Page 29 of Fighting for Julia (Laguna Beach Cops #6)
“There’s no rush. You and Julia kicked General Escobar’s ass at the hospital. He and those psycho Anderson brats aren’t likely to tangle with you again anytime soon. You’ve got time to change your mind, Miguel. Especially when it clears from being sick.”
I don’t want to change my mind.
Miguel saluted Finnigan with his beer. “We’ll see.”
Brielle and Julia interrupted their conversation when they returned from the beach and stepped into the kitchen. Julia’s red-rimmed eyes widened with dismay as they locked onto the half-drunk can of beer in Miguel’s hand, but Brielle didn’t hesitate to scold him.
“Miguel Rivera! Just what in God’s name do you think you’re doing?
Mixing alcohol with antibiotics on top of Covid?
” Brielle snatched the can of beer from his hand and dumped the rest of it down the sink.
With her hands on her hips, she whirled on Finnigan.
“Don’t stand there smirking! I know you encouraged him. ”
Finnigan tossed his empty can in the garbage. He held up his hands in mock surrender. “Guilty as charged. But in my defense, Miguel didn’t refuse it.”
“That’s right,” Miguel confirmed. “I needed it. In fact, I’m feeling pretty good right now. Got a nice buzz going.” He glanced at Julia. Her dismay had morphed into obvious disappointment. In him. Shit .
Miguel opened his mouth to offer a repentant and humble apology, but Julia’s cell phone vibrated with a call.
“I have to take this,” she muttered and fled outside to the deck.
A few seconds later, Miguel’s cell phone buzzed, too. He glanced at the caller’s name. “Jesus, Brielle. You called Justice?”
Now it was her turn to smirk. “Yes, I did.”
Miguel cursed beneath his breath as he answered the call on his way upstairs to the guest room. “Chief, what a surprise. I thought you’d be on your way to Alabama by now.”
“ Do not play the fool with me, River. What in the hell are you and Julia thinking? It’s a terrible plan, an even worse folly, and it will backfire.”
A heaviness not related to Covid settled in Miguel’s chest, and he sank onto the bed. “Don’t you trust me, Justice?”
“I’m not dignifying that with a response. You don’t need to make this kind of sacrifice to accomplish your mission.”
“I want to. And yeah, I need to as well.”
“It shouldn’t be entered into lightly, River.”
Miguel smiled. He detected Justice’s capitulation in his voice. “That’s exactly what Finn said, word for word. And I’ll tell you what I told him. I’m taking it very seriously. Besides, Justice, it’s Julia’s idea.”
“And I’m just as concerned for her as I am for you.” He let out a sigh. “All right, River. You have my support and my blessing. However, there’s no need to rush into it. You and Julia taught General Escobar a powerful lesson.”
This time Miguel chuckled. “Yeah, Finn said that, too.”
“Air Force One is getting ready to land in Alabama. Please keep me in the loop.”
“You know I will.”
“I only want what’s best for you, River. Your happiness is important to me.”
A lump formed in Miguel’s throat. “Yeah, I know, Chief.”
After they bid each other goodbye and ended the call, Miguel stripped in the bathroom and examined his gunshot wound.
It looked good. No sign of infection. The staples needed to be removed, though.
He’d take care of that on Monday at the hospital.
He hoped to be fully recovered from Covid by then.
Damn. Weakness had begun to creep over him.
He pulled on a pair of cotton sleep pants and a T-shirt and stretched out on his bed.
Although his mind whirled with fleeting thoughts and images, his eyes closed of their own accord.
But perhaps for a minute or two. A soft knock on his bedroom door propelled Miguel out of bed.
He ran a hand through his hair and opened the door.
Julia stood there, gazing at him with soulful brown eyes.
Sadness and regret shone in their depths.
Miguel’s heart wrenched with sudden disappointment. She’d changed her mind.
“Come in.”
She swept past him, and he closed the door.
“I owe you an apology, Miguel,” Julia began in a rush. “I never should have suggested that you?—”
Miguel pressed his finger against her sinfully delicious mouth. He would have preferred to kiss her into silence. “I agreed. Don’t apologize.”
“My mother is less than enthusiastic about our plan.”
“Understandable.”
“Is that all you’re going to say?”
“Yes.”
A ghost of a smile crossed her beautiful face. “Are we back to your monosyllabic answers?”
“If I had my way, we’d be kissing right now. I’d kiss away your doubt. Your apology. Most of all, I’d kiss away your tears.”
Amazement replaced her earlier sadness and regret. “Miguel Rivera, you are the most incredible man I’ve ever met. I will honor our promise. And even after we take down General Escobar and the Andersons?—”
“I won’t forsake you, Julia. I swear the promise we make won’t be fake. It’ll be real.” He took her hand and pressed her palm against his rapid heartbeat. “As real as my heart pounding from being this close to you.”
“Miguel,” she whispered in wonder. The same wonder that was coursing through his veins.
He dropped her hand and stepped back a few feet. “If you keep looking at me like that, I’m liable to embarrass myself by attempting to make love to you when I don’t have the stamina. Fucking Covid. Pardon my language.”
Her eyes widened a moment before she burst into laughter. “You’re entitled. I’d better sleep in my own room tonight.”
Miguel nodded. “Good idea, though I’ll miss you. By the way, while I appreciate Brielle’s hospitality, I want to go home tomorrow. I have a small house a couple of miles inland from the beach. It’s actually pretty close to Owen’s old house.”
“Um…am I invited?”
He noticed Julia only used the word um whenever she was nervous around him. “Hell yes, you’re invited.”
“Okay, great.” Relief flooded her voice. “Good night, Miguel. I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Good night, Jules.”
Miguel slid back into bed and propped himself against the headboard. When his cell phone screen lit up, he saw a flurry of text messages from his friends in a group chat. Jesus. He should have anticipated that he’d hear from them.
Owen: LOL! Cool and rational, my ass!
Luca: Have you lost your damn mind? Getting shot and catching Covid has scrambled your brain. Make a new plan, man.
Hutch: Don’t listen to Luca. Go for it, Miguel. YOLO!
Tawny: I knew your heart wasn’t dead. You wouldn’t do this unless you’ve been ensnared. You’re too honorable. Love you, Miguel. Behind you all the way!
He swallowed both the laughter and hot emotion rising in his throat and sent the group a simple message.
Miguel: I know what I’m doing. Forever is no longer an impossibility. I’m not asking you to agree with my decision. Just have my back no matter what.
His text message prompted a series of thumbs up emojis, and Tawny’s red heart along with a single word: Always .
With that off his conscience, Miguel settled down to sleep.
After a restful night, Miguel awoke and swung his legs over the side of the bed.
He tested them with his weight. Good and strong.
Next, he flexed his arms. Same. Whistling, he headed into the bathroom and took a shower.
He shaved, brushed his teeth, and dressed in a pair of Levi’s and an LBPD sweatshirt.
His jeans hung a little loose on him. He’d lost a few pounds.
Miguel went downstairs and found Julia with Brielle in the kitchen.
A platter of bacon and eggs already sat on the table, along with a pitcher of orange juice.
While Brielle flipped a pancake onto a plate stacked with them, Julia placed a bowl of cantaloupe chunks on the table. She spotted him and smiled.
“Good morning. Hope you’re hungry. We cooked a feast.”
Miguel’s stomach growled. “I’m famished, actually.”
Brielle set the pancakes between the cantaloupe and the eggs and bacon and poured three mugs of coffee.
Miguel filled their glasses with orange juice.
Amid lighthearted chatter, they passed the food among them.
Miguel relaxed and enjoyed every bite, grateful there wasn’t any awkwardness this morning.
Toward the end of their meal, as they lingered over a second cup of coffee, Brielle began, her eyes sparkling with merriment, “Julia said you want to go home today, but before you have her all to yourself, she and I are going shopping.”
“Shopping?”
“Shopping,” Brielle replied definitively. “For the perfect wedding dress.”