Page 41 of The Hookup Situation (Billionaire Situation #5)

Autumn smiles wide. “I’ve wanted this since I was a little girl. And now magic is happening.”

Zane’s arm wraps around her, and he kisses her hair. “I’m so proud of you.”

It’s obvious how much he loves her.

Autumn turns to him, standing on her tiptoes to kiss him. “You inspired me.”

“You changed my life,” he tells her.

It warms my heart that my best friend has what he always wanted—someone to love and see him for who he is.

“I’m happy both of your dreams have come true.” I reach for Julie’s fingers and take her hand as we wander through the displays.

It feels good, being with her without photographers or drama. We’re hanging out with our best friends, enjoying October. It doesn’t feel real.

She puts on her pumpkin head and turns to me. “What?”

“Nothing,” I whisper, realizing we’re doing everyday couple things. It’s something I’ve wished for, but I never thought I’d get this.

“Remember when we tried to carve pumpkins last year?” Zane asks Autumn.

“You mean when we attempted ?”

“Yeah.” He chuckles, and Autumn chews on her bottom lip.

We finish strolling the winding path. Music drifts through the speakers, and I can’t remember the last time I enjoyed myself so much.

Once we leave the patch, we stop and eat caramel apples, then continue forward.

Zane tries to win Autumn a spooky stuffed ghost at the ring toss and talks smack the entire time.

When I turn my head, I see Craig by the kettle corn stand with a blonde woman.

“Don’t look,” I tell Julie, but in the pumpkin head, she can barely see anyway.

“What is it?”

“Craig.”

Her body tenses. “Has he seen us?”

“I don’t think so.”

I move toward Zane and lift my pumpkin head. “We need to split up, okay?”

“Okay,” Zane tells me. That’s when he spots Craig—I can see it in my best friend’s expression. “Be safe. If you need anything, text me.”

“I will.”

I slide my fingers through Julie’s and lead her away from Zane and Autumn. With them, we’re too obvious; away from them, we blend in.

I try to steer Julie away, but the blonde woman who was with Craig approaches us.

“Excuse me,” she says, her voice shaky but clear. “Julie?”

“Who?” Julie asks, attempting to disguise her voice.

“I saw you with that dark-haired woman earlier. Autumn, right? The way you two hugged, I knew it was you.” The woman wraps her arms around herself. “I need to talk to you.”

Julie’s body goes rigid, and I can feel the tension radiating off her. This is the woman Craig proposed to after dumping Julie.

“We should go,” I mutter, sensing Julie’s discomfort, but she surprises me .

“No, it’s okay.” Her voice is steady despite everything. “I’m listening, Sarah.”

She looks surprised that Julie knows her name. “You remember me?”

“I’ll never forget you. Craig brought you to my parents’ anniversary party three months after we broke up.” Julie’s voice is neutral. “You wore the necklace I’d given him.”

Sarah touches her neck, though she’s not wearing it now. “He told me his mother gave it to him.”

I place my hand on Julie’s back, feeling her trembling, but she continues to stand her ground.

“Is that all?” Julie asks.

“No.” Sarah looks around, making sure Craig isn’t close. “He’s not over you. He talks about you nonstop. Julie this, Julie that. He even …” She pauses, tears welling in her eyes. “He calls me by your name sometimes.”

Julie is silent for a moment. “Why are you telling me this?”

“We broke off our engagement a month ago, but we’ve been trying to work things out. Or at least, I thought we were.” Sarah wipes at her eyes. “But all he cares about is you.”

“Sarah—”

“I’m pregnant,” she whispers.

We both freeze.

“What?” Julie’s voice is barely audible inside the pumpkin.

“Ten weeks. He doesn’t know yet. I came here to tell him, to try to make things work, but he keeps photos of you on his phone. He drives by your place at night. I followed him once.” She looks desperate. “I need to know if you plan on getting back with him.”

“Never,” Julie says. “It’s over. I’ve moved on.”

“But he’s sure you’ll get back with him.”

“Not this time. Not ever again.” Julie pauses. “Look, I don’t want to get in your business, but you deserve to be more than someone’s second choice. You deserve someone who doesn’t call you by another woman’s name. ”

Sarah’s face crumples. “I know, but with the baby …”

“A baby will never fix a broken relationship,” Julie says.

“Sarah!” Craig’s voice cuts through our conversation. “Who are you talking to?”

“I was just—these people were asking about directions for the corn maze.”

Craig approaches, not glancing at us.

“The entrance is over there,” he says, pointing behind him.

He grips Sarah’s wrist and pulls her with him. “Come on. You said you wanted kettle corn.”

“Craig,” Sarah says, “you’re hurting me.”

“Not now.” He’s impatient, still not looking at us. “Let’s go.”

“Be careful with me. I’m pregnant ,” Sarah blurts out.

Craig freezes, and his head snaps toward her. “Who have you been seeing?”

“You,” she cries. “Just you. I’m ten weeks,” she whispers.

I grab Julie’s hand, moving us away from the conversation. “We need to get out of here,” I say.

“Yes,” she whispers.

Their conversation can still be overheard.

“This is …” He runs his hand through his hair.

I see it the moment recognition dawns.

“Jules?” His voice is angry now. “I’d recognize those boots anywhere.”

Julie doesn’t bother ignoring him and turns around with her arms crossed over her chest. “What do you want?”

“You …” He looks between Sarah and Julie, his face reddening. “You were talking to her? Sarah, what the hell? What did you say?”

“She deserved to know the truth,” Sarah says, finding her courage. “You calling me by her name, driving by her house every night, keeping her photos?—”

“ Shut up ,” Craig snaps.

“I’m concerned about you, Jules. There’s a difference,” he says. “Sarah is jealous. She always has been. ”

“Concerned people don’t drive by someone’s house every night,” Sarah interjects.

Craig’s attention shifts back to her, his jaw clenching. “You have no idea what you’ve done.”

“Please,” she says, reaching for him, but he ignores her, moving toward us.

“Take those ridiculous things off. If we’re having this conversation, at least have the courage to show your faces.”

Julie pulls off her pumpkin head, hair static wild, chin raised with defiance. I do the same, moving closer to her. She’s pissed—I can tell.

Craig glares at me. “How long until you get bored, Banks? How long until you move on to the next small-town girl looking for excitement? Everyone knows about your reputation.”

“Finished?” I ask, not affected by him.

I deal with assholes who make him look like child’s play. Asher is one of them.

“You’re making a huge mistake with him,” Craig warns Julie. “This is a game he plays with women. You’re just entertainment. His personal whore.”

“Shut your mouth,” Julie says, glaring at him. She’s livid, and I don’t know if I’ve seen her quite this mad. “I will never give you a chance again. Ever. I’d rather be alone.”

Craig’s mask slips, and I see pure rage underneath. “When he leaves, remember that you chose humiliation.”

There is venom in his tone, but all I can do is laugh because he’s trying too hard.

“The only one who will be humiliated is you,” I tell him. “Look at you. You’re pathetic.”

“Yeah, but I’m not fucking your sloppy seconds, am I?” Craig takes a step toward me, fists clenched, and I’m ready to lay him out flat.

I look down into his eyes, with nostrils flared. “I’ll destroy you. Throw the first punch. I dare you. ”

“Craig, stop!” Sarah grabs his arm. “Please. You’ll go to jail.”

He shakes her off, but the mention of being arrested seems to snap him back to reality.

He glances at Sarah, then at Julie, then back at Sarah.

“We’re leaving,” he says. “Now.”

He grabs her arm and pulls her away, but not before throwing one last look at Julie. “This isn’t over.”

“Yes, it is,” Julie says. “I’m filing a restraining order. And this time, I have witnesses.”

Craig’s jaw clenches, but he doesn’t respond. He drags Sarah away, and we watch them disappear into the crowd.

Julie’s shaking, and I pull her against me.

“You okay?”

She takes a deep breath. “At one point in my life, I envied her. Now I feel sorry for her.”

“That’s because you’re over it,” I say. “Congrats. That’s huge.”

Julie looks up at me. “Thank you for having my back.”

“Always.”

Autumn and Zane find us a few minutes later.

“We saw Craig storm off,” Autumn says. “What happened?”

“His ex is pregnant,” Julie says.

“What?!” Autumn’s eyes go wide. “Are you serious?”

“Ten weeks. It’s his.”

“That bastard,” Zane mutters. “He was trying to get back with you while?—”

“While he was still seeing her on the side. Classic Craig. He did the same thing to me.” Julie gasps.

“You okay?” Autumn asks, studying Julie’s face.

“That could’ve been me,” she whispers, inhaling with her eyes closed. “That could’ve been me.”

I move closer to her. “I’m glad it wasn’t.”

“He traps women,” she says. “Last year, he wanted me to get off my birth control, making me believe we were getting back together. ”

“You escaped him. I’m so damn proud of you, Little Red,” I say.

Julie grins. “It’s because I met you. That night”—her voice lowers to a near whisper—“my life changed.”

The words hit me square in the chest because mine did too.

“I’m finally seeing things clearly,” she says.

“I think we’re witnessing something we shouldn’t,” Zane says to Autumn, but his voice is warm, understanding. He wraps his arm around his wife, then spins her around to face the opposite direction. “We’re going to look at more pumpkins. Over there. Far away from you.”

“Subtle,” I call after them.

“We’re giving you privacy,” Autumn calls back.

“I married Captain Obvious!” Zane adds, and Autumn smacks his arm.

As their laughter drifts away, mixing with the sounds of the festival, I lean forward.

Julie’s still glowing with this newfound freedom, her cheeks flushed, eyes bright.

I close my eyes and slide my lips across hers.

She tastes sweet, like apple cider. Our tongues twist together, and I swear the entire world stops spinning on its axis.

When we break apart, we’re breathing hard.

“Thank you,” she whispers against my mouth, eyes still closed.

“For?”

“For being here. For having my back. For helping me be brave.”

“You did that yourself.”

“Maybe.” She kisses me again, quick and sweet. “But you showed me what I should be looking for. What I deserve.”

“Jules—”

“Twenty-two days,” she says.

I know she’s thinking the same thing I am. We have twenty-two days to figure out if this is real or just another beautiful disaster waiting to happen.

“I think we’re on the same page,” I say, studying her.

“I hope we are,” she tells me .

“Now, I think we have a corn maze to discover.”

A wicked smile crosses her face. “I already love where this is heading.”

“Shall we?” I reach for her hand.

She takes mine. “Yes, we fucking shall.”

We return the pumpkins to our heads and move toward the corn maze, excited to knock another thing off our list. Because, yes, I’ve adopted it too.

She grabs my hand, and this time, goose bumps trail over my arms and through my body, causing a whirlwind of emotions to flood through me.

I don’t want to let Julie go in twenty-two days. I think I want forever.