Chapter 39
JUNO
The line outside Curly’s stretched halfway down the block.
I stood just inside the entrance of the flagship location, watching through the glass as people waited in the late-morning sun.
Some had their phones out, already filming.
A local news van idled at the curb next to a food blogger I recognized from the Burgergate think pieces.
The same blogger who’d called Hollis “a cautionary tale about influencer ego” was now standing in line for a free sample of his burger.
Funny how that worked.
“You’ve got a death grip on your phone,” Kari said.
I loosened my fingers. “I’m just waiting for the other shoe to drop.”
She bumped my shoulder with hers. “This is going to be huge. Try to enjoy it. There’s no other shoe. It’s good. Great.”
I was trying. But three weeks ago, this exact restaurant had been ground zero for the worst day of my professional life, and I was still having trouble reconciling the two realities.
When Curly’s marketing team suggested holding the grand reveal at the same location where the infamous video had been filmed, I’d thought it was insane.
Then their PR lead explained the logic. It was a full-circle redemption arc.
The internet loved a comeback story almost as much as it loved a downfall.
The announcement that the B Well Prime Burger would debut at Curly’s had set social media on fire. Half the people in that line were there to see if the burger was as bad as they assumed.
“There you are.”
I turned to find Hollis weaving through the crowd.
He wore jeans and a fitted B Well polo, his hair doing that perfect tousled thing that took him zero effort.
He’d been up since four, too wired to sleep.
I’d found him at his kitchen counter at dawn, re-reading his speech notes like he was preparing for court.
“How’s it looking out there?” he asked.
“See for yourself.”
He came to stand beside me at the glass. I watched his reflection as he took it all in. His eyebrows climbed toward his hairline. “That’s for us?”
“That’s for you,” I corrected. “I’m just the silent partner. Literally. I’ve already told people I’m not speaking on camera.”
He grinned. “Still scarred from the memes?”
“I will be scarred from the memes until the day I die.”
Hollis laughed and slid his hand into mine, giving it a squeeze. Out of habit, I glanced around to see who might be watching before remembering I didn’t have to do that anymore. We’d stopped hiding after the deal closed. Life was too short, and honestly, too good.
“Nervous?” I asked.
“Terrified. This is everything. If these people take one bite and make the face, we’re done.”
“They’re not going to make the face. I’ve eaten the burger. I’ve watched my father eat the burger, and that man has been a meat-and-potatoes guy since birth.” I turned him to face me. “The product is good, Hollis. Trust it. Trust yourself.”
He looked down at me for a long moment, some of the tension finally leaking out of his shoulders. “Have I mentioned I love you today?”
“You have.”
I went up on my toes and kissed him, right there in front of the Curly’s executive team, the news cameras, and God himself. Let them film it. I was done caring.
A hand clapped down on Hollis’s shoulder. “Places, people. Showtime in ten.”
Toby and Micah looked like two peas in a pod, both wearing headsets around their necks.
“We ready?” Toby asked.
I looked at Hollis. “We are,” I answered.
At eleven o’clock sharp, the doors opened.
The first wave of customers surged in. The energy in the restaurant shifted from anticipation to chaos in about four seconds. Curly’s staff moved like a well-oiled machine, handing out sample baskets of the B Well Prime Burger cut into neat quarters, along with curly fries.
Micah and Toby circled the crowd, getting video footage for future commercials. A crew member brought Hollis and me our burgers. The last thing I wanted to do was eat a burger on camera, but Micah promised me I could keep it dainty.
Toby gave the signal and Hollis and I both took our bites to prove we stood behind the product.
The crowd cheered.
I moved through the restaurant, watching faces. I stopped near a group of college-aged guys who looked like they’d been dragged there by their girlfriends. One of them took a bite. Chewed. His eyebrows did something complicated.
“Okay, wait,” he said, mouth still half full. “Hold on.”
His friend took a bite. “There’s no way that’s not beef.”
I kept walking, collecting moments. Two older women at a corner table debated whether their husbands would notice if they swapped it in at home.
And then there was the food blogger.
She sat alone with a quarter of a burger, her phone propped up, filming her own reaction like a one-woman tribunal. I lingered close enough to watch. Did these influencers know how irritating they were?
She took a bite. Her eyes widened slightly. “Okay. Okay, wow. That’s genuinely good. The char on this? I need to know how they did that. Consider me converted. Hashtag, I was wrong.”
I could have kissed her.
By one o’clock, #BWellPrime was trending. Clips of people eating the burger were going viral.
It was exactly what we’d hoped for.
I found my father in deep conversation with Curly’s VP of Operations. He caught my eye across the room and held up his phone. I couldn’t remember the last time he’d been so excited. He and Hollis were already talking about the next thing.
“Juno.” He waved me over, shaking the VP’s hand one last time before she moved off. “You seeing this?”
“I’m seeing it. The whole internet is seeing it.”
He slipped his phone into his pocket. “Can I borrow you and Hollis for a few minutes? Let’s find somewhere quiet.”
The good vibes evaporated.
“Sure,” I said, because what else was there to say?
I collected Hollis from the crowd. “My dad wants to talk to us. Both of us.”
He searched my face. “Everything okay?”
“I don’t know.”
We followed my father out the back door where a couple of employees were taking a smoke break.
“So, today went well,” Dad said.
“Better than well,” Hollis said. “Thank you, Dan. For everything. Young at Heart made this happen.”
He nodded. “I didn’t pull you back here to talk about the business.”
Oh God. Here it comes.
“I want to talk about you two.” He looked at me, then at Hollis, then back at me. “And before you start rehearsing denials in your heads, let me save you the trouble. I’m not blind. I’ve watched you two circle each other. Kari comes up with some pretty good excuses, but not that good.”
“I’m going to kill Kari,” I muttered.
“She didn’t have to tell me anything. I raised you, Juno. I know what you look like when you’re happy.” He smiled at me. “So. Is there something you’d like to tell me, or should we keep pretending I don’t know my daughter is dating her business partner?”
I looked at Hollis. We weren’t necessarily hiding anything but we weren’t advertising it either.
I took a breath. “We’re together,” I said. “We tried to keep it professional. We can work together. You’re looking at the result of us working together.”
Hollis nodded. “We do work great together.”
“I was going to tell you,” I said. “A hundred times. I didn’t want you to think my judgment was compromised.”
My father held up a hand and smiled. I saw pride in his eyes. “Your judgment is impeccable. Your judgment held this partnership together through a crisis that would have sunk most deals. I trust you.”
I felt my throat get tight. “You’re not mad?”
“Why would I be mad?” He shrugged. “You’re a grown woman. You’re brilliant. You’ve spent years pouring everything into the company and nothing into yourself. Your mother would have been thrilled to see you this happy. I am too.”
Dad turned to Hollis. “As for you. You’ve impressed me, son.
Not just today. The way you handled the crisis—turning it into the biggest opportunity either of our companies has ever seen—that takes something.
But understand me, that’s my daughter. My whole world, walking around outside my body.
You handle her with love and respect and we’ll get along just fine. ”
“Sir, I consider it the honor of my life to be with Juno. I love her.”
He extended his hand. “Welcome to the family, Hollis. Unofficially, for now.”
Hollis shook his hand, and then my father pulled him into a brief, back-slapping hug. Then I got pulled in too.
The rest of the afternoon blurred by in the best way.
It was nearly six when we finally escaped.
The line was still going, the numbers still climbing, and the Curly’s team looked like they’d won the lottery, which, financially speaking, they sort of had.
Hollis held the car door for me, then laced his fingers through mine the entire drive to his place, one hand on the wheel, looking very happy.
At the house, we abandoned our shoes by the door. Hollis made us our usual drinks and we moved out to the deck. We watched the sun sink, doing its thing with all the pretty oranges and pinks splashing across the sky. I was completely content.
“So I was thinking about something,” he said.
“Yeah?”
“Your stuff.” He turned in his chair to face me. “You’ve got dresses in my closet. Your skincare situation covers your side of the vanity. You’ve got a favorite coffee mug.”
I frowned. “Are you complaining?”
“Juno.” He took my hand. “You spent four nights here this week. Five last week. The nights you go home, I wake up at two in the morning and reach for you and you’re not there, and I hate it.” He rubbed his thumb over my knuckles. “Move in with me.”
I stared at him.
“I know it’s fast,” he said, the words picking up speed now.
“I know it’s only been a few months and people are going to have opinions, and your dad just found out about us like six hours ago.
But nothing about us has ever followed a normal timeline.
I’ve stopped waiting for my life to make sense to other people.
You basically live here already. I want it to be official.
I want to wake up to you every morning.”
I looked at him and already knew my answer. The man was more than just a pretty face. He was smart. Kind. Generous.
And mine.
“Okay,” I said.
He blinked. “Okay?”
“Yes. I’ll move in with you.”
He grabbed me and pulled me across his body where he lounged in the chair. He kissed me, slow and deep. “Welcome home, Juno Young.”
Welcome home indeed.