’t,” I growled. Maybe if I kept saying it, it would convince us both.
“Oh-kay.” He chuckled. “Jules? How’d you know I went and asked HFD for my old job back? I didn’t tell you that.”
I froze, eyes wide, realizing my mistake. My mouth fell open. I snapped it shut. “Yes, you did.”
“Didn’t.” He smirked.
“Did.” I glowered.
“Didn’t. Would you like to see the evidence?” He took his phone from his pocket.
“No. Fine. Put it away. What’s the big deal? I looked you up on Find My.”
“That’s right.” His eyes were twinkling for absolutely no reason. “The app you said you deleted me from.”
Oh.
He released another cocky laugh, and my stomach purred like it was Team Griffin.
Which was just infuriating.
“That’s it,” I snapped. I stormed into my room, grabbed my phone, and stormed back out. “You’re gone, buddy.” I punched at my screen. “Adios.” I found his name. “Hasta la vista, baby.” And hit delete. “Bye, Felicia.”
“That’s unfortunate.” He shrugged. “How will you spend all the extra time you normally spend stalking me? Oh, I know, you’ll just wonder where I am instead.
You’ll wonder and wonder and wonder until it makes you crazy.
” His mouth curved. “Then you’ll slyly text Charlie and see if you can get any info from her. Or Maggie. Or my mom.”
I clamped my jaw so hard that it actually hurt. Because he wasn’t wrong. More than ever, I needed to know he was safe. Checking his location was basically my favorite hobby. And now, I’d screwed myself over because if I wanted to re-add him to the app, he’d have to approve it.
“Tell me I’m wrong?” He lifted one eyebrow—slow, deliberate, knowing exactly what it did to me. Then the other followed, a lazy echo.
“Stop it!” I demanded.
Big mistake.
His mouth twitched, and both brows started in—one up, the other down, seesawing in a maddening rhythm. And the more he reversed them, the more my belly flipped.
“You are…” I faltered, wishing but unable to make myself call him evil. I knew true evil, and Griffin was the polar opposite.
“I’m what?” He winked. “So hot—” he enunciated the T “—that it melts all your defenses?”
I shuddered, shocked that he remembered verbatim my breathless confessions during our honeymoon lovemaking.
He took another step toward me. “Or maybe you’re thinking,” he raised his voice into a sultry, mocking tone, “‘I was fine before you.” He gasped. “‘I swear I was. But now? I can’t even think straight.’”
Cheeks hot, my mouth fell open. “Well.” I snapped it shut. “You’re just showing yourself today, aren’t you? That doesn’t even sound like me.”
“Oh, I think you get the picture.” He moved toward me, slow and deliberate, and I hated that I didn’t step back.
“S-stop,” I stammered, breath catching, stomach yearning for his touch. His kiss.
No kissing! my brain screamed. You have to keep him safe!
But he wouldn’t stop. Another step. Then another. Until he was right in front of me, the heat of his body close enough that I could feel it.
“‘It’s okay, Jules,” he murmured, leaning closer. Closer. His gaze dropped to my mouth—just once—then back up. “Stalking you is my favorite pastime too.”
We stared at each other, the space between us shrinking. With each shallow, uneven breath, the single thread holding me back was fraying…
Fraying..
Fraying.
No! Cecil’s threats burst into my mind. Keep. Him. Safe!
So, for Griffin, I retreated a step.
Or I would have, if I hadn’t tripped over the back of the couch. The next thing I knew, I was tumbling headfirst, feet in the air. I hit the floor with an oof, landing on my butt, hair in my face, my eyes, and even my mouth.
As if that weren’t embarrassing enough, Griffin gasped, trying not to outright guffaw. “Ju-Jules.” He wheezed, “Are you—” he lost it for a second. “Are you all right?”
The humiliation surged through me, white-hot anger rippling from the center of my chest.
I burst to my feet, spitting out my hair. “You want pillow talk?” I snapped. “I’ll give you pillow talk.” I jerked a throw pillow off the couch and whacked him right in the face. “I don’t love you and I don’t want you here! Stay away from me, Griffin!” I shouted.
I’d done it. Wiped the smirk clean off. Stripped the confidence right out of him. Whatever else DayGlow had planned for him, I’d just beaten them to the punch.
I’d never hated myself more.
Whether to avoid his devastation or hide my shame, I didn’t know, but I jogged across the room, slammed the bedroom door shut, and locked it.
Then I fell onto my bed, a complete mess.