Page 12 of Indescribable Love
The camera then cut to Noah, and Juliette had to admire how attractive he was. All three brothers were almost ridiculously handsome. Then the camera zoomed out to capture Noah and—apparently—Lily.
“The day we met, I remember being totally blown away by how beautiful you were,” he began. “I had no idea that you basically wanted to strangle me.”
Everyone laughed, including Lily.
“I felt a connection to you that I’d never felt before, but…it wasn’t our time yet. Hell, I wasn’t sure if it would ever be our time.” He paused. “Some people say we should wait, but when you’ve found your forever person, you just know.”
The smile she gave him was radiant and Juliette could honestly see the love there.
“I love you and…and every day, I think about the future. Our future. I’m a planner by nature and all I know is that no matter what lies ahead, I want you there with me.” He dropped to one knee and carefully pulled the ring out of his pocket, the one he held up to her. “Be my forever, Lily. Be my light, my love, my laughter, my tears…my everything. Will you marry me?”
“Oh my God,” she mouthed. “Yes!”
They kissed as someone took the mic, and the noise level in the arena was deafening. Whoever shot the video was screaming and shouted “Woo!” in a pitch that hurt her ears.
“Now that’s how you do it, guys!” Simon called out. “And now, in honor of this momentous event, I’d like to end the night with a song my brother tells me is his favorite.”
He paused and seemed to wait for Noah and Lily to stop kissing.
And waited.
And waited.
Clearing his voice loudly, he said, “Congratulations, Noah and Lily!” before launching into “Still of the Night.”
“Aww…” Her hand immediately flew to her mouth because sappy stuff like that normally made her roll her eyes hard. But it was all so…real, so genuine. It wasn’t possible that both Simon and Noah were too good to be true, was it?
And that’s when her mind went back to the theory that this persona of Simon’s was all an act. It was possible that he was a nice guy, but…most people had a side of themselves that they didn’t want anyone to see, especially when you worked in the public eye. With Simon’s level of success, he obviously couldn’t have a bad day in front of anyone. That was a given. But if his childhood wasn’t great—and clearly it wasn’t because he didn’t want to talk about it or have anyone ask about it during the documentary—then what the hell was he so cheery about all the damn time?
“It’s an act. It’s got to be,” she whispered, clicking out of the video of Noah’s proposal and seeing if anything came up for him with his parents.
Ten minutes later, she admitted defeat. If Mr. Wylder was still alive, she knew she’d have to pay to do a deep dive to get information. And as much as she was prepared to do it, it felt a little like a betrayal to Simon. So she’d hold off.
For now.
“Ugh…why am I being like this? I’ve never had a problem digging into a client’s background so I could be better prepared for whatever the press and paparazzi throw our way. So why am I making this personal? And why would the thought of it being a betrayal even be a thing?”
But she already knew.
Because Simon had been so nice to her since the moment they met.
And it was a little unnerving.
Not only had he been nice to her since she first arrived here, he was nicer to her than any of her previous clients had been. In the past, if she traveled to meet up with a client for an extended period of time, she stayed at a hotel. Even if her client was at home or renting a vacation house, she was never invited to stay with them. There were parameters in place, distances to be maintained, and that’s just the way it had always been. So the fact that Simon invited her into his home like this? Well…it made her want to be considerate and mindful of his privacy.
Her stomach growled, and when she looked at the time, she saw it was now after eight. She’d spent way more time messing around online trying to find information and had completely forgotten how much she needed her morning coffee.
Tossing her laptop aside, Juliette climbed from the bed and pulled on her robe. Surely that would be appropriate to go downstairs in, right? It wasn’t like she was wearing anything revealing. Her pajamas were pretty modest—wide leg capris and matching t-shirt—and her robe matched them. So…
“Why am I being weird? I need coffee!” Strolling down the stairs, she listened for any signs that Simon was awake and anywhere on the main floor. She knew he liked to go out for a hike or jog or…whatever, and from the lack of any sound, she was alone in the house. Breathing a bit easier, she made her way into the kitchen and went directly to the Keurig. It was the elite model and there was an incredible variety of flavored coffee for her to choose from.
This is definitely like my dream vacation.
Grabbing a mug, she chose an extra dark roast, and sighed happily as the machine did its thing. Within minutes, Juliette made her way out onto the back deck, mug in hand. She already knew the view was beautiful, but the sun was shining, birds were singing, and it was the most peaceful morning she’d ever experienced. No sooner had she sat down on one of the cushioned deck chairs and taken her first sip, than she heard footsteps coming up the deck stairs.
“Hey, you’re up! Good morning!” Simon greeted her wearing a pair of black running shorts, a gray t-shirt, and a grin. He was sweaty and a little breathless, but it all looked good on him.
Although Juliette had a feeling everything looked good on him.