Total pages in book: 65
Estimated words: 63410 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 317(@200wpm)___ 254(@250wpm)___ 211(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 63410 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 317(@200wpm)___ 254(@250wpm)___ 211(@300wpm)
“Tell Julian to take good care of you.” I hear the warning in Carter’s voice.
“He does take good care of me. You don’t need to worry about that.”
“Good. I need to go, but we’ll see you on Friday, right?”
“Yes, I’ll see you Friday. Have a great week, and give Danny and Christopher a kiss from me.”
“Will do.”
When I cut the call, Julian saunters closer. “What did they say about us living together?”
I shrug as I stand up. “They’re okay with it.”
“Really?” Julian’s eyebrow rises.
“Yes, really,” I chuckle. “I’m going to get ready for dinner.” Pressing a kiss to his lips, I walk over to the ensuite bathroom to shower.
Chapter 39
Julian
I’ve asked Falcon to come up to the suite before dinner, and as I open the door for him, I smile.
“Come in.” Not seeing Layla, I ask, “Are you alone?”
“Yeah, Layla’s downstairs with Kingsley. She thought we might want to have some privacy.”
“Great, let’s go to my study.”
“Where’s Jamie?” Falcon asks as he follows me.
“She’s still getting ready.” When we walk into the study, I gesture to a chair. “Take a seat.”
Once we’re comfortable, I lean forward and rest my elbows on my thighs.
“Why did you want to see me in private?” Falcon asks, his eyes scanning over my face.
“I wanted to tell you that Jamie has moved in permanently.”
Falcon only chuckles to the news. “I figured that would happen.” Smiling at me, he asks, “Are there any new developments with the case.”
I take a deep breath. “That’s the other thing I wanted to talk about.” My eyes rest on Falcon.
Falcon, Mason, and Lake need to know the truth. They’d never leave it alone otherwise.
“Something happened during the week.” I’m not sure how to go about telling him, so I just say, “I shot and killed Henry Little.”
I watch as the shock vibrates over my little brother’s face, and for an instant, it makes me regret having told him.
“What happened?” he asks once he’s processed what I just told him.
“He lured Jamie away with the threat of killing me if she didn’t go to him. We found them in time, and I shot him. There’s no way I could let him live.”
The worry on his face is palpable as he asks, “Is Jamie okay?”
“She’s fine. She was shaken up, but she’s dealing as well as can be expected with the trauma.”
Falcon leans closer to me and places a hand on my shoulder. “And you? How are you dealing with everything that’s happened?”
I close my eyes as the emotions from the nightmare roll over me again. “I’ll be okay. It’s just hard not to become too overprotective of Jamie. Whenever I’m not with her, I start to panic.”
Falcon pulls me into a hug. “I’m here whenever you need to talk. I don’t care what the time is.”
Pulling back, I smile gratefully at him. “Thanks.” I rise to my feet and say, “We should go. Lake has probably already ordered half the menu.”
Falcon chuckles as we walk to the door, but then I stop him with a hand on his shoulder. “You can tell Mason and Lake things have been taken care of.”
Knowing I can trust the three with my life, I know I won’t have to worry about them telling anyone else.
When we walk into the living room, Jamie stands up from the couch. “Hey, Falcon.”
My brother walks right over to her and engulfs her in a hug.
The sight of them holding each other is overwhelming. It makes me realize what I have to be thankful for.
An amazing girlfriend.
A brother who I can share my darkest secrets with and know he won’t turn his back on me.
My breaths begin to speed up as emotion after emotion wash over me. It’s impossible to describe the happiness I feel while I stare at everything I ever wanted.
Epilogue
Jamie
Three months later…
Reaching up, I adjust Julian’s tie.
“Are you ready?” he asks, looking all calm and collected where it feels like a hundred bees are buzzing in my stomach.
“As ready as I’ll ever be.”
He smiles lovingly at me, then presses a kiss to my mouth. “Let’s get this over with.”
Julian takes hold of my hand and weaves our fingers together. I suck in a deep breath as we begin to walk toward the conference room in the hotel where the media are waiting.
The moment we walk through the door, cameras begin to flash, and I fight the urge to turn my face away from them.
Julian pulls out a chair and waits for me to sit before taking a seat next to me.
“Mr. Reyes and Miss Truman will only answer questions for ten minutes. After that, we ask that you respect their privacy,” Stephanie announces. She gestures to a reporter in the front row. “Mr. Brown, the first question.”
The media have been harassing us for this interview since they learned Julian and I were a couple.