Star-Crossed(56)

“Well, okay, then.” Alaine turned away from the file cabinet without a backward glance. “I’ll get my coat and make a sign.”

Alaine taped a handwritten sign on the door to the office stating what time they’d be back from lunch, and listed Jules’s cell number in case of emergency. Chuito barely made it past the closed door because Jules was determined to get where she was going and if Chuito’s free lunch was a casualty—oh well.

Once outside Jules pulled her keys out of her purse and then pushed the button to unlock her car doors.

“Can I drive?” Chuito asked as he zipped up his coat.

“Boy, you better stop fussing with that coat and get in the car,” Jules said as she used the reflection of the window to her Mercedes to fix her hair.

“I’m Puerto Rican. I need my coat zipped up in this weather. What’s the hurry? Is Hal’s running out of food?”

“Just get in the dang car.”

She slid into the driver’s side just as Alaine sat in the passenger seat next to her.

Jules pulled down the visor and put on lipstick while she waited for Chuito to get into the backseat. He wasn’t moving any faster despite Jules’s obvious impatience because Chuito had a hard time functioning before noon.

“You sure I can’t drive?” Chuito complained as he closed his door. “I feel like I’m gonna die when we let you behind the wheel.”

“That ain’t a lie.” Alaine smiled. “The only one worse is the sheriff. Maybe it’s a cop thing.”

“Or a Conner thing,” Chuito agreed. “Either way, I see my life flash before my eyes every time.”





145

Jules put the Benz in reverse, her hand on Alaine’s headrest as she looked behind them for oncoming cars. When she saw the way was clear, she peeled out of the driveway. Chuito cursed, Alaine laughed, and Jules ignored both of them.

Making record time, she pulled up to Hal’s Diner, which was predictably busy for the lunch rush. A quick glance at the parking lot showed all the usual cars and regulars, so she took a moment to look in her rearview mirror and mess with her hair once more.

“That’s like the tenth time you’ve looked at your reflection in the past five minutes.” Chuito narrowed dark eyes at her as he leaned forward from his seat in the back and contemplated Jules. “Do you have a crush on me?” Jules reached over and pushed Chuito’s face away, making a huff of annoyance as she opened her door. She got out and brushed at her clothes—a black jacket, with a low-cut, gold undershirt and a shorter skirt than she usually wore, but it wasn’t like she’d bought it just for Romeo. It’d been hanging in her closet for over a year. The fact that it was her nicest, most expensive business suit was of little consequence.

Chuito got out of the car, studying Jules fussing with her outfit. “I was joking, but now you got me scared. You’re not really after me, are you?” Jules rolled her eyes. “No.”

“Thank God. That’d be like doing it with my mother.” There was so much wrong with that statement, Jules couldn’t help but hit him.

“Do I look old enough to be your mama?”

“No, it’s just a mental thing.” Chuito dodged Jules’s second hit, holding up his hands to protect himself in classic boxing fashion. Jules kicked him instead, the tip of her high heel connecting with his shin, and he jumped in response. “Hijo de la gran puta!

Why are you attacking me? It’s a fucking compliment!”

“Then don’t compliment me anymore,” Jules snapped as she turned around to walk up the steps to Hal’s and shook her head. “Your mother.” 146



“Look at me.” Chuito gestured to himself as he dashed up the steps to stand next to Jules at the door. “I’m sexy. That didn’t come from nothing. My mother’s good-looking.”

“I think you should stop now,” Alaine offered. “She’s obviously in a mood ’bout something.”

Jules walked into the diner, which felt warm and cozy in comparison to the chill of outside. For some reason this diner smelled more like home to Jules than the house she’d grown up in, and it helped to calm her wild nerves.

“Hey, Jules,” Melody said as she walked past her with a tray in her hand. “Y’all are earlier than usual.”

“I reckon it’s good for Chuito to get up before noon every once in a while.”

“Shoot, I ain’t blaming him for sleeping in. I would too if Clay didn’t get up every morning with the chickens.” Melody laughed and pointed to the right side of the diner.

“Pick a seat.”