Page 75 of Any Kind of Life

Juliet turned to Paige with tears slipping down her cheeks. “I had no idea what relief would feel like.”

“I know.” Paige’s silvery eyes gazed back lovingly at Juliet. “But I’m glad you feel that relief. It’s exactly how I felt once James had been arrested.”

“This means Henry is out of a job.” Juliet had no idea why her mind went straight to Henry, but he had been by her side since the moment she left her career behind. “None of us will know what to do with ourselves.”

“Maybe…we could employ Henry.” Paige lifted a shoulder.

“Employ him to do what?”

“I don’t know. Security, bringing in the beer barrels, something like that.”

Juliet smiled. Paige didn’t often give her feelings away, but she knew Paige thought a lot of Henry. “I’ll run it by him.”

Sighing, Paige fell silent, holding Juliet’s hand tight. Juliet lowered her head to Paige’s shoulder again and closed her eyes. She hadn’t known just how much she’d needed this today. Outside, the low buzz of the bees around them, the air crisp but the sun providing a little warmth.

This was all she wanted in life. Contentment.

“You okay here, or did you want to head back up to your room?”

Juliet shifted a little closer and landed an arm across Paige’s stomach. “I want to stay here for as long as we can.”

“You got it, babe.”

Chapter 27

One month later…

Paige slowly stretched as she opened her eyes, groaning as her body came to life. Last night was probably the best night’s sleep she’d had since before the tour kicked off, but she was disappointed to roll over this morning…to find an empty bed. Juliet wasn’t sleeping as well as she could be, but Paige had thought it was getting better.

She was jumpy. Nervous even at home. Paige had known this could happen, but she had also hoped Juliet would have recovered better knowing that Cara and Ron were dead. Perhaps Paige should have anticipated this much more than she had. Most of the time, Paige felt lost. She hated seeing Juliet frightened. It wasn’t the woman she had initially met.

Still, she loved her just as much.

No. She loved her far more than she ever had before.

As Paige sat up and rested against the headboard, she took her phone from the nightstand. She would admit that it was strange not having to look over their shoulders every minute of the day, but Paige would adjust just fine. She’d never wanted to be in that position in the first place. If it hadn’t been James that she was wary of, it was some unknown gang-related thing that Paige didn’t want to become a target of.

She had a message waiting from Henry.

Hey, Paige. Just checking in. Juliet has sort of hinted at me sitting outside the apartment again for a while. Is she doing okay? H.

Paige sighed. Juliet hadn’t mentioned this to her. Paige could wonder why, but she knew why. Juliet wanted to be seen as strong and capable. And she was, that hadn’t changed. But if she needed Henry outside to make her feel better, then Paige would agree with her wholeheartedly. Whatever made Juliet comfortable made Paige happy.

If that’s what she’s asked you to do, then I’d appreciate it if you went along with it. She’s not great at the minute. Very jumpy and nervous. I’m hoping I can convince her to go to the victim counselling Detective Roache called me about.

Paige didn’t like discussing Juliet’s mental health with anyone, but Henry likely understood. He had known Juliet far longer than Paige had.

Okay. I’ll head over now. Maybe if she can see me parked down on the street she’ll feel better. Take it easy, Paige. If you need anything, give me a shout. H.

Paige smiled and climbed from the bed. Henry really was a great guy, which was unusual for Paige given the fact she’d only really had bad experiences with men. The care he had shown with both her and Juliet was most definitely foreign to Paige.

Unsure of what she would be faced with this morning, she pulled a hoodie on and left the bedroom. “Morning, babe.” Rather than sneak up on Juliet—something she used to do a lot—Paige decided it would be better if Juliet knew she was up and about. “You want some coffee?”

“No, thank you.”

Paige looked over at Juliet where she sat in her usual reading chair in the window. It had the perfect view of the city, dark clouds rolling in off the river. Juliet wore one of Paige’s hoodies, the hood lifted and covering her face, her knees pulled up to her chest. God, she didn’t like seeing Juliet in this way at all. She had always been so full of life, the first one awake and making coffee every morning, lazily gazing back at Paige at any opportunity.

Paige chose to forget about her coffee, instead crossing the room to where Juliet stared out of the window. “How did you sleep?” She sat on the windowsill, trying to find Juliet’s eyes. “Babe?”