Arrogant Bastard - Julie Capulet Page 0,52

her.

When I wake up, I feel better. Like I promised Luna she would, I feel lighter. The dark and twisted edges of me are colored with singular intent. Her. I’m going to replace her fear with beauty. I’m going to wash away her sadness with pleasure. I’m going to get her to fall in love with me by loving her so much she’ll have no other choice.

“Why are you so quiet?” Josie asks me as I help her pack up her three mammoth suitcases. “You said you had fun last night, aside from the stampede.”

“I did.”

“Did something happen?”

“No, not at all.” I haven’t told Josie what Gage and I talked about. Or … the other stuff. I don’t want to worry her. She’s got enough to deal with. “I’m thinking about taking a vacation.”

“What kind of vacation?”

“I’ve never been to New Orleans. I’ve always wanted to go there. All these years I’ve lived in Florida, which isn’t even that far, and I’ve never been there. It doesn’t seem … right.” The words he’d used. Now that’s just not right.

“You should take a couple days off and go there.”

“Yeah. I think I will. On Monday.”

“Monday?” She studies me for a few seconds. “Luna, did something happen between you and Gage last night?”

“No. I told you, we met the band and danced a little and then the breach thing happened and then … once we could get out we sat on the beach for a while and talked and then I came home.”

“What did you talk about?”

I almost brush it off, but my hesitation gives me away. She knows something’s up, so I just tell her. “I drank more than I meant to and he was asking a lot of questions. And he somehow got me talking about … what happened to me. I told him everything. I’m so embarrassed.” There’s not even any warning: I burst into tears.

Josie comes over and gives me a hug. A long one. One that doesn’t ask questions or judge. “It’s okay, Loon. Everything’s okay. If he got you to talk about that he must have been very kind about it. He must have made you feel like you could trust him.”

Had he? Maybe he had. “I’m sure he’ll want to keep his distance now.”

She holds my shoulders, pulling back. “Why would you say that?”

“Because. I’m damaged.”

“Jesus, Luna, would you stop with the ‘damaged.’ You really need to change your narrative. There’s nothing damaged about you. You’re kind and smart and successful and gorgeous. So you had a bad experience once, who hasn’t? Look at me.”

“But that wasn’t a bad experience.”

“No, it was an exceptionally good experience. Which makes the whole thing worse, because I’ll never have it again. And now who’s going to want me? With two crazy little boys thrown into the deal. Because I can already tell they’re going to be a handful.” She places her hand on her stomach. “They’re either going to be soccer players or acrobats.”

“Plenty of guys will want you, Josie. You’re beautiful.”

“And you’re beautiful. Inside and out. If Gage McCabe is scared off by what you told him last night then he’s not a man you’d want anyway.”

“I never really thought about it that way before.”

She hands me a box of tissues. “Well, it’s time you did. Way past time you did. It’s time for you to get back on that horse, girl. Or get on the horse to begin with, more accurately.”

I take a deep breath. “I know. You’re right.”

“Of course I’m right,” she says gently. “This is good. Now you can finally start to move on.”

I take a tissue and dry my face. “I’ve cried more in the past day than I have in the past five years.”

“Welcome to the club.”

There’s a loud pounding on the downstairs door.

“Luna!” Rico yells. “There’s a delivery here for you.”

“Delivery?” I walk towards the door. “I’ll go see what it is.”

I go downstairs and open the door into the restaurant. There’s a deliveryman there with … a lot of flowers. And packages. “What is this?”

“Are you Luna LaRoux?”

“Yes.”

“Where do you want this stuff?”

“What is it? Who’s it from?”

“It doesn’t say. You want it upstairs?”

“Uh … yeah. Okay.”

I pick up one of the enormous bouquets as the man carries several boxes, wrapped in brown paper, and a large envelope. He has to make several trips.

I close the door behind him.

Josie touches a perfect red rose and sniffs it. “Wow. These are beautiful.”

There’s a card attached to one of the bouquets. She