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“Tell me…” Everything. She hesitated—would the request signal a closeness she was unsure of pursuing?—but then gave into the urge. “Tell me about Nikki.”
Cassandra grinned. “Oh, stick around and be entertained. Our little sister is the prickly one. She’s a professional chef and she recently had knee surgery that’s going to allow her to do some great things in whatever kitchen she chooses. For now, she’s heating up the life of one of Malibu’s natives and its one-time über-bachelor Jay Buchanan. They’re engaged and would be married tomorrow if he had his way.”
“And you’re not?” Noah asked. Juliet could tell that he was trying to get a clearer picture of the situation. “Married, that is?”
“No.” Cassandra seemed perfectly comfortable with the idea. She eased back against the couch and raised her brows at him. “Never. How about you?”
Juliet froze, then darted a glance at Noah. God, she’d never thought…never considered, even though she knew he’d been in the army and it wasn’t uncommon for young soldiers to marry their girl before deploying to a battle zone. Had he ever…?
“Thought about it at twenty-one.” Noah’s expression was as noncommittal as before. “Then thought better of it.”
Juliet’s tight chest loosened, and wasn’t that just a warning in itself about the trouble a lonely widow could get into? What kind of person didn’t want the man living across the pool to have once fancied himself in love enough to marry?
She put the yarn and needles aside and got to her feet. “Maybe we should go.” New to this awake-and-in-the-world business, her emotional state was rocky, as these weird responses to Noah proved. She had her answers from Cassandra so it was time to leave.
“Good idea,” Noah said, rising. “But before we take off, Cassandra, I want to make something clear.”
Juliet’s donor sibling stood, too. “All right.”
He crossed his arms over his chest. “I have Juliet’s back.”
Juliet swallowed her groan. Great. Here they went. “Noah—”
“No matter where I am, no matter if it’s today, tomorrow, or ten years from now, I’m there,” he said over her protest. “Someone tries to take advantage of Juliet—whether it’s of her wallet or her heart—well, just understand I won’t stand by and let that happen. I’ll always be watching out for General Weston’s widow.”
General Weston’s widow. Good lord, did Cassandra even know that’s who she was? Juliet thought. But of course she did. There was the Internet. Not to mention all the media attention during the last year. Cassandra would know as well as Noah that Juliet was the object of derision and suspicion by some.
And pity by others. Is that what Noah felt toward her? Is that why he’d just made his declaration?
“I understand,” Cassandra said. “And I’m glad my sister has such a loyal champion.”
Out of nowhere, tears burned the corners of Juliet’s eyes and she blinked them back. She didn’t need a protector, damn it, and despite what Noah claimed, he was only her temporary “champion” anyway. He would move on to his own life, and soon, just as she’d told him at the restaurant.
She swallowed, feeling a desperate need for fresh air. “Good-bye,” she told the other woman, already moving toward the door. Noah had his fingertips at the small of her back, even as she looked over her shoulder. “I’ll… I’ll talk to you, um, soon.” Caution, remember? No need to be more specific than that.
Cassandra’s smile was bright. But her eyes were, too. Bright with unshed tears that matched the ones Juliet felt gathering once more.
Just like that, her resolve broke. “Come to dinner,” Juliet urged. “The day after tomorrow. You and Nikki. Ask her.” Without even looking, she felt Noah’s dismay at her rash words.
“Are you sure…” the other woman started.
“I’m sure.” Of course, Juliet wasn’t, but she couldn’t make herself take back the invitation.
“All right,” Cassandra replied. “I’ll call Nikki.”
Noah had Juliet’s fingers now and was towing her out the door toward his truck. Even though she sensed his concern, she couldn’t help but appreciate the secure warmth of his clasp.
So be careful about Noah, too, Juliet warned herself, trying to tug free of him. While it might be too soon with her sisters, it was too late to become attached to the man who held her hand.
Juliet surveyed the selection of cookbooks spread on the kitchen’s butcher-block island, and tried remembering her last impulsive action. If she didn’t count the act of inviting her sisters to dinner, before that there was…there was…
