Tart by Lauren Dane Page A

nothing wishy-washy about a true Jules smile. Her joy was apparent on every part of her face.
    They’d been close for decades now. Each boyfriend or girlfriend Cal had had was jealous of her. And he understood why in retrospect. While he’d never cheated on anyone he was with—it wasn’t part of his makeup to do so—he’d been closer to Jules than any of them. Had sought her out to relate a funny story with or to share a secret.
    He liked to tell people she was his best friend. But that wasn’t entirely fair, he knew. He wanted Juliet. Had wanted her since he’d been eighteen and she’d been fifteen. He’d been her first kiss. She’d made him do it, convincing him someone else would do it if it wasn’t him and she could trust him so why not just show her what she’d been missing.
    It had been an exciting moment. One he still recalled from time to time. One moment she’d been his little sister’s annoying friend and the next she’d been, well, a girl worth kissing.
    But he’d shoved that part away. She was too young. He had older girls to sniff around, and, as he’d come to discover, some boys too. That part of him and Jules had gone dormant, but it was still there, sleeping, not always so quietly, beneath the surface.
    She’d been a fixture in his life. Always there for him when he needed her. If he lost that he’d never forgive himself. As long as she stayed in the friend camp that had been possible. To always have her in his life.
    He’d been repeating this to himself over and over since Mary had come to his house to tell him about Jules dating Gideon. It was true. Mostly.
    If she was with Gideon, he could have them both around. It would be good. Wouldn’t it?

8
    B y the time Cal arrived, Delicious was in full swing. But true to her word, Jules had saved him a seat. On the other side of Gideon.
    He frowned but covered it quickly as he entered the doors and everyone looked up. Jules smiled and moved to him to grab a hug. He kissed her, like he normally would, on the lips. But it felt different because she smelled like another man.
    “Saved you a seat. Gideon is going to hog you, he said.” She indicated the chair. Seemed to Cal like Gideon was hogging her , not Cal. But he kept that in his head where it belonged. He smiled at Gideon, who looked good, even while his hand slid over Jules’s shoulder before he reached Cal, who he pulled into a hug.
    “Good to see you.”
    “You too. Welcome back to Bainbridge. Mary says you’re back for good. I’m glad.” Cal said it and realized it was true, even if the guy was poaching Jules.
    He hugged Gillian and Daisy, nodded to the others and sat. Jules wasn’t even in his line of sight, which sucked. Though Daisy and Levi were, and they were both beautiful and funny to be around so that would be fine. Ryan was at the other end of the table and his brother sent a quick look to Gideon and Jules before moving his attention back to Cal as if to say See .
    And he did see.
    Erin, Todd and Ben were at the other end of the long table. He waved to them. He was glad to see them there supporting Mary.
    Speaking of his sister, Mary came out of the kitchen and headed to them with a dish of something beautiful. “You missed the first plate.” She kissed his forehead as she slid it in front of him.
    “Sorry. Ferry traffic. But I knew you’d save me something. It’s perfect in here.” He looked around the room. They’d transformed the dining room into something more intimate.
    “It’s all Daisy and Jules. I was having a little crisis earlier about it. I wanted it to be as intimate as the house, you know? So Daisy shows up with these heavy red drapes and Jules wound the white lights along the edges of the ceiling. The linens are perfect too.”
    Daisy waved a hand. “I can’t take credit for any of it. It was all Jules. The curtains are her mother’s. They were upstairs. As were the linens.”
    Jules shrugged and Cal wished he were close enough to reach out and