Serves Me Wright (Wright #9) - K.A. Linde Page 0,101
latest portrait session, I’d finally given up on Bertha. And like I’d suggested to Julian all those months ago, I’d named my new car Cornelia. She wasn’t anything fancy like Milli—a VW Jetta instead of a Jaguar—but I loved her all the same.
“Cornelia,” I said. “Obviously.”
He laughed and let me drive him home. I’d left food out for the cats so that I could stay the night. I’d been doing that a lot lately. Though I wasn’t quite ready to move in. Maybe when my lease was up. We’d been talking about it, but he was okay with waiting. Especially since we both knew Avocado might kill us if we moved her again.
I pulled up to Julian’s house, and he rushed around to help me out of the car. He shouldered my photography backpack and then dropped a kiss on my lips.
“So, you know how Campbell surprised you with the CD?”
“Yeah?” I asked as he walked backward in front of me toward the house.
“He’s an asshole. I planned a surprise first.”
I snorted. “He didn’t know that, did he?”
“No.”
“Then how is he an asshole?”
“Go with me on this one.”
“Okay. What’s my surprise?”
“If I told you, it wouldn’t be a surprise,” he said with a glint in his eyes. We reached the front door. “Close your eyes.”
“What? Seriously?”
“Seriously, Jen. Close them. Cover them with your hands. No peeking.”
I sighed and did what he’d said. I couldn’t see his hand as it passed in front of my face, but the dark got darker, so I knew he was doing it.
“I can’t see you!” I grumbled.
He laughed and unlocked the door, helping me over the first step inside and depositing me in the living room. He disappeared for a minute and then finally said, “Okay, now, open.”
I opened my eyes, blinking at the bright lights. Then I gasped.
“Oh my God, Julian, what did you do?”
On the floor in front of us was the cutest, smallest, most adorable little white kitten I’d ever seen in my life.
“I got us a kitten.”
“But I don’t like cats,” I said with a wink.
He laughed boisterously and then knelt in front of the cat. I dropped to my knees next to him, playing with the tiny thing, running my finger down her belly, letting her gnaw on my finger.
“She’s so cute. Gah! What’s her name?”
“All yours, Dreamsicle,” he joked.
I shook my head. “You and that nickname.”
“Hey, you earned it.”
“Well, little one, what do you think your name is?” I asked the kitten. “Probably something to go with your two older sisters, yes?”
“Definitely. Avocado, Bacon, and…”
“Tortilla.”
“Tortilla!” Julian roared, rolling over to laugh. “Oh my God, yes!”
“We can call her Tilla.”
“Cado, Bakey, and Tilla. You have a full dinner now.”
“Together, they make some kind of taco,” I said with a shrug. “What do you think, Tilla?”
She meowed, looking up at me with the biggest blue eyes in the world.
“I think she approves.”
“I approve,” he said, drawing me back to him. “I approve of us. This family.”
“Family?” I asked carefully.
“She’s ours now.”
“I like that.”
He smiled. “You spend so much time here, and the other cats don’t need as much love. I thought it’d be nice to have an indoor cat who only partially hates us but might sometimes love us.”
“That’s about as good as you can get with a cat.”
“You, me, and Tilla. One big, happy family.”
I stared down at the kitten and sighed. “I feel like I belong here.”
“You belong with me.”
Our fingers interlaced, and I realized that he was right. That belonging I’d always searched for, I had now. I had it here with Julian. He knew about all my deepest, darkest secrets and accepted me for who I was. I knew about the struggles he had with his dad and his family. And we fit—not despite the issues, but because we were overcoming them together.
And now, we were a little family here. A forever, all wrapped up in one little tortilla. One day, we’d want more, have more, but for now, this was right where I belonged.
Thank you so much for reading SERVES ME WRIGHT! I hope you enjoyed Julian & Jennifer’s story. Seeing them happy while dealing with Jennifer’s bout with anxiety and Julian’s issues with his family just brought me so much joy. And there’s more to come!
Next up is Hollin & Piper in WRIGHT RIVAL! “No one on this planet pushes my buttons like Hollin Abbey. Now our vineyards are rivals in the annual wine competition, and I’m determined to win. I just have to take