N E S S A

I was already halfway out of my seat when Grayson nudged me to follow after Julian and Juniper.

While I loved Julian, he was acting a bit dense if he thought Juniper wanted to be followed at the moment. Not by him, anyway. Who knew what was going on between them, but she looked like she needed a moment.

I caught Julian right before he was about to barge into the bathroom after his girl, and he whipped around with wild eyes at my gentle touch on his arm.

"Just give her a second, Jules," I said, keeping my tone soft because it was clear he was a few seconds away from a crisis.

He dragged his hand over his face. "I just want to make sure she's okay. Something's not okay."

"Events like these can be a lot sometimes," I reasoned. "Sometimes people need a minute to refresh."

"I would have taken her back up to our room," Julian said with a heavy sigh. "Or outside. Or anywhere."

Or anywhere.

I'd never seen this side of Julian, and it was a little refreshing. Even when he had dated other girls, he always acted so...casual about it. It had felt almost like he was playing a part, and while he clearly liked the girls, it was nothing compared to the desperation he was showing right now.

He really would take this girl anywhere.

"Let me go check on her," I said, giving his arm another pat and biting down on a smile. I loved that he stopped masking how he felt about Juniper; it was so good to see. Even if it had surprised the hell out of me. After all, his graduation party hadn't been that long ago, and he'd still been deep, deep in denial then.

Julian nodded with gratitude and watched me disappear into the bathroom.

"Juniper?" I called and found her a second later, standing in front of the panel of mirrors by the sink. When she turned to face me, there was definite worry in her gaze. Julian's gut had been on point; something wasn't right.

"Hey, is everything okay?"

"Oh, I—" She bit down on her words, shifting from foot to foot. "I'm just a little overwhelmed. I apologize if my silence during dinner was rude."

"It wasn't," I reassured her. That was the last thing I wanted her to think that I thought. "Julian was worried about you."

I felt like she deserved to know that. Because as expected, her expression told me she didn't quite believe that could be true.

"Look, about Julian..." She sighed. "He's not... we're not dating. I don't want to give you the wrong impression."

I blinked twice. Was I surprised they weren't dating when they so clearly acted like they were? Yeah, a bit, for sure. But also...I didn't imagine what I saw.

"I don't think I have the wrong impression."

Which was that they should be dating because they both clearly wanted it.

"Noah was going to be my date this weekend," she said, looking like she was trying to convince me that my impression really was wrong.

I wasn't fooled, but maybe a bit confused. I tucked my hair behind my ear and looked at Juniper thoughtfully. "Noah London?"

She nodded. "Something came up at the last minute, though."

Typical. I scrunched my nose with irritation. Shame on Noah for bailing on this lovely human. "Noah always was a flakey little shit."

Juniper shrugged, explaining, "Julian offered to take me so I wouldn't have to come alone."

That definitely explained a few things—like how they'd moved from denial to dates so quickly, and why we hadn't known anything about it. This wedding seemed to have sped up the process. But it didn't explain why they were acting like they were dating or why Julian was so beside himself outside this bathroom door.

I walked toward the sink, pulling my lipstick out of my bag. "Well, he's worried," I emphasized again.

Maybe she thought Julian was only here because she needed a last-minute date, but he'd take her anywhere. She still had her blinders on, and I was sure she put them up for her own protection—I could understand that. But if someone didn't knock them lower soon, she would miss out on something that, in my opinion, was meant to be.

"He's overprotective sometimes," Juniper reasoned as I leaned across the countertop to reapply my lip color. "He's like that about everyone."

I considered that. Yes, Julian had always been protective. He was protective over Grayson when they played together and protective over me when Jasper was an asshole. He'd do anything for Gabriel, his sisters, basically anyone who came into his life.

But this...how he was acting tonight? He wasn't being responsible. He wasn't just...acting tough for the sake of being protective. He was being vulnerable and soft. This was different.

"I had to stop him from coming into the bathroom after you," I pointed out.

"What?

I grinned into the mirror at Juniper's surprise. She had no idea, did she?

"He's waiting on the other side of the door," I said, my grin growing wider.

"God, he's so ridiculous," she muttered, a little roll of her eyes making me bite down on a laugh.

"Sometimes men are ridiculous for a reason."

I knew that reason all too well, and I hoped that these two got their act together so Juniper could realize it, too.

'Why's that?" she asked.

"Because...around certain people, they just can't help it."

"Certain people?"

I smirked. "Certain people, Juniper."

I didn't want to spell it out for her. She'd have to realize that Julian was head over heels for her on her own, but I wanted her to give him more of a chance. Lower those blinders just a little so she could see what was directly in front of her.

A second later, I walked about the bathroom again. Juniper deserved to have her moment to herself.

Julian stood on the other side of the door, and I didn't miss how he swore under his breath when he realized it was me emerging from the other side instead of Juniper.

"She's coming," I assured him, and he leaned back against the wall, thrusting his hands in his pockets with impatience.

"Is she okay?" he asked.

I nodded. "She's okay, but...."

Julian leaned forward, hanging on my unspoken words.

"But?" he urged when I hesitated, deliberating what I should say.

"She doesn't believe that you care about her," I said on an exhale. "She doesn't believe—" I waved a hand over him, his situation where he was desperately waiting for a girl outside the bathroom door. "—this."

"But—"

I cut Julian off before he could do that thing that guys do sometimes when they deny a way a girl could feel because they lacked understanding of how their actions affected others.

"So be nice when she comes out," I added.

"You know I'm not an asshole, Nessa," Julian said imploringly, which I acknowledged.

"Of course I know that. Make sure she does too."

With that, I crossed the hotel ballroom, returning to Grayson. He was staring at his phone, brows furrowed, but his expression cleared as soon as he saw me. I sat beside him, snuggling closer to my husband again before checking over my shoulder to spot Julian bringing Juniper onto the dance floor.

"Good," I said, satisfied that he was taking some sort of action.

"Noah says they're not really dating," Grayson commented.

"I know." I glanced over at him, trying to resist the urge to be smug about it.

Grayson could tell, and I could tell that it hurt him to take the bait.

"What else do you know?" he asked.

I smiled, leaning in closer to fill him in on everything I'd just learned while milling around the hotel bathroom. Grayson nodded as he absorbed it all, and then he told me what he'd learned from texting Noah.

When we were done spilling information to each other, Grayson and I turned our attention to the couple on the dance floor.

The song that thrummed through the room was slow and lilted at the perfect tempo for Julian to hold Juniper close as they danced. Her head rested against his chest, and I smiled at the reassurance on her face. The slight tilt of her lips told me that contentment or something close to happiness had woven back into her mood, and I hoped it was because of something Julian had said.

Or maybe it was just how he was holding her.

Julian looked like he never ever wanted to let her go, and I wished they could see each other's faces right now. I wished they could open their eyes wide enough to see what was right in front of them.

"Maybe they just need a little liquid encouragement," I said thoughtfully.

"Nessa..." Grayson sounded pretty unsure about my idea, and I swallowed a laugh. "I know you like to match-make, but...."

"What?" I turned back to Grayson to find him staring at me with a twisted smile and those brilliant eyes trained on my face. My stomach did a little flip that had nothing to do with our child inside it. "I urged Madie and Bren along, and look at where they are now? Not to mention Collins and Beau." I raised a brow at Gray, daring him to say I was wrong.

He didn't, but he also didn't play into it. "Maybe we should let them settle this themselves, darling."

"Okay, because I'm sure you're not going to bring it up with Julian at all," I said, lowering my voice when I noticed Julian and Juniper started walking back toward us.

"Well, if my friend wants to talk to me about what's bothering him, I'm not going to keep him from sharing," Grayson muttered.

I rolled my eyes at Grayson's answer but didn't say anything else. The couple was within earshot, and when I heard Juniper say something about wanting another drink, I stood and offered to go with her to the bar.

Julian looked like he could use a minute to talk to Grayson, and I was more than happy to provide the best friends time together.

I decided not to bring Julian up again as I walked with Juniper to the bar. There wasn't much else I felt comfortable saying until I learned more about Julian's situation. There must be a reason behind the dynamic between these two, and Grayson was probably right that I should let them settle it themselves.

But if Julian wasn't going to get the party going like he usually did in college, it would seem it was up to me. So I ordered a round of shots before turning to find Juniper staring at me with wide eyes.

A laugh slipped out of me before I could explain. "The first time I met Julian, he was practically chasing Grayson around his house at a party, trying to get him to take shots with him. I thought I'd take his place if he isn't going to do it."

Juniper raised a brow. "I can't even picture that."

"Oh, he let loose in college. But now that I think about it, I don't think he ever got that drunk. Because on more than one occasion, I watched him sober up instantly when something went wrong."

"Like what?"

"Oh, I don't know." I shrugged, thinking back. "The parties he threw at his house were always the safest ones on campus. Because it was mostly football guys, and he kept his team in check. And if any guys did mess with me, or any other girls, he threw them out."

Something shone in Juniper's eyes as she absorbed my words. "See?" she said. "He's overprotective about everyone."

"I think he's just a good guy," I said softly, picking up one of the shots from the bar and offering it to her.

"I think that's actually what has always bothered me the most," Juniper said with a roll of her eyes that surprised me. She took the shot out of my hands, tossed it back, made a cute, scrunched-up face, and set the empty glass on the bar again. I waited for a second, curious if she would say more after recovering from her whiskey. Thankfully, she did, so I didn't have to pry. "He's such a good guy. But he never acts like that toward me, not until...until this weekend, really. When he has to be nice to me."

"Don't you think maybe he's choosing to?" I offered, even though I felt the pain in her words.

"That's what he tried to tell me. So...maybe." Juniper sighed. "I'm a little curious, though."

"About what?"

"To hear more about Julian's college days." Mischief brewed in her eyes now, and I liked seeing this side of her pop back up. "It's weird for me to think about. Even when I visited that one time, he still acted like he had a stick up his ass."

I laughed, unsure if I should point out that he was only acting like that because she was there, and guys kept hitting on her. But ultimately, she asked to hear more about what Julian was really like, and I couldn't help but oblige in hyping him up a bit.

"My sophomore year of college, my ex showed up,"'I recounted. "And when I rejected him, he posted a recording of us on Twitter that I didn't even know existed."

Juniper gasped, her lips parting with surprise as she listened.

"Julian was the one who got it taken down," I said, feeling a bit free that I could talk about this so openly after so many years of it haunting me. "He knew the laws, of course, about things like that. He immediately told me he would take care of it, and he did. He was the voice of reason in that entire mess."

"That's..." Juniper shook her head, speechless, as she digested my words.

"I know." There wasn't much else to say, and I didn't want to make her feel she needed to give me sympathy over that story. It was only meant to highlight Julian. So I just gave her a reassuring smile before balancing the rest of the shots between my fingers and strolling back to the guys.

"We got shots!" I called out as I approached Grayson and Julian, hoping that I didn't interrupt too good of a conversation between them. I set the glasses on the table before feeling two hands on my hips, pulling me down onto a lap that I knew was Grayson's.

"You can't drink, my little whiskey girl," Grayson muttered dryly. His hands wound protectively over my belly as if to remind me why I couldn't drink.

I knew damn well why. The reason, also known as our child, had kicked me at least ten times during dinner.

"Okay, we got you shots," I clarified.

"I don't drink," Grayson pointed out, and I could hear the smirk in his voice. He pressed closed to me, close enough that I felt his breath breeze over my skin.

Would he stop making this so hard and just go with it?

I glared over my shoulder at my husband. "Would you just—"

"I don't think shots are a good idea," Julian cut in, turning toward Juniper. But it was too late. She was already tossing one shot after another down her throat.

Plus, she already had the one at the bar...

Oh, shit.

When she went to grab a third, Julian snatched it from her hand.

"Hey now," she chastised, eyes bright. "Nessa tells me you were the life of the party in college, and suddenly you think shots are a bad idea?"

Julian lifted the shot glass to his lips slowly, watching Juniper over the rim as he took a sip. "They are when you barely eat dinner," he muttered before slamming the empty glass back on the table.

Juniper rolled her eyes, and it was fun the see the playful side of her come out even more.

"I'll be fine, Julian," she said.

"No more," he warned.

She lifted a brow. "Or what?"

Julian looped an arm around her waist in response, pulling her down to sit on his lip. Juni gasped as he held her close, and I couldn't help but bite down on a grin as I watched Julian adjust to having Juniper in his lap. He looked like he was in a tortured heaven.

"Look what you've done," Grayson grunted in my ear, but I could tell he was just as amused as I was.

"They'll be thanking me soon enough," I whispered back.

Grayson squeezed my hips in response, and I settled back into him, wiggling my own ass into my human seat—you know, just to see if I could get a reaction.

"Adler," Grayson groaned, low enough that it was clearly only meant for my ears.

"I'm just trying to get comfortable," I said in defense.

"Comfortable," Grayson scoffed. "I can't wait to get comfortable with you later."

I swallowed a slight laugh and shifted in Grayson's lap again. His fingers tightened on my hips.

What a fun night this was turning out to be.