Page 23 of Indescribable Love

“So, um…”

“He hasn’t showered, he looks like shit, but the music is flowing! He didn’t even go for a run this morning!” Then she smiled. “We need to make this dinner tonight a celebration!”

Juliette glanced over at Celia, who shrugged before smiling and giving her a thumbs-up.

“And I have strict instructions not to fire you,” Nikki said before coming over and hugging her. When she pulled back, she grinned. “Consider yourself lucky, because Jax is waiting to hear from me about all of this. He’s ready to hop on a plane and come here to tell you off. I’m going to go call him and let him know the crisis was averted! Yay!”

As soon as Nikki was out of the room, Juliette and Celia exchanged looks. “Take the win,” Celia said. “And for what it’s worth, I think you’re good for him. Maybe taking him out of his little bubble will enhance his music.” Standing, she headed for the kitchen. “Come have a piece of the caramel apple coffee cake. It came out amazing!”

“Maybe I should go…”

“Nonsense! It’s all good. Like I said, Nikki’s protective of Simon, but it seems like everything’s cool. Let me freshen up your coffee too.”

It all sounded very appealing, but she felt incredibly awkward now. Ten minutes ago, her job was in jeopardy and everyone hated her; now, she was supposed to sit and have breakfast with them?

“Stop frowning,” Celia chided her as she put a plate with a piece of the cake on it on the kitchen table. “This is going to be a great day. An amazing breakfast—compliments of me—and then your fantastic dinner tonight. And Simon’s writing music! Seriously, these are all good things!”

“Maybe…”

Alex came running into the room followed by Nikki and within minutes, they were all sitting at the table enjoying the coffee cake. Juliette had to admit it was delicious, but she still felt wildly uncomfortable.

“So the sauce has to just heat up today, right?” Nikki asked around a forkful of cake. “And you’re sure you’re okay with the pasta we chose?”

Apparently she was supposed to pretend like the last twenty minutes never happened.

Just be thankful you still have a job.

Smiling, Juliette picked up her fork and nodded. “I’m a fan of all pastas, but tagliatelle is one of my personal favorites. I was kind of thrilled when you came home with it.”

“There were so many options,” Celia said, winking at her as if she was saying “good job of easing into the conversation.”

“We stood in the pasta aisle for far too long,” Nikki told her. “I happen to love spaghetti, but it just seems a little too common for your sauce.”

That made her laugh. “I don’t know if I’d say that…”

“Please, we were all practically drooling yesterday while it was cooking. I’ll bet it’s going to be a big hit tonight.” Looking over at Celia, she asked, “Do you have a plan for tonight’s cake?”

Grinning, Celia nodded. “I’m going with a basic but super yummy chocolate cake tonight. Something about Italian food makes me crave chocolate. It’s crazy!”

“Crazy good!” Juliette told her. “And so is this cake! But I’m definitely partial to anything chocolate, so…thank you.” She took a sip of her coffee before asking, “What about Simon? If we’re celebrating him and all his writing tonight, should we add anything to the menu that he likes?”

Nikki waved her off. “He’s got a serious chocolate addiction too—even though he’ll try to say that sweets aren’t his thing—so the cake will be perfect. And he was already excited about tonight’s dinner, so I think we’re good there.” She paused, putting her fork down. “And we’re good, too, Jules. I know I got a little…um…”

“Bitchy,” Celia finished for her. “You got bitchy.”

Groaning, Nikki reluctantly agreed. “Fine, I got bitchy. Simon’s one of my best friends and I can’t help that I’m protective of him.” Another pause. “And he did say that he got a little…snappish with you, too, so…sorry I didn’t believe you before. He’s never snapped at anyone and it just seemed a bit unbelievable. And wildly out of character for him.”

“In his defense, I really provoked him,” Juliette admitted. “And I’m so ashamed. Actually, I’m really freaking out about even seeing him. I know I can’t avoid him, but…I was hoping to have at least another day before I had to face him.”

“You have nothing to worry about. I know his cheeriness seems weird to you, but ultimately, it’s going to help in this situation. He’s going to come to dinner being his usual happy self and he won’t even want to bring up the argument. And with all the writing he’s done since then, it’s going to be all he wants to talk about. Trust me.”

“I’m not going to dinner.”

Nikki looked at him like he was crazy. “Excuse me?”

“It’s going to be awkward. You know, with Juliette. She’s going to be watching me and judging me and waiting for me to say something nice and then roll her eyes.” Crossing his arms, he felt like a petulant child, and yet…he couldn’t seem to help it.

“I swear the two of you are going to be the death of me,” she murmured, pinching the bridge of her nose.