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

Their laughter was interrupted by the sound of work boots clomping underneath them. They both froze, holding their breath out of habit. The footsteps lingered, and Julianne was afraid she would pass out from holding her breath so long, but she was more afraid of making any noise by breathing out. Next to her, Remi had frozen in mid-reach, twisted up like some sort of human pretzel.

“Don’t fall!” Julianne whispered under her breath as the footsteps started to fade away.

Remi, already shaking a little from the effort of squeezing himself into hiding mode, did exactly that.

He stayed sprawled out on his back, silently shaking with laughter for the next couple minutes. Julianne crawled over and placed herself gingerly next to him, careful not to make any noise that could draw unwanted attention to the attic, just in case the guys were wrong about Bill.

She knew that the crew had their backs, but she also didn’t want to test that theory. She rolled over in almost mimelike slow motion to look at Remi. “Next time,” she breathed, “I think we should just go out for bagels.”

✦ ✦ ✦

For the second time in one summer, work was turning into Ocean’s 14. Jules and Remi spent all day waiting for stolen moments to see each other. Julianne used her well-honed spy skills to scout out any opportunity to catch Remi alone—even for five minutes. Remi requested lots of “consultations” with Julianne to discuss her progress on painting the ivy in the courtyard. Every time Julianne walked into the trailer, the guys hooted and hollered. Most of the time, though, despite the support of the crew, they avoided even looking at each other.

Julianne and Remi were both afraid that if they made eye contact, they wouldn’t be able to stop staring, and they’d never get any work done ever again. In the trailer, they tried to keep things as professional as possible, but even the accidental touch of their hands caused them to forget all the official business they were supposed to be plotting out.

Between their warring families, and the constant procession of lawyers, co-workers, and even Bill, it seemed like every bit of their time was spent trying to deal with what other people’s reactions to their relationship might be. Neither Jules nor Remi was sure what, exactly, would happen if their respective families found out that they were together, but they were both sure that it would turn their summer romance into a Shakespearean tragedy.

Chapter Sixteen

Julianne tiptoed toward the front door. Even though it was early evening and still light out, she felt like she was making an escape under cover of darkness.

She already had one hand outstretched toward the waiting doorknob when she heard a quiet sound—almost a purring—over her right shoulder. She wheeled around to find Chloe there, clearing her throat softly.

“And where are you going, young lady?” Chloe’s voice was light, teasing, but Julianne could tell the question wasn’t entirely a joke.

“Oh, just down to the beach. Meeting up with Lucy and some of the guys from the site. We might wind up at Lucy’s later, or maybe the Fishtail …” Julianne trailed off, trying to make the details of her plans sound especially mundane. She didn’t want to lie to Chloe any more than was totally necessary.

“Some guys from the site, or a particularly special guy from the site?” Chloe teased, clicking her tongue against her teeth.

Julianne’s heart raced. “Like who?” she asked, trying to be nonchalant.

“Like who? Like anyone! You work with two dozen hot guys, it’s almost impossible to narrow the field.”

Chloe giggled.

“Sorry, Chloe. Not a date. Just hanging out.” Julianne felt bad for the half-truths, but, really, it wasn’t a date.

She couldn’t wait until she and Remi were actually able to go on dates like other couples. But all this sneaking around was decidedly not dinner and a movie.

“Darn. Okay, well have fun.” Chloe shrugged before adding, “I was over at the Fishtail the other night and the band was really good.” She headed for the steps, and Julianne completed her beeline for the door.

Julianne walked down the beach, flip-flops in hand, her stomach doing a few funny little jumps every now and then. She couldn’t tell if she was just having excitement butterflies because she was going to see Remi—just the thought of spending time with him was enough to make her totally giddy—or if they were little pangs of guilt from lying to Chloe. After a few minutes, though, they went away entirely and so did the question. After walking for what felt like forever, she saw the familiar shape of Remi’s tousled hair and broad shoulders.

Julianne broke into a sprint and dashed toward him.

Plopping herself down on the sand, she laughed and mock-gasped for breath.

“I feel like I’ve been walking for six hours. How did you find this place? I’ve lived here all my life and barely knew it existed.” She linked one arm through Remi’s and leaned in close. When they had decided they should try to meet farther away from their respective houses, Remi had, in true project manager style, undertaken a massive site search. As a result, they were now sitting on an out-of-the-way stretch of beach silhouetted by craggy sloping cliffs. The sunset coming down around the cliffs and breaking through the bowing palm trees was amazing.

Julianne sighed happily. It was totally worth the nearly forty-five minutes she had walked to get here.

Remi squeezed her hand. “I know. It’s pretty random, isn’t it? But it’s so beautiful. The cliffs are amazing.”

“The cliffs aren’t the only thing that’s amazing,”

Julianne said softly, squeezing his hand in return.

“Yeah, you are pretty great, aren’t you?” Remi responded seriously, but there was a laugh in his voice.

“I wasn’t talking about me, and you know it!”

Julianne laughed back, before being pulled into a giant bear hug. Between the towering cliffs and Remi’s strong arms, she had rarely felt so safe and so warm.

Julianne was pretty sure that this