Love Hard

by Nalini Singh

  “Of course I do.” No tension in her, nothing but an active and protective acceptance. “It’ll hurt her if she gets attached that way and we can’t make it work.”

  “Keeping things from her is going to make things interesting.” Esme was a smart cookie, and she was going to be attached at the hip to them this entire trip.

  “I hear parents have trouble finding privacy for sexy times,” Juliet said with a straight face. “I’ll consider this a glimpse into an alien world.”

  “Hah.” But he was smiling. She did that to him. Juliet. Jules.

  His daughter reappeared, backpack on. “See?” She spun around to display the princess’s sparkly face. “I’m ready!”

  * * *

  The next morning went well. Esme was a touch quiet, but they got through the meet and greets without problem. Having been forewarned, the relevant parties had set up the meetings in rooms with glass walls so Esme could play directly outside, beside the admin staff, and Jake could keep an eye on her the entire time.

  It might not be how business was usually done, but Jake was who he was, and he was giving these people more time than they were contractually entitled to in return, so it wasn’t as if they weren’t coming out better off in the deal.

  Esme chatted away to the staff for the first half of the day, but post-lunch, she sat quietly reading her book.

  In the car on the way to the photo shoot, he said, “Boo, you feeling okay?”

  Shaking her head, she leaned into him.

  He tested her temperature with the back of his hand. She didn’t feel hot. On her other side, Juliet ran her hand down Esme’s back and shot him a worried look.

  Turning from Jake, Esme snuggled into Juliet… and promptly threw up all over her lap.

  “Sorry,” she said afterward, her eyes welling up as her lower lip quivered.

  Sensing real distress, Jake went to snuggle her in his lap but Juliet was already cupping her face in her hands and smiling. “Baby, don’t be sad. You didn’t mean to do that. You’re sick.”

  “I feel better now,” Esme said with a smile.

  Jake exhaled quietly and told the driver to detour to their hotel. Then he grabbed a wad of tissues from the courtesy packet wedged in the back of the driver’s seat and handed it to Juliet along with a small bottle of water provided by the driver. He also used the opportunity to clean up Esme. She hadn’t gotten a spot on her dress, so all he had to do was wipe her mouth.

  Meanwhile, Juliet cleaned herself up as best she could while keeping up a light patter to distract Esme, who—despite Juliet’s words—was despondent about messing up Juliet’s dress.

  “It’ll wash out,” Juliet told her. “And now I get to wear another outfit. Want to help me choose?”

  Esme nodded, her spark starting to come back. He’d keep an eye on her, but from past experience, he had a feeling she’d eaten something at lunch that didn’t agree with her and was feeling better now that she’d thrown it up. He made a note to more closely monitor her food intake tomorrow—he’d let her choose what she wanted from the lunch spread today because this trip was a treat with relaxed rules.

  For now, he made her drink some water to replace her fluids, then caught Juliet’s eye. Thank you, he mouthed, because her response had led to his daughter’s smile.

  A scowl was his reward.

  Because Juliet was insulted that he’d think she’d have any other response. His Jules had grown up without love and affection. Instead of allowing that to harden her, she understood the value of being shown such softness. Esme would never want for a pair of loving arms or an affectionate word while with her.

  Heart expanding on a rush of nameless emotion, Jake found a plastic bag he’d put in the side pocket of Esme’s backpack—because there was always need for one with a six-year-old—and got Juliet to put the dirty tissues in there. Her dress remained a mess, but at least she could walk now without dripping.

  “Let me call the studio and tell them we’ll be delayed.” She made the call a couple of seconds later, her voice friendly but professional.

  They arrived at the hotel soon afterward.

  “Esme,” she whispered, “walk in front of me so no one can see the stain.”

  Giggling, his daughter took up position, and Juliet put one hand on her shoulder. Jake also used his body to block others from seeing Juliet, and they were soon in the elevator. While Esme skipped into Juliet’s room with her, he waited in the corridor. And tortured himself with memories of Juliet’s naked curves.

  The two of them stepped out only eight minutes later. Juliet now wore a hot red dress tailored to fit her body. It was very much a professional dress—but va-va-voom was an understatement.

  “Look, Daddy! I picked Juliet’s dress!”

  “Baby girl, you have excellent taste.” He wanted to wolf whistle, and Jacob Esera did not wolf whistle. “You look gorgeous, Jules.”

  Juliet ducked her head slightly, a flustered kind of expression on her face, and oh fuck, it was adorable.

  But then she smiled, and it dazzled him even more. “Let’s go, team. We have work to do.”

  * * *

  Jake grumbled the whole way to the photoshoot, but Juliet and Esme had a grand time once there.

  Esme didn’t blink an eye when Jake walked out in the boxer briefs he had to wear for the shoot, just said, “Daddy, those are colorful. You only wear black or white.”

  “Think I should switch to this type?”

  A twist of Esme’s lips and a thoughtful pause, followed by a decisive, “No, you’re not colorful.”

  Juliet winced, but Jake chuckled—and the camera crew just about fell over. Mostly naked Jacob Esera was a serious punch to the senses, whichever way you swung sexually. But a half-naked Jake who was laughing with his pint-sized daughter? Boom.

  Then he turned that special private smile Juliet’s way, and her knees threatened to melt.

  “Shoo.” She waved him toward the camera crew. “The faster you finish this, the faster we can get—” She stopped herself from saying “home” just in the nick of time, but Jake’s gaze told her he’d heard the word anyway.

  As he walked away, Juliet took a deep breath and picked up Esme to put her in a high director’s chair that Juliet had organized in advance. She took a seat next to Esme, ready to put a stop to the shoot if anyone stepped out of line.

  Which happened way faster than she’d expected.

  27

  Juliet Breaks out the Scary, and p.s. Esme Sees and Knows All

  A scantily clad female model walked out of the dressing area. Jake’s eyes went from laughing to flat and angry.

  Juliet said, “Esme, stay here.”

  “Okay.” Esme kicked her feet. “This chair makes me tall.”

  Striding over to the model, Juliet said, “Go back in the dressing room. Now.” The stunning platinum blonde skedaddled.

  Juliet turned her attention to the camera crew. “Go get a coffee.”

  They didn’t hesitate, leaving their equipment where it was and walking away.

  At which point she looked at the advertising exec she’d dealt with all through this project. “The contract was very clear. No images of Jake with female models.” Jake was conservative in that way, and everyone had agreed to his terms in advance.

  “Our surveys tell us we’ll have much more impact if we pair him with a female model,” the other woman said. “Especially when the model is Kseniya. She’s incredibly well known.”

  “No,” Juliet said flatly.

  “We can and will pull the plug,” the other woman said. “Your boss wouldn’t be too happy about that.”

  “Everett’s built his reputation on ethical manufacture and equally ethical treatment of his employees and contractors. He has zero interest in working with people who break their word.” She raised an eyebrow. “You do realize you weren’t the only party interested in this deal? And that your current stance is a serious breach that gives Everett the opportunity to walk away?”
r />   The ad exec paled. “No female model,” she said quickly. “I apologize—I didn’t understand how serious you were about this.”

  Yeah, right. Juliet had made Jake’s stance clear. “Glad we sorted that out. Let’s get this shoot going so we don’t fall further behind schedule.”

  When she turned to look at Jake again, he had his hands on his hips and was staring right at her, a huge grin on his face. “Glad I have you on my side, Jules.”

  “Be quiet and get modeling.”

  His grin grew deeper until his cheeks creased. The camera crew all but sprinted into the room to capture the shots of Jake with such a rare expression on his face. Stomach hot, Juliet walked over to see that Esme had her hands pressed together and was grinning too. Her smile was pure Calypso and oh, it hurt Juliet’s heart—but in a good way. She was so glad part of her friend lived in this sweet, smart, rugby-loving girl.

  “You made the mean lady be nice,” Esme whispered.

  “Yes.” Juliet bent down to press a kiss to the top of Esme’s hair without thought. “Now, let’s watch your daddy strut his stuff.”

  “How come he has to wear only his shorts?” Esme kicked her feet again. “Uncle Danny does that sometimes at Grandpa and Grandma’s. When I wake up early, I go see him.”

  “Yeah?” Juliet had to bite back a grin at what a twenty-two-year-old might get up to in his private flat that he’d have to scramble to hide from sharp little eyes. “What does he say?”

  “Boo, I’m sleeping.” Esme did an excellent approximation of a growly voice. “Then he puts his pillow over his head, like this.” Esme pretended to drop a pillow on her face. “I jump into bed and tickle him and he makes me pancakes.”

  That hadn’t gone at all how Juliet had expected. “Does he have friends to stay sometimes?” she asked, curious about how it worked with Danny living at home.

  Esme nodded. “Yup. He had a big party one time and his friends were sleeping all over. On the floor and the couch and one fell asleep in Grandma’s garden and squished her flowers.” A shake of her head. “Grandma was maaad.”

  Okay, that was more what she’d expected. Could be Danny went somewhere else with women—on his salary, he could afford the most exclusive hotel rooms.

  “I’d be mad too,” she said. “Flowers take ages to grow.”

  “Yup, Grandma made Uncle Danny and his friends plant new ones.”

  Smile wide, Esme waved at her father when he glanced their way.

  He still had laughter in his eyes.

  Juliet clenched her stomach against the urge to run over there and kiss him silly. When the female photographer dared step closer to give Jake instructions, she was buffeted by a sudden wave of raw possessiveness.

  Gritting her teeth, she made herself look away.

  It had been difficult with Reid, how the groupies would swarm. It’d be a nightmare with Jake. He didn’t court attention, but he was undeniably hot—and he was at the top of his career. Bees to honey was putting it mildly when it came to female interest in him. The design firm’s PR team had done a workup on his profile when Everett was first considering the campaign, and Jacob Esera had a significant following of admirers who’d drop their panties at a moment’s notice.

  It was more than a little troubling to know that the man with whom she was falling in love had so many choices available to him.

  But he asked you, Juliet. He showed his heart to you. He doesn’t play with the rest of the world. He plays with you.

  Juliet settled again. If Jake wanted a groupie, he’d had endless opportunities. Yet he’d picked a girl who’d once had elbows of doom. As she’d picked him. She had to remember that too. This wasn’t a one-sided deal. The two of them had chosen each other, and it was up to the two of them to make it work.

  “Uncle Danny’s friends are fun.” Esme’s voice broke into her thoughts. “But he’s the nicest.”

  Juliet wrenched her thoughts back to the moment. “Yeah?”

  “Yeah.” A gap-toothed smile. “But he fights with Catie lots.”

  “Yes, I saw that at the barbeque.” During the wedding photos, however, she’d seen Danny instinctively stretch out an arm for Catie to grab when she nearly slipped on a step. Catie’s hand had landed on his powerful forearm as if she’d known it’d be there.

  The next minute, Danny had teased her for being like a hippo in a china shop, and she’d shot back that she wasn’t the Neanderthal who ran around “aimlessly” with a ball. They’d walked down the steps together.

  Juliet still hadn’t figured out that particular relationship.

  Esme put her hand on Juliet’s where she had it on the arm of her chair.

  Juliet glanced over. “You feeling okay, Boo? Your tummy all right?”

  “Yep.” Esme rubbed her stomach. “All systems normal.”

  Juliet bit back a laugh, figuring one of her uncles had to have taught her that phrase. “You want to sit with me?” Sometimes, as a child, all she’d wanted was a pair of loving arms around her.

  When Esme nodded, she scooped the girl’s small weight over into her lap. Nuzzling her chin on Jake’s baby’s hair, she was not prepared for Esme to say, “Jules, do you like my dad?”

  Juliet felt like a deer caught in the headlights. “Sure,” she managed to croak out. “He’s my friend.”

  A thoughtful pause before Esme said, “You can kiss him if you like.” It was a solemn statement. “Like Aunt Charlie kisses Uncle Gabe, and Aunt Issie kisses Uncle Sailor, and Grandma kisses Grandpa.”

  Juliet was drowning. She thought about sending out smoke signals for help, but Jake was busy completing his work with the attention to detail that made him so spectacular on the field; she was on her own. “Uncle Danny doesn’t get kissed?” she said, clutching at any available straw.

  “No, but he’s a kid. Like me and Emmaline. It’s different.”

  Danny was no kid, but she could see how he’d occupy a different place in the girls’ minds. The youngest Esera boy, he likely got treated like a kid by his brothers as well as his parents. Never mind that he was six feet, three inches tall and probably around a hundred kilos of pure muscle that exploded into impossible speed on the field.

  That made him a couple of inches taller than Jake, but their builds were similar. In fact, the only member of the family taller than Danny was Gabriel. Obviously, given Esme’s declaration, his size made zero difference to how he was treated. Juliet had seen the same immovable pecking order in other large families; Danny would always be the kid brother, even when he was ninety.

  “And he’s not a daddy,” Esme added firmly. “Daddies need mummy kisses.” A soft kind of sadness to her. “My mummy is in heaven.”

  Eyes hot, Juliet found herself hugging Esme tighter. “I knew your mummy,” she whispered. “We went to school together.”

  Esme sat up straight, her eyes bright when she looked back at Juliet’s face. “Really?”

  “Yes. She had a smile just like yours, and she wore glasses, and her hair was silky like yours.” It had been blond instead of Esme’s black, but it’d had the same softness and texture. “We used to sit together at lunch and share our food.” The trade had been heavily one-sided, mostly because Calypso always had way more than even she—the infamous devourer of an entire pizza—could eat.

  Juliet had accepted the imbalance because their friendship was deep enough that they’d long ago stopped keeping track of favors given and received. “She was really nice, your mum.”

  Esme had so many questions, and Juliet answered them all. It wasn’t until Jake had dressed and was walking toward them that she wondered if she’d overstepped her bounds.

  Esme piped up with “Daddy, did you know Jules knew Mummy?”

  A curve of his lips. “Yep. We all went to school together,” he told his daughter as Juliet shook hands with the ad executive, who still looked a little scared of her.

  She was back with Jake and Esme when he said, “Want to know a secret?”

  “What?”r />
  “Juliet and I didn’t like each other then.”

  “Really?” Eyes rounded, Esme looked from one to the other. “Like Uncle Danny and Catie?”

  Jake snorted. “Those two are a whole other story.” He shook his head. “But yeah, a little bit like that.”

  “But you like each other now?” A serious question.

  “Yes,” Jake said, his eyes meeting Juliet’s. “I really like her now.”

  The knots in Juliet’s stomach grew hotter, tighter.

  Especially when Esme took one of their hands each and beamed. “Good! I told her she can kiss you!”

  * * *

  As a result of an extra meeting that had to be shoehorned in, it ended up being a long day. Jake was worried about Esme, but she caught a nap during a car ride and was so excited by all the new experiences that she was otherwise up and active, with no indication she was feeling unwell again. She’d crash tonight, sleep like a log, but that’d be good for her.

  Still, all three of them were feeling the long day by the time they finally arrived back at their hotel. Running into their suite, Esme collapsed dramatically onto her back on the chaise by the window.

  “I’m ex-aus-tid,” she declared, each syllable sounded out.

  Juliet, who’d stopped in the doorway to talk to him, sighed. “Tell me about it, Boo. At least you don’t have to deal with mean ladies.”

  Esme giggled and popped up into a sitting position. “Can we eat in our room?”

  “Room service picnic?” Jake raised an eyebrow at Juliet.

  “Sounds like heaven. Give me a few minutes to change into my pajamas. I am not wearing proper clothes again until tomorrow morning.”

  Jake appreciated the sweet curves of her ass in that red dress as she walked down the hallway. His wolf whistle was quiet, but she sent him a look over her shoulder that told him she’d heard. The smile flirting with her lips said he wasn’t in too much trouble.

  Miming taking a blow to the heart, he staggered back against the doorjamb.