“Nothing. I’m not sure he was even aware he said it.”
The girls frowned.
“He whispered it in the heat of the moment.”
Evonne held up her hand. “Say no more.”
“No, please say more,” Joey countered. Juliette laughed.
“How did he act when you kept quiet?” Hil whispered.
“Like it’d never happened, which is why I’m so confused.” Juliette ran a hand through her windblown hair and growled.
“Maybe he’s waiting on a cue from you,” Hil said.
“And maybe he isn’t. I don’t want to put myself out there and end up looking like a jackass. Lord knows we have enough shit on our plate to deal with as it is.”
“You feel the same way about him, don’t you?” Evonne whispered knowingly.
“Damn it, yes. Can you blame me?” Juliette sighed.
“The man stole my heart the first night. It just took me a long time to realize it. No one could ever make me feel the way he does. So safe, loved, heard.” She looked at the puppy-dog eyes her friends were giving her and cleared her throat. “I could go on with this, but I’m going to stop because you’re all looking at me like I started a monologue from a romance movie.”
“No.” Joey rested a hand on her arm. “It’s really sweet.”
“Not to cut this short but your man is giving us the evil eye, and I don’t want to be on the end of that wrath,” Joey whispered.
“Wrath? He’s harmless.”
“Uh huh,” Hil said skeptically.
“Well to you guys,” Juliette amended. “Come on.” She hooked her arm in Joey’s and propelled them forward. “I really want y’all to be comfortable around him and the guys. They’ll be on their best behavior. It’s a family day.”
“If you say so,” Evonne said, sounding skeptical.
Laughing, Juliette met Shooter’s inquisitive gaze and playfully rolled her eyes, mouthing nerves. He nodded and smacked Moose’s shoulder. This would be the first time their families met.
“Hey, ladies, it’s good to see you again,” Shooter said. “This is my friend, Moose. If you need anything you can ask one of us.”
“Umm, yeah.” Moose nodded, adorable and clueless. The guy was a teddy bear underneath all the layers of giant badass.
“Moose, this is Hil, Evonne and Joey. Guys, this is Moose and you remember Shooter?”
The girls’ chorus of hellos blended together. A stare-down between Moose and Joey filled the air with electricity. If the air between them intensified any more, sparks would fly. Juliette and Shooter exchanged a knowing look. That attraction would lead to a connection eventually.
“Drinks?” Juliette asked.
“Yes.” The unanimous response made them all laugh. Cracking the ice that had begged to be broken.
“The coolers are over here.” Moose turned to lead the way with Shooter at his side.
Yummy, Joey mouthed, making her laugh.
“Just wait. The day’s young,” Juliette whispered. When they reached the coolers beside the old ladies, Juliette made more introductions. Boston went a long way toward loosening her girls up. In a lot of ways the men of Mayhem were like any other group of guys. It looked like her friends were beginning to see that firsthand the more they moved around, mingled and talked. Stuck in a conversation way over her head between Specs, Gadget and Hilary, Juliette couldn’t help but be amused. Leave it to Hil to collect data for her books.
Juliette’s phone vibrated in her back pocket and she frowned. Probably her mother trying to get her to commit to a time and place to meet Shooter. Normally she’d ignore her but she hadn’t talked to her in about a week. She dug out the phone and frowned at the unfamiliar number. Putting it up to her ear, she answered. “Hello?”
“May I speak to Ms. Juliette Moore?”