Star-Crossed (44 page)
* * * *
Jules didn’t have to wait long to see her new husband.
She’d like to think it was her own intimidation tactics, but it turned out Romeo was more convincing than her. Shortly after the buzz of him waking up wore off, Jules heard the nurses start to refer to him as
the bear
, and it wasn’t endearingly. Romeo was trying to set the record for the worst patient in the history of St. Francis’s ICU, and they put Jules in a wheelchair and rolled her across the hall just to make him a little more agreeable.
He was pale. His eyes were too dark a green to be normal. When she got nearer, she saw his pupils were wide and dilated with whatever powerful painkiller they were giving him to make moving easier. They must have worked because Romeo turned on his side and grabbed her hand the moment she got close enough, as if he hadn’t just had two major surgeries.
He kissed her palm, his voice unnaturally raspy as he whispered, “I love you.”
“I love you too.” Jules brushed her fingers against one cheek rough with stubble as Romeo placed another kiss against the inside of her wrist. She took a shuddering breath before she whispered, “I missed you.”
“I know, baby. I’m sorry.” He could barely say the words. Despite the audience in the room, Romeo cried openly. His voice was harsh with emotion as he choked out, “I thought I’d lost you.”
Jules leaned closer, wanting to crawl into the bed next to him and stay there. “I thought I’d lost you too. I was so scared.”
She pulled her hand out of his and used it to help her stand even though she’d promised the doctors she wouldn’t. They both had IVs. There seemed to be cords and 356
wires everywhere, but Jules tried to pretend it was just them in the room without the witnesses and machines and the pains of recovery.
“Mrs. Wellings, you’re supposed to stay in the chair.” Jules ignored the reprimand from the nurse as she leaned down and let Romeo give her a strained, one-armed hug. She clung to his big shoulders, feeling his warm skin and that pulse of energy that was uniquely him.
“He shouldn’t be—”
“They’re fine.” Nova’s hard voice cut the nurse off. “They’re both tough. It’s gonna take more than a hug to do them in.”
“I love you, Juliet,” Romeo whispered against the good side of her neck, placing a kiss to her pulse point. “I’m sorry you were scared.”
“Promise me you’re gonna be okay,” Jules begged in a raspy whisper as more tears streamed down her face. “That you’re gonna heal up and be with me—with
us
—
always.”
“I’ll be okay.” Romeo placed his other hand against her stomach. “I’ll be there for all of you.”
Jules kissed him, their tears mingling, their breathing rough from the pain they were both enduring for this moment.
“We’re gonna have babies,” she whispered against his lips, and for the first time she let herself be genuinely thrilled about it. “A real family. You gave me that.” Romeo’s arm tightened around her. He was shaking. She knew the emotions had gotten the better of him. Words were suddenly too hard for both of them, but it was a moment that didn’t require profound expression of devotion and excitement for what they’d created together. If any man was meant to be a father, it was Romeo. Family was everything to him.
When he did finally find a way to speak, he touched her stomach once more and repeated, “I love you.”
357
Jules wasn’t sure if he was talking to her or the babies, but it didn’t matter. He loved all three of them, and separating from him was more than Jules could bear. Her legs were trembling. Romeo’s face showed the agony that holding her was causing even if he was doing a very good job of hiding it. Jules’s head felt like it was going to explode from all the moving around, but despite all of that she couldn’t let him go.
“I don’t wanna go.” She pouted miserably. “Across the hall feels like miles away.”
“I’ll fix it.” Romeo cupped her chin, forcing her eyes to him. “It won’t be for long.”
“No.” Jules shook her head. Her room felt so cold in comparison to this small area that pulsed with life and energy. It smelled like Romeo. She could hear his brothers talking in Italian, and that made the whole place actually sound like Romeo. This was the room bursting with all the things that filled her life with color to begin with, and she wanted to stay there. “Don’t make me leave you again.”
“You need to sit down.” Romeo rubbed her arm. “You’re shaking.” Jules could see the pain lines etch themselves deeper into his forehead. “You are too.”
“I’m not pregnant,” Romeo reminded her, his voice catching with emotion. “You need to rest.”
“That’s all I been doing,” Jules argued as she kissed him again. “I hate this!”
“I do too.” Romeo looked like the separation was killing him even if he was the one who was pushing it. “But I’m gonna fix it,” he promised her once more. “You gotta trust me.”
“I do.” Jules found herself sliding back into the wheelchair, knowing it was the nurse’s strong arms rather than her own strength that kept her from falling. She reached out and grasped Romeo’s big hand in hers, wishing they had more time, but she could see the encounter had taken its toll on him. “I’ll see you soon.”
“Yes, you will,” Romeo said to her as the nurse started wheeling her away. “I’ll make sure of it.”
358
* * * *
The next day they moved Jules to a big, beautiful room three floors up. It had a view of the lake and a roommate named Romeo Wellings who became decidedly less grouchy once they were together.
359
Epilogue
July 4
“I read that caffeine’s bad for you.”
Jules clutched her sweet tea protectively. “Back off!”
“I got you a bottle of water.” Romeo held it out like a peace offering. “That way you don’t dehydrate.”
“Keep the water.” Jules took another sip of her tea. “You need it more than me, Mr. One Kidney.”
“Come on, Juliet.”
Romeo put an arm around her and worked at prying the cup out of her hand, but Jules fought for it. If she wasn’t still paranoid about hitting him, she would have done it, but they were both a little rough around the edges after the shooting.
Plus they were in the middle of Garnet’s annual Fourth of July celebration, and people were looking at them strangely. If Jules started beating him in defense of sweet tea, the town would gossip about them more than they already did.
“You’re all sweaty.” Jules shoved at his shoulder. “You’re dripping all over me.”
“I just ran five miles.” Romeo laughed before he leaned down and whispered in her ear, “I thought you liked me wild and sweaty.”
“You forgot naked,” Jules pointed out, her hold on the drink loosening as she thought about it.
He finally got the cup out of her hand and deliberately dumped it, spilling tea all over the grass. Jules stared down at her sweet tea now watering the fresh, green grass at Garnet Park. “You are a bastard.”
360
“Yes, I am,” Romeo agreed with a smirk.
Jules huffed and grabbed the bottle of water out of his hand. She followed after him as he walked over to one of the garbage cans, throwing away her cup without an ounce of remorse.
Still bitter, she pointed out. “Hotter than hades today.”
“Try running in it.” Romeo put an arm over her shoulders despite being sweaty.
“Tell me I look sexy in my new 5k shirt.”
Jules looked down at his white cotton T-shirt that had a big American flag on it and the words
35th Annual Garnet County Fourth of July 5K Run
. Nearly everyone at the park had one of those shirts on, but Jules had to admit that Romeo’s looked a little more dazzling than others did. He still had his down days, but for the most part he’d worked hard to gain his health back after his injuries. He weighed less than he had before the shooting, but he was still all muscle. He was already talking about teaching classes at the Cellar to stay in shape.
“It looks sexy,” she told him with a smirk as she took a sip of her water. “I’m proud of you.”
“I’m sorry you couldn’t come.” Romeo pulled her closer and placed a kiss on top of her head. “Next year.”
“This is the first year I haven’t done the 5K since I was a little kid.” She sulked.
“And you just dumped my pity tea.”
“The tea’s bad for you. I’ll buy you a lemonade. They’re selling some around the corner.”
“Forget it.” Jules wrapped her arms around his waist and leaned into him. The smell of coming rain permeated the air, and she looked up. “You wanna head back to Hal’s? You know it’s gonna pour and summer storms ’round here ain’t anything to laugh at.”
361
Romeo looked to the sky rolling with thunderclouds, making the summer heat sticky and humid. “Good plan.”
They walked slow, not because either of them couldn’t move faster. Jules was still getting around well despite a belly working hard at hiding her shoes from view, and Romeo ran the 5K with the big boys—really racing to win instead of walking like a lot of the residents. He hadn’t won, but he hadn’t done too bad either.
They were just enjoying the day. Jules waved to people who called out to her as she continued to lean heavily on Romeo, using her pregnancy as an excuse to get closer to him. Some days it was a little harder to forget she’d almost lost him, and she found herself getting clingy regardless of who was watching. If the town had a problem with Jules being close with her husband, they could go hang.
“Hey, getta room!”
Jules turned in Romeo’s arms, seeing Tino and Chuito coming up behind them.
She rolled her eyes and turned back around. She and Romeo had bought a house, and they were working on renovating it before the twins were born. Over the garage was a fully functional apartment that Tino had taken up residence in. Now she was tripping over Tino at home and Chuito at work.
“Check it out.” Tino dashed in front of them and threw out his chest triumphantly.
He pointed to his shirt. “See what that says?”
“I see it,” Jules said with a grin. “I saw it the last ten times you pointed it out.”
“Winner!” Tino ran his finger under the letters to better emphasize his point. “I killed it!”
“I was there,” Jules reminded him. The race had been exciting. The last five hundred yards had been a head-to-head sprint the whole way. “A photo finish.”
“Fucking second place.” Chuito shook his head in disgust. “I can’t believe that.
I’ve won the past two years, then this
pendejo
shows up.” 362
“I guess Tino’s done more running in his life than you.” Romeo arched an eyebrow at Chuito. “And that’s probably saying something.”
“Yeah, no shit, this guy can book it. Thug.” Tino pushed at Chuito’s shoulder. “I’ll bring my sick trophy over to the office for you to admire on a regular basis.” Chuito kicked at the back of Tino’s calf, forcing him to fall to one leg in the grass.
Instead of complaining or retaliating, he simply held up the trophy in his hand and kissed it with exaggerated flair as he looked mockingly at Chuito.
“Hey, take a picture of me.” Tino popped up like an overenthusiastic puppy.
“We’ll text it to Nova.”
“We’ve sent him at least twenty pictures today.” Romeo pulled his phone out of his pocket and held it up. “I don’t think he gives a shit about this race. He has real problems, Tino.”
“Nah, he cares,” Tino said with confidence as he held up the trophy in front of him. He flashed a dazzling smile for the camera. After Romeo took the picture, Tino dropped to his knees next to Jules and held the trophy in front of her stomach. “Take one with Uncle Tino.”
Romeo laughed and took another picture.
“Take it sideways so Nova can see how huge she’s getting.”
“Get off me.” Jules shoved at his shoulder and then hit the back of his head for good measure. “I’m not huge.”
“It’s all baby.” Tino rubbed her stomach affectionately. “They’re big, strong boys like their Uncle Tino.”
“How gigantic are these kids gonna be?” Chuito asked as Romeo took a picture of Jules’s stomach sideways. “You’re both like—supersize.” Jules gave him a look. “Thank you, Chuito.”
The skies chose that moment to open up, and the rain came hard and fast, forcing them to make a dash toward Hal’s around the corner. Jules wasn’t supposed to be
363
running. She walked fast, and Romeo stayed with her. By the time they got to Hal’s, Tino and Chuito had already pulled a table up next to the booth Clay, Melody, and Wyatt were sitting at.
They were drenched. They couldn’t have gotten any wetter if they’d stood in the shower fully dressed for an hour, and Jules shivered once they hit the air conditioning.
“You want me to see if I can find you a towel?” Romeo asked in concern.
“You need one as badly as I do.” Jules stomped her feet on the mat to get the mud off her sneakers, but the entire diner was filled with soaked, muddy runners and the floors had long since been ruined. She leaned back into Romeo as they walked to the booth. She ran a hand down his chest, admiring the outline of his muscles through the thin, white T-shirt that was clinging to him like a second skin from the rain. “It’s like a show.”