Chapter 3 #2
“I don’t know, but if Juni goes home with him tonight, that means we get her bed to ourselves.”
I frown at their conversation. I sure hope Juniper is not going to be irresponsible enough to have a one-night stand with a man she just met.
I press my lips together. Maybe I should go over to her, stop her from making any bad decisions, but before I can, Mia walks in with Luke right behind her.
“Hey there, bro.”
She beams at me, and I turn to her and give her a hug.
“Hey. How are you doing?”
“Good. We just came to grab some food and hang out. Hey, Rosie. Hey, Sage.” My sister walks over to Juniper’s cousins and gives them both big hugs. “So good to see you. You’re both looking beautiful.”
“Thanks, Mia,” Rosie says. “You look stunning.”
I watch as she stares over at Luke.
“And you look like a billion dollars,” she says, laughing loudly. “But maybe that’s because you are worth more than a billion dollars.”
“Really, Rosie?” I stare at her and shake my head.
“Oops. Is it a secret? Is no one meant to know?”
“It’s not a secret,” Luke says, laughing lightly. “How’s it going, Rafe?”
“Good. How are you?”
“Good.” He pauses for a second, and I know he’s wondering if I’ve completely warmed up to him yet.
We’ve never been great friends, but I’ve always been cordial to him.
I was better friends with his older brother, Rex, but we weren’t that close either.
The Haverbrooks are just a next level of rich, and I’ve always been suspicious of the family.
I feel like anyone who has that much money can’t possibly know how to live a good life, can’t possibly know how to work hard.
I was wrong about Luke. He is a good guy, and I am glad he and my sister fell in love, but I am still slightly annoyed at their deception.
“Hey, so I guess there’s going to be a contest later,” Juniper says after returning to the group. “And that guy over there, John, he asked me if I would like to participate.”
“What? Just you?” Rosie frowns. “What about us?”
“He said that I had the most talent.”
Juniper does a little dance, and my eyes narrow.
“Likely story.”
“What did you say, Rafe?”
“I said I have a planet to sell you in the galaxy if you think you have any chance of winning a talent competition. Obviously, the man just wants to get in your pants.”
“Excuse me?” She puts her hands on her hips. “Are you trying to say I’m a shitty singer?”
“I mean, I am not calling you the next Adele, or Britney Spears, or Whitney Houston.”
“Rude.”
“Listen, I am just trying to give you advice. I don’t think you should embarrass yourself by signing up for a talent competition when you’re not a great singer.”
“She’s not that bad,” Rosie says, sticking up for her cousin. “I mean, she’s not that bad compared to us, but we suck.”
“Hey, talk for yourself.” Sage points at her.
Mia starts glaring at me, and I know that’s her sign to tell me to stop it, but I’m not sure if I want to. I turn away from her because I don’t want her to start lecturing me.
“I’m just saying, you’re the worst singer in the world, Juniper. I just don’t—”
“I’m signing up,” she says, glaring at me with her hands on her hips. “If John thinks I’m good enough, then I’m going to listen to him.”
There’s a look on her face that irritates me. Along with the way she said John’s name, like he’s some sort of talent scout as opposed to an idiot trying to get in her pants—which she obviously doesn’t see.
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you when he is trying to get in your panties tonight.”
“Rafe!” she squeals, looking shocked.
“Really, brother? That’s really not cool.” Mia glares at me, and I just shrug.
They can’t be that delusional, can they?
“What? I’m just being honest.” I look over at Luke. “Don’t you agree, Luke?” I’m not surprised when he doesn’t answer me. “I don’t want to be mean, Juniper, but you’re not the best singer in the world, so I think it’s highly unlikely that you’d win a talent contest.”
“Maybe this John just wants to get to know you and ask you on a date,” Mia interjects, and I roll my eyes. “You haven’t had a date in ages,” she says. “And he looks cute.”
“He does look cute. And if he wants to go on a date with me, who am I to say no? After I win the talent contest, he can take me out and spoil me.”
I want to tell her she’s a fool, but instead, I stare at her for a couple of seconds and don’t say anything.
Partly because I am angry at the fact that she is deliberately trying to rile me up and partly because I am annoyed that she’s even considering going on a date with him.
She doesn’t even know him, but I don’t care enough to lecture her anymore. I grimace as John walks over to us.
“Hey there, Juniper.” He licks his lips and then looks down at her top. Creep. “So, are you going to participate in the contest?”
“Yes,” she says. “I’m definitely participating in the—”
“Hey, I don’t think you want to do that, Juniper,” Preston says quickly from behind us.
I look back and give him a grateful smile.
“You heard him, Juniper,” I say. “It’s a bad idea.”
“I think it’s a good idea.” She glares over at Preston.
“No, I don’t think you understand, Juniper,” he says quickly. “I don’t think it’s a good idea because the contest isn’t exactly …”
“Darling, you’re signing up, right?” John says, leaning closer to her. “I think you’ve got a really good chance of winning. I definitely want to see what you’ve got to offer.”
She stares at him with wide eyes and nods slowly, a flirtatious smile on her face. “Well, thank you. I’m definitely in. I just have to think of a song that I can perform to the best of my ability.”
“Hey,” he says, laughing as he once again looks at her boobs, “I don’t really care what song you perform as long as you get the job done.”
“Bad idea, Juniper. Bad idea.” Preston shakes his head.
“What’s going on?” I ask him, and he waves me over to the bar.
“I tried to warn her. I don’t think she’s going to be happy.”
“What do you mean? What did you try to warn her about?”
“You’ll see,” he says. “I’ve got a feeling you’re not going to be happy about this either.”