Page 100 of Juniper Hill (The Edens 2)

“Deal.”

I was guessing it would take approximately a week before Jill was history. Memphis had told me about walking into the center and hearing Jill’s comments to her coworker. It hadn’t surprised me. Small-town gossip in Quincy was as frequent as sunny days. And I’d been single for a long damn time. There hadn’t been a woman I’d wanted to date and it was known that I only hooked up with tourists who knew it would end after a night.

Until Memphis.

She’d blown into town and there would be no other women.

“Any calls today?” I asked.

“No. Nothing.” She worried her lip between her teeth.

It was driving her crazy that she hadn’t heard anything from her parents since before Thanksgiving. The assholes hadn’t bothered giving her an update, but I didn’t want her reaching out to them either. Not until they showed with a goddamn apology.

At this point, I was taking no news as a sign that Victor had paid whatever to whoever had blackmailed him. If they all disappeared, I wouldn’t be brokenhearted.

Memphis deserved a hell of a lot better for her family.

Luckily, I had the best one around.

“I was thinking about my sister today while I was driving to get Drake,” she said. “We used to go shopping together before every Christmas. It was the one thing we always did and enjoyed.”

“Spending money,” I teased.

“Yes.” She giggled. “She hasn’t spoken to me in months. I didn’t even realize how damaged our family was because we were all so good at keeping up appearances.”

“I’m sorry.” I pulled her into my side, kissing her hair.

“I’m not.” She touched Drake’s shoe. “He deserves better.”

“You both do.”

She smiled. “You’d better get going on these cookies.”

“Shit.” I laughed and gave her the baby. Then I worked with fury, mixing the dough and rolling it into balls while the oven preheated.

Memphis helped me clean up in a flash and as I stowed the dirty dishes in the dishwasher, the door opened and Mateo poked his head inside. “Your lady is here.”

“Would you mind bringing her back?” My heart hammered as I spoke.

“Sure. Smells good in here. Did you make cookies?”

Memphis laughed.

“Yes. And you can eat them all.” My stomach was in a knot. “It’s just a few pictures but . . . damn. I wasn’t this nervous when Lester was coming to eat. What is wrong with me?”

“This article is a huge deal.” Memphis walked over, handing me Drake. Then she reached up to fix my hair. “When I worked in the city, I oversaw a lot of photo shoots. Everyone would get nervous. It’s normal.”

“Did you just make that up so I’d feel better?”

“Nope.”

“Stay. Don’t go anywhere, okay? I want you to be here.”

“Then we’ll stay.”

The door opened as I brushed my lips against hers. I broke away and looked up, ready to greet the photographer. Except the woman walking in behind Mateo was no stranger.

“Gianna?”