Page 17 of Indescribable Love
“How about we try it this weekend?” she suggested. “I’ll make a list and…and we can go into town and shop.”
“Unless you’re extremely specific about certain items, we can shop for you,” Nikki volunteered. “I know how you feel about driving up and down the mountain. Hell, we’ll even video chat with you while we shop so you can approve everything!”
“Oh, um…”
“Unless you want to go,” Simon interjected. “You don’t have to drive. One of us can if that would make you more comfortable. Maybe you’re tired of simply hanging out here at the house and wouldn’t mind a couple of hours away.” He laughed softly. “I’m sure being so isolated after living in a city must feel strange.”
Only…it didn’t. After adjusting to how quiet it was, Juliette had to admit it all had a certain appeal. And while she did miss just going out and walking to some of her favorite shops and restaurants—and coffee shop—there was something to be said for how peaceful it was to eat at home with friends.
And yeah, that’s what she was starting to consider this little group. They had all been so nice to her—nicer than almost anyone she’d ever known—and she was beginning to feel more at ease around them.
“I’m fine if you want to do the shopping,” she said to Celia. “Just thinking about that drive makes me feel tense, so I’d rather talk you through it via video chat if we need to. I hope that’s okay.”
“Are you kidding? I’m already looking forward to it and tonight’s dinner has me salivating!” Celia replied with a laugh of her own. “Which reminds me, what do we need to do next?” She looked at Nikki. “Is the dough ready?”
“Jules? What do you think?” Nikki asked.
“If anyone’s curious, the salad is coming along famously,” Simon chimed in before dunking another piece of bread in the sauce.
“Good job tearing the lettuce,” Nikki murmured. “Some of us are the actual heroes of this meal. I’ve been kneading dough for like…hours.”
“We all took turns kneading and rolling, Nik. So we’re all heroes,” he reminded her. “But even after taking my turn, I still made the salad.” Then he held up the bowl. “And look at it! It’s perfect! Someone should take a picture of it!”
They all groaned, including Juliette, but she had to admit, this really did feel a lot like cooking with her family. The only thing missing was the wine. She wasn’t really a drinker, but maybe a glass right now wouldn’t be a bad thing. They all usually had a glass with dinner, but she didn’t want to be presumptuous.
Motioning to Nikki, she moved to the far corner of the room.
“Is everything okay? Are we doing it all wrong and you’re just trying to be nice?” Nikki whispered.
“What? No!” Chuckling, she shook her head. “I was going to ask if it was okay to open a bottle of wine while we finished cooking, but I didn’t know how you felt about that sort of thing. I don’t want to set a terrible example for Alex and…”
She never got to finish because Nikki was hugging her.
“Um…”
“Thank you,” she said as she pulled back. “A lot of people look at my son and sort of let him fade into the background and don’t care how they behave. Simon’s last publicist used to curse in front of him all the time, no matter how much we asked him not to. So the fact that you thought of him first tells me you’re a decent person.” Then she giggled. “Not that I couldn’t tell that already, but this just solidified it.”
“Everything okay over there?” Simon asked, and when Juliette glanced over at him, he looked worried.
“We’re fine!” Nikki told him before looking back at Juliette and quietly whispering, “I’m going to tell you something and I swore I wouldn’t, but now I feel like I have to.”
“O-kay…”
“We are totally loving everything you’re doing PR-wise, but this—what we’re doing today with cooking together—this is really important to Simon. He wants to see…well…a more relaxed version of you. It’s nice to see you being funny and casual and okay with talking about things that have nothing to do with PR or business, so…” She hugged her again. “Thank you.”
When they broke apart, Nikki walked across the room and opened a bottle of wine.
Simon was still watching her and it was a little unnerving to think that this might have been some kind of test, like he wanted to force her out of her comfort zone to see how she’d react—which was kind of funny because she was trying to come up with that exact scenario for him. What would it be like if he stopped being in “performer” mode and just acted like a normal guy?
Unfortunately, she hadn’t come up with anything, but that didn’t stop her from still thinking about it.
Or maybe stop overthinking it and just enjoy the great time you’re having right now…
So that’s what she did.
“Celia? Is the filling ready to go?”
“It is! Are we ready to start putting it all together?”