Forbidden Boy by Abbott, Hailey (the false prince series txt) 📕

her friend. “Have you been in hibernation, or what? It’s been forever!

Ohmygod, how’s Kat? Has she run with the bulls yet?”

Lucy looked great. Her summer tan brought out the sparkle in her green eyes, and she had paired her black work T-shirt (which Julianne actually loved for its logo of two dueling coffee beans) with a pair of skinny gray jeans and slip-on Vans printed with hearts, stars, rainbows, and skulls. Lucy took a step back to appraise Julianne.

“You look awesome, babe.”

“Thanks! You too.” Julianne laughed. “Kat’s doing great. She’s in Madrid, though, not Pamplona. And I’m pretty sure she’d stay inside if she did see a bull, but it sounds like she’s having the time of her life. How’s your summer going?”

“Oh, it’s been great.” Lucy grinned. “Some work, some surfing, some partying. It’s a nice combo. It would be better, though”—she paused dramatically and affected a stern look—“if we ever saw you. You need to come out sometime. You haven’t been by the Bean once, and I haven’t seen you at Fishtail, either.” Fishtail was one of Pacific Palisades’ many outdoor cafés, but it was a favorite among Julianne’s friends because of its boardwalk seating, live music, and notoriously lax carding policies. “Lady, we’ve missed you!”

“I know! I’ve missed you guys, too. The summer has just been really … intense so far,” Julianne finished thoughtfully.

“Well, good intense or bad intense?” Lucy queried, leaning against a shelf full of glitter letters as she awaited Julianne’s answer.

“I mean, mainly good,” Julianne decided as she said it. “I have this awesome job—I’m doing building and design stuff for this cool new eco-friendly house being built near downtown,” she explained. “I’m actually doing a huge mural for the courtyard, starting today,”

she explained, gesturing toward her cart of art supplies.

“I get to hang outside, paint, and ”—she paused for dramatic effect, the way Chloe did whenever she referred to Julianne’s job—“I’m the only girl on an entire crew of guys!”

“Sweet!” Lucy giggled. “The Bean could use a serious infusion of testosterone. We’re, like, seventy-five percent female this summer. It’s crazy. I mean, everyone’s great, but it isn’t exactly a breeding ground for love.” Lucy rolled her green eyes playfully. “Speaking of love …

spill, Kahn. Tell me everything.”

“Sorry to disappoint, Luce, but there really isn’t much to tell.” Julianne shrugged.

“Fibber!” Lucy practically shrieked. “We don’t see you all summer and there’s no guy involved? There’s no way.”

“Fine.” Julianne laughed grudgingly. “There may kind of be someone. I mean, sort of. A little.”

“That’s more like it. Details, please,” Lucy prodded.

“Okay, so I met this guy, and he seemed really great,”

Jules started.

“At work?” Lucy asked.

“Well, sort of. I mean, I didn’t meet him at work, but it turns out he’s at work.” Julianne chewed her lower lip ever so slightly as she spoke.

“That sounds complicated.” Lucy pulled a tube of cherry ChapStick out of the pocket of her jeans and applied it liberally.

“Yeah, that’s the whole thing. And there’s stuff going on with his family, and with my family, and who knows if it can even work …” Julianne could feel her voice rising with each word.

“But you like him, right?” Lucy gave Julianne a knowing grin.

“Oh my God, Luce, he’s amazing. He’s beyond fantastic. He’s into architecture, so he’s kind of artistic. And he just totally gets what I love so much about my art.

And he’s funny and thoughtful and, oh man, so, so hot.” Julianne felt the corners of her mouth creeping up into a smile as she reached into her bag for her Nalgene and took a drink.

“Well then, that’s the important part.” Lucy was full-on smiling now. “If you’re meant for each other, all the pieces will come together somehow. That’s all. That’s just how it is. No worries.” She squeezed Julianne’s hand. Julianne smiled back at her, feeling relieved and thrilled that someone had finally given her the green light to like Remi. “Anyway, I should probably head out,” Lucy said, looking at her old-school oversize Swatch watch. “It’s free-smoothie-sample day at the Bean, and they need all the help they can get.” She hugged Julianne goodbye, grabbed some scrapbooking pages off the wall hooks, and headed back down the aisle before turning and calling back, “Hey, you should bring this mystery guy out with us sometime. Or, you know, at least bring yourself. Call me! ”

Julianne decided to stop at home before heading back to the site, just to pick up her camera and her favorite paintbrushes. She preferred working with brushes that she already liked the feel of, plus she wanted her camera to document her progress on the mural for her portfolio. Julianne burst through the door of her house like a husband in a ’50s sitcom.

“Oh, honey, I’m hoooome!” She could hear Chloe and her father murmuring in another room, but neither of them called back to her. “Hey!” she called out again.

“I’m home!” Again, there was no response. Julianne wandered into the dining room and found Chloe and her dad sitting at opposite ends of their oval dining table, both looking like they’d just been through a natural disaster.

Chloe’s cheeks were tearstained, and Dad’s eyes looked pale and empty. They were both staring in the general direction of a pile of papers that had been tossed into the center of the table. Julianne hadn’t seen either of them look this lost since the doctors had told them that Mom’s cancer was malignant. Her throat started to close up at the memory. She walked around the table and placed a hand on Chloe’s shoulder, careful not to muss the lace of her sister’s puff-sleeve shirt. “Hey,” she murmured. “What’s going on?” Chloe just shook her head.

Finally, their father spoke. “Court papers, Jules.”

Julianne felt all the blood drain from her body and she slumped against the arm of Chloe’s chair. “The Moores’

lawyer served us with papers today. They’re suing us over our property rights.”

“They can’t do that!” Julianne burst out. “I’m sure they can’t. They haven’t even been