Sweet Pleasures ✔︎

[23] 𝑨𝒕𝒕𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔

Status : Unedited

❦︎

Josh reluctantly disengaged himself from Jupiter when a burst of conversation and laughter flooded from the museum atrium. He wanted to go back to the gala for only one reason - to make sure every last person knew he wouldn't stand for anyone making his girl feel inferior. By the time he was done, the guests would be wondering how they could have gotten it all wrong. Hell, they'd be groveling to gain Jupiter's favor.

But he didn't want to be with anyone but her right now. Sure as hell didn't want to talk to anyone else - about acquisitions, his reckless younger brother, or anything to do with Candy King. All he wanted was Jupiter.

His chest tightened. He'd seen it the instant he'd turned to face her on the front steps of the museum. The second he realized that the shining beauty walking toward him was his Peach. Because even though she looked a world away from the tousled girl who smashed her mouth against his at the Troll's house, Jupiter hadn't changed. All of her emotion still shone through those thick-lashed brown eyes. She still couldn't hide what she was feeling.

And when his gaze collided with hers...his heart had turned into a falcon - flying, whooping, and gliding over a blue sky.

Love.

It was there in her eyes, clear as glass, brilliant as a painting. No woman had ever looked at him with such blatantly pure emotion.

Chist. It felt like he'd first seen her a lifetime ago, when in reality it had just been a couple of months. And yet she's filled him so completely, her presence so softening and soothing, that somehow without him even realizing it, she'd become a part of him.

"Josh?"

Her soft voice broke his thoughts. She was standing by the doors, the light glowing off her thick hair.

"We should go back in," she said.

"Do you want to?"

She hesitated. "We have to, don't we?"

"We don't have to do anything." Josh headed to the doors. "Wait here, I'll be right back."

He stroke inside to collect Jupiter's wrap and handbag. He found Julia and apologized for leaving, then escaped before she could rip him a new one. He returned to Jupiter and took her hand.

"Let's go," he said.

"Where?" She hurried after him as he descended the steps and handed his ticket to the valet.

"Anywhere but here."

"But they haven't even served dinner yet." She glanced back at the museum. "Julia won't like it if we leave."

"She'll get over it? *

Amuse flashed In Jupiter's eyes. "You'll risk unleashing her flying monkeys?"

"I'll risk anything for you." He winked at her as the valet pulled his Porsche up to the curb. "And I'm used to battling Julia's flying monkeys."

Josh texted Jupiter's town car driver that she was with him before he guided the Porsche away from the museum. The tension lingering from his shoulders eased as soon as they were alone again.

He drove back to his house and instructed Polly to stay in the car while he went in to grab a couple of blankets. He out them in the trunk, then headed to a strip-mall pizza joiny on the outskirts of Indigo Bay.

"Dinner?" Jupiter asked, lifting her eyebrow.

"Tyler can be an ass, but the kid knows pizza like no one else." Josh got out of the car. "He claims this is the best pizza place in a twenty-mile radius. I'll get one for takeout."