Page 29 of The Love Interest

“I do.” There’s a definite edge to her voice.

Good, I think. He didn’t get away with insulting me. I’m glad, because if she hadn’t said anything I might’ve, and that would be way out of character.

“Great,” he says, his voice rich and deep. “I start there tomorrow. Maybe you could buy me lunch or something. You owe me for saving you.”

“I don’t owe you anything.”

“Keep telling yourself that, sweetheart.” He spins his shiny black helmet in his hands.

Juliet scowls as Dyl puts the helmet on. He revs the throttle and then, without another word, rides off into the night. Juliet stands in his exhaust fumes, her hair a mess, her chest heaving.

I push myself up off the road and make my way over to her, pinching my nose to stop the bleeding.

“Oh my gosh, Caden.” She rushes toward me and places her hand on my face. “Are you okay? Wait, I’ll call an ambulance.”

“There’s no need, Juliet, I’m totally fine.”

I need to get control of this, because spending tonight in the hospital is the furthest thing from romantic. Plus, I need to show her that I’m dependable and safe. I need to show her that if she makes plans I’ll be there for them.

“It doesn’t hurt that bad. And, honestly, hospitals freak me out. I’ll heal better away from there, trust me.”

“You sure?”

“Absolutely. I’ll call one for them, though, just to make sure they’re okay.”

They got what they deserved, but I figure a Nice would care about them no matter what. The guy I punched lets out a moan that almost makes me feel bad for him. The key word beingalmost: I’m pretty sure he’s the reason my left kidney is currently stabbing my other organs. I pretend to dial 911, then tell the “operator” what happened and our location. If I thought they actually needed help, I’d call the real line, but my guess is that they’re just pretending to be injured. Even if I called the real number they’d clear out of here before the ambulance arrived.

Once the “call” is over, I make my way over to Juliet. “The ambulance is on the way. We don’t have to hang around, though.”

“Really? Won’t they have questions?”

“They said it’s fine, they’ll call me if they need more info. We can leave.”

That’s a lie, but luckily she buys it, and we head toward her place.

Once we reach her house, Juliet opens the door. A woman, presumably her mother, is in the foyer. She’s dressed in a dark-green wool turtleneck.

Her name is Daphne, call her that. She’ll be surprised you remember. Also, shake her hand. She likes professional greetings.

“Daphne,” I say as I offer my hand. “It’s a pleasure to see you again.”

She shakes my hand, then turns to Juliet, her eyes narrowing.Did I do something wrong?

“Don’t stress,” says Juliet. “We’re fine.”

Daphne spins and glares at me.

I raise my hands in surrender. “I’m fine. Honest.”

“You don’t look fine, Caden! You’re going to bleed all over my carpet! Juliet, I need answers. Right now. What happened to you?”

“Fine, Mom, on the way over some guys tried to take my bag. Caden and a bystander stopped them. It’s not a big deal, even Caden thinks so.”

“It most certainly is a big deal!” She pulls a phone from her pocket. “I need to call the police. Do you remember what they looked like?”

“Mom, please listen to me, they ended up a lot worse than we did. If we call the police Caden could get in trouble. And all he was doing was protecting me, so I don’t want that. Plus, if Dad finds out about this he’ll never let me go out. Like, ever. So can we please drop this? Trust me, it’s what I want, and it’s what Caden wants as well.”

Daphne’s features soften. “Are you sure, Juliet?”