Tis The Season for Secrets (Village of Yule #2)

6. Will

“ C learly Harley he cringed at his mistake, hurrying over. She’d dropped her ID, and he knelt to collect it for her. “I didn’t mean to frighten you,” he started, handing her the pass. Their eyes met as their fingertips brushed. Such a slight touch, yet his heart constricted, demanding more. “I waved when you came in, but you didn’t notice me.”

She might not have noticed him, but there was no way he’d have missed her, with those bright red lips and big brown eyes. He was beginning to think red was her favourite colour– and staring at her full lips, it was quickly becoming his.

“I’m sorry, I’m late for a meeting. I wasn’t expecting to see you again. I mean, so soon!” She fumbled through her words, and he wasn’t sure if she was blushing or if her cheeks were flushed from the cold. He’d hoped, after the night they shared, that she wouldn’t look so disheartened to see him.

“I think you forgot something last night.” His eyes searched her empty hands and troubled expression. Clearly, she hadn’t noticed him on the way in because she was too busy thinking about the manuscript she’d abandoned in the suite.

“My grasp on reality?” she muttered to herself, studying her hands.

The only way to turn her frown upside down was to reveal the manuscript he’d hidden inside his jacket, and he definitely wanted to be the reason she smiled. “I’ll happily take credit for that, but I think this is more important.”

He didn’t even get to hand it to her before her eyes lit up and she wrapped her arms around his neck, nearly tackling him. Will would’ve settled for a smile, but this was much better. Even if she was more than a foot shorter, he tucked his head into her shoulder, breathing in the smell of her sweet shampoo. She’s ruined me.

“I can’t thank you enough!” Juliet detached herself from him, and he told himself to get a grip when he immediately missed her touch. She hugged the manuscript to her chest. “How did you know to bring it here?”

“There was an address on the front, and you mentioned you had to get the manuscript to your boss this morning. I figured you ran out to make it to your meeting, since we lost track of time. I wasn’t expecting to arrive before you, and security wouldn’t let me leave it at the desk without you having signed in.” He didn’t usually ramble, but seeing her again made him nervous.

“I’m sorry…” She started fidgeting with the edges of the pages.

“For forgetting the manuscript, or leaving me this morning?” he asked, rather enjoying that he wasn’t the only nervous one.

“All of it – and I didn’t exactly run out. I tried to call out to you, but you couldn’t hear, so I left you a note.” She picked at the paper, clearly uncomfortable about her actions. He knew what it was like to have a demanding job, so he wasn’t going to give her a hard time.

“You could’ve always come in and joined me,” he suggested, closing the gap between them.

She smirked. “Then I definitely wouldn’t have made the meeting.”

“A meeting on a Sunday? Your employer needs a good talking to.” Will shook his head.

Juliet only shrugged. “The senior editor doesn’t believe in weekends, and if I want to be promoted then neither can I.” He admired her for not badmouthing her superior, even if they were clearly unreasonable to call in staff in this weather on the weekend.

She looked to the elevator doors, and he knew they were running out of time.

“Thank you again for this, and I’m sorry for making you go out of your way in the cold,” she said, and he reached for her before she could run off again. Her eyes settled on his hand on her forearm, and for a moment it looked like she was going to tell him not to let go. Did she feel it too?

“What if I wanted to see you again?” Will wished he’d been smoother in his delivery. His phone vibrated in his pocket, but he ignored it.

Juliet’s lips parted, but she said nothing. Her hesitation killed him. He tried to remember that this was about work and fulfilling his promise to her estranged mum, but seeing her stare at him with those big, questioning eyes as if assessing whether he could be trusted, he wished he hadn’t come at all.

He was about to speak when the elevator doors pinged opened at the end of the empty lobby.

“There’s a woman staring at us,” Will whispered, looking over Juliet’s shoulder at a woman tapping her brown loafers impatiently by the elevator in the lobby.

Juliet followed his gaze, and her smile faltered. “That’d be my boss. If I don’t want to get fired, I’d better go.” She reached up on her tiptoes and kissed his clean-shaven cheek. “Thank you—for everything.”

He clenched his jaw, worried that she was saying goodbye. Even though they’d escaped the snow outside, with her out of his reach he’d never felt colder.

“Maybe we’ll meet again in the new year.” She smiled, backing away.

He couldn’t find words fast enough before she hurried off and followed the glowering woman into the elevator. Will ran his hands through his hair, cursing himself for getting tongue-tied. After scolding himself for acting like a lovesick teenager, and not a man with an important job to do, he thanked security on his way out.

Climbing into the back of his car, Will smiled to himself as he heard Jingle Bells playing again.

“Mr Bryce has called twice,” Johnson, his driver informed him from the front seat.

He didn’t get a chance to respond before his phone started vibrating in his jacket pocket. Harvey must be desperate to ring my driver. Will should’ve known not to ignore his friend’s call. They’d attended Yule’s academy of guardians together until Harvey was expelled after an arrest in the Outside had nearly exposed the village. A pity he hadn’t become a guardian; he was talented at tracking people down.

“Hugo is demanding I cover his extensive hotel bill because you were invited on my behalf and you tossed him against a wall.” Harvey Bryce, hotel and real-estate mogul – and Will’s oldest friend – wasn’t a big fan of ‘hello’.

“That guy put hands on Juliet. One of the security guards was talking about seeing him on the cameras when I arrived. Thankfully, she had a friend to help her get out of there.” When he’d entered the party, it had been a scene of slight chaos, with Hugo ranting and raving about how Juliet had disrespected him.

Harvey sighed, taking in the information Hugo had left out. “I’ll have him escorted off the premises. He’ll be blacklisted from the Bryce chain.” Harvey had very simple but strict rules: no discrimination, assault, or harassment of any kind at his hotels and clubs. Being thrown out was one of his lesser punishments, and Hugo was probably only getting off so easily because Harvey didn’t want any blood on his hands during the festive season.

“I’ll settle his bill for causing you the trouble.” Will didn’t want his friend to be out of pocket. He had ruined a painting when he’d tossed Hugo against the wall, causing quite the scene at the party. Juliet wasn’t the only one who’d crippled the rockstar’s ego last night, but it had been worth it.

“Don’t bother, I’ll make sure security ensures he pays up.” Harvey’s security consisted of retired guardians– no one valued protection or loyalty more. “At least you got to meet Juliet, so your evening wasn’t a complete waste. It’s already the 3rd of December, and you only have until the 26th to get her in front of the council. You’d better get a move on.”

“I’ve made contact. Now, I need to find a way to get myself more involved in her life– gain her trust.” Will didn’t want to admit how many ethical lines he’d already crossed.

“I don’t like this. Getting involved with a banishment case is risky. Even if you feel like you owe Eloise, communicating with someone banished could get you in serious trouble, and the way you talk about Juliet makes me nervous. Ever since you got that file, you’ve been far too invested.”

Will hesitated, not wanting to lie to his best friend. Unfortunately, it wasn’t hard to read the silence. Harvey knew him better than he knew himself.

“Fuck, I knew it–you like her. I knew this was going to get messy. Juliet’s the job, a favour. Unless you want to end up like me, then I suggest you stay professional.”

“Have we swapped places?” Will demanded. “Aren’t I usually the one telling you to remember the rules? I think you still owe me for bailing you out last time.”

“Evasion. Great. When you fuck up your life, I’ll have head of security waiting for you.” Harvey had been offering him the job for years.

“I’ll be fine,” Will lied to his best friend for the first time in his life. It did feel like they’d swapped places.

“If I remember correctly, I said the same thing before the Council of Yule expelled me from the academy. Be smart about this.”

Harvey’s warning didn’t fall on deaf ears, but Will couldn’t stop, not now. He had to get Juliet to Yule so she could meet her mum.

“Your concern is heart-warming. I didn’t know you cared so much,” he teased as the car pulled up outside an apartment building. One of the perks of being a senior guardian who spent more time in the Outside was having access to apartments in every city in the world. The downside was that he never felt like he had a real home on the Outside.

“Fuck you.” Harvey sighed, never comfortable with displays of emotion.

“Love you too.” Will knew it was the easiest way of getting off the phone before he confessed just how deep a mess he’d got himself into.