God, this was hard. Meeting the friends without warning was hard. So was hearing that Lukas was decidedly childfree. I didn’t know that, I didn’t know I’d care but clearly, I did and now I needed to get up and get some air.
I was at the end of the line for the bathroom I didn’t actually need to use when Julian ambled by, finally undoing the top button of his white shirt as he leaned against the bar. He stood two feet from me and I wondered if he’d even seen me but then he spoke to me without looking over.
“I’m ordering a drink. Champagne for you?”
My brow twitched with confusion. “You’re talking to me?”
“No. My imaginary friend. He has a drinking problem.”
I blinked at him, confused for multiple reasons. “Why would you assume champagne?” I asked, though that was really my least pressing question.
“I hear you did champagne with Lukas all weekend. Figured you might want to keep it going.” He glanced at me. “From what I understand, you’re good at keeping streaks alive for years at a time.”
The smart remark drew my feet promptly away from the line and to the bar. “Okay. So, what exactly is your purpose here?”
“What do you mean?”
“I can’t tell if you’re being hostile or if you just carry an unfriendly air with you on a regular basis,” I said bluntly. “So since I can’t read minds yet, care to tell me what’s going on? We both have drinks back at the table. I can only guess that you either have something you want to tell me in private or you’re looking to get really hammered right now.”
“It’s the former. I’m not really one for getting drunk, let alone hammered.”
“Didn’t think so. So go ahead. What is it you’d like to say right now, Julian?” I asked. I normally wasn’t this bold or up front, but I didn’t think twice about it – I’d been unrecognizable to myself as of late, but the changes I saw were nothing I took issue with. Of course, they took Julian by surprise. He was mostly stoic but I caught that brief twitch in his brow.
“I can tell why he likes you.”
“Why is that?”
“Because you’re an odd mix of cute and innocent and sharp as a whip. In case you’re unaware, that’s every man’s Kryptonite,” he said casually, changing the subject before I could process the compliment. “I should let you know that what my brother said b
efore was no mistake. He does that every time Lukas brings a girl around his friends.”
I squinted. “What do you mean?”
“He mislabels every one of the flings as the ‘girl’ or the ‘girlfriend’ because he enjoys making Lukas uncomfortable. Every time Emmett does it, Lukas will correct him in front of everyone like an asshole,” Julian said, turning briefly away to order some drinks. “You’d think he could just let the comment thing slide in front of so many people, but he doesn’t. Because that’s been his rule for as long as I’ve known him and even prior to that. No girlfriends.”
“I thought his rule was no kids,” I said dryly.
“That as well. But that brings me to the fact that that conversation clearly upset you just now.”
“And why exactly are you bringing that up with me?”
“Because I need to ask you a favor.”
I was sure I couldn’t have looked more confused. “What?”
“I need you to wait till the end of the month before you run off on Lukas.” Julian faced me fully now. “Obviously, you like each other. He likes you enough to let Emmett call you his girl in front of all these people. You like him enough to be upset by the fact that he doesn’t want kids. So do me a favor and wait before you undoubtedly end things over some freak-out about your career or your time or the fact that he’s distracting you,” Julian said almost mockingly, pissing me off despite the sheer accuracy of his words. “There’s a day coming up soon that’s going to be a hard time for him. It’s the anniversary of what I hope is the worst thing that’ll ever happen in his lifetime, and it’s why Tess is away right now. It’s why I need you to wait till that day passes. You can ghost him all you want after but till the end of the month, I need you to stick around.”
I stared in disbelief of what he was both telling and asking me. “Are you not going to provide details about what this day is?”
“No.”
“Are you serious?” I asked incredulously. “You can’t possibly make that kind of request without giving me some context.”
Julian took his Scotch in his hand. “I gave more than enough context for a nice girl like you. You’re not going to be able to hear that and walk away without guilt at this point so yes, I can make that request without saying anything further because I just did,” he said, taking a drink from his glass. “Your champagne’s on the bar,” he added before walking back to the table.
I was stunned as I watched him go.
And angry.