Consolation Prize (Forbidden Men 9)

Covering her mouth, she laughed before sighing out her pleasure. “Of course you did.”

“No, I did. Seriously. Caroline helped me be Patrick for Halloween one year.”

“Oh my God!” She pointed, her eyes going wide. “I was Sandy.”

I suddenly loved this girl. “Spacesuit Sandy or Bikini Sandy?”

She set her hands over her eyes as she admitted, “Bikini Sandy. I had the ruffled purple skirt and everything.”

Sweet. “What did you use for the tail?”

“My dad borrowed a real fox tail from my grandma.” When my mouth opened, she pointed. “Don’t ask. Please don’t ask.”

I lifted my hands in surrender, but still had to say, “So you used a real fox tail for a fake squirrel costume tail?”

Tears streamed down her cheeks she started to laugh so hard. “Yes. Grandma Cicely is kind of into hoodoo stuff.” She wiped at her cheeks before narrowing her eyes. “Don’t ever tell anyone I told you this, but I loved my tail. I wished it had been re

al.”

Imagining my Julianna as a little girl with a fox tail made me grin.

I winked. “Don’t worry, Sandy. Your secret tail is safe with me.” Then setting my hand over my gut, I rose from my seat. “I gotta hit the john real quick. I’ll be right back.”

After she nodded at me, I kissed her temple and went in search of the bathroom.

I was in there two minutes max before I returned to our table. But the laughing-so-hard-she-was-crying Juli I’d left only seconds before was long gone. She’d pulled her arms to her chest protectively and had scooted back to the darkest back corner of the booth.

As I sat across from her, she shot a glare toward another table.

“Everything okay?” I asked, glancing that way to find two girls at another table eating their own supper. When they smirked back, I blinked. “Do you know them?”

“Hmm?” She tore her attention from them and finally focused on me. “No, why?”

I shook my head confused. “I don’t know. Maybe because you guys keep sending each other killer glares.”

She sighed. But all she said was, “They started it.”

“Started what?” I glanced between her and the girls again. “The glaring contest?”

“Yes.”

Still totally lost on what I was missing, I arched my eyebrows. “Why would they glare at you if they don’t even know you?”

She pierced me with an incredulous stare. “Why would I start a glaring contest with them?”

“Good point.” I glanced at them—yep, they were still sneaking sneers our way—and then I scanned Juli from head to…well, wherever the table hid her from view. “I wonder what their issue is. It’s not like your clothes don’t match. You look hot and sporty. So it can’t be some fashion faux pas that’s offended their trendy little senses.”

Julianna rolled her eyes. “It’s because I’m black,” she told me dryly.

I lifted my eyebrows. “Huh?”

“They don’t think I belong here with you.”

I stared at her a moment without speaking, then turned to study the gossiping women openly. “You think?”

“Yes,” she hissed, reaching out to grab my hand in order to get my attention. “I knew it’d be a bad idea to come here. I’ve never seen any black people in this neighborhood when I’ve driven by before. I don’t belong here. Dammit, Colton, please stop looking at them.”

I turned back to her, not letting go of her fingers when she tried to pull away. “Okay, first of all, that’s just bullshit. You belong everywhere, baby doll. And secondly, are you sure it’s a race thing? Maybe they’re just jealous because you’re so beautiful.”