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

“Oh my God! It’s amazing. It’s beyond amazing,” she gushed.

“Mom started this before she got sick and I wanted you guys to have it.” Julianne gestured to the beach beyond the deck. “Now we’ll always have Mom and we’ll always have our beach.”

“Julianne, it’s so different from your other collabora-tions with your mother,” her father observed, sounding pleased that his little girl had grown up to have such artistic range.

Jules nodded. “I guess so. It was really hard for me, actually. But I think it turned out okay.”

“It turned out better than okay,” Chloe gushed. “And like you said, we’ll always have the beach, just as Mom saw it.” Even though an undertone of sadness gripped all three of them, the Kahns shared a warm smile.

Julianne walked over to her father and threw her arms around his shoulders and said, “I’m glad you like it, Dad.”

As the beginnings of tears collected in the corners of Edward Kahn’s eyes, he hugged his daughter back and whispered, “Thank you.”

Chapter Eighteen

The music at the Fishtail was pumping at earsplitting volume and Julianne felt her body shaking in time with the bass. She and Remi had been out for hours.

It felt so good to just hang out and be a couple without stressing over who might be watching. Even if they tech-nically were the only ones who knew they were out as a couple. After work, they’d headed to happy hour with some of the guys from the crew, at a bar farther down the boardwalk. After happy hour, Mitch and Hunter in tow, they’d stopped by the Mean Bean to pick up Lucy and head over to the Fishtail to meet more friends from school. So many weeks of relative isolation had left Julianne beyond excited to be out on the town with her friends and her amazing new (secret) boyfriend. She wished Kat were there—she was sure that Kat and Remi would totally hit it off—but then they’d have some time to hang out together when Kat got back from Madrid in a few weeks.

Julianne surveyed the scene at the Fishtail. It was her favorite kind of boardwalk party, high energy and low key at the same time. Hunter, Mitch, and Remi were standing against the boardwalk railing, talking about colleges, while Lucy and Jules were perched on top of a picnic table, watching the scene unfold. Down on the beach there were a few clusters of night swimmers and kids playing volleyball, but most of the action was contained on the boardwalk. The waves were rolling into shore and they could hear the breeze blowing the palm trees. Seagulls were winging their way across the horizon.

“I love summer.” Jules sighed, taking a sip of the piña colada she was sharing with Lucy.

“I know, right?” Lucy agreed. “I just wish it would last longer. I can’t even start thinking about school—I have too much to do before then.”

As they spoke, Justin Timberlake’s voice came thumping out of the speakers. Jules grabbed her friend’s hand and pulled Lucy down from the table. “Don’t think, then!” she shouted over the music. “Just dance!”

The girls laughed as they jumped up and down, winding their bodies to the beat. “Way to bring sexy back!”

Julianne laughed at Lucy, who was dropping it all the way down to the floor.

“Um, I don’t think sexy ever left …” Lucy joked back, jabbing Julianne with her elbow. “Speaking of which, I’m going to go introduce myself to those guys over there.” She headed off to chat with a group of cute guys Jules vaguely recognized from school, who were shooting pool by the outdoor bar. Looking around the party, Julianne couldn’t help but notice that several other girls were admiring her boyfriend, and she laughed to herself. Then she looked down at her outfit—a Proenza Schouler tank top with a deep V-neck and funky buttons, a swingy skirt, and turquoise open-toed Seychelles slip-ons—and felt pretty hot herself. Her hair was curly, wild, and blowing in the ocean breeze.

Julianne tossed her head back and tried to soak everything in, waiting a long minute before heading down the boardwalk to catch up with Lucy. She glanced behind and caught Remi full-on staring at her. Maybe forced separation could be a little fun.

After a few hours, the party began to wind down, with couples strolling off in pairs and kids riding off on their bikes in every direction. Julianne and Lucy were dancing with some of Lucy’s co-workers from the Mean Bean and a few of the younger guys from the site, when Remi walked over and slid his arm around Jules’s waist.

“Ready to head out?” he whispered into her curls.

She nodded and looked to her friends, who all looked ready to call it a night. Together, still bobbing their heads to the music, they all headed home.

Mitch and Hunter drifted away from the group first, to go meet up with some of the other guys from the cross-country team for a poker game; then Lucy’s co-workers left one by one. As Lucy, Julianne, and Remi made their way down the beach toward Lucy’s grandparents’ house, Lucy leaned over and tipsily stage-whispered in Julianne’s ear, “So, is this the boyfriend?”

“Huh?” Julianne was confused.

“The guy you were telling me about at the art store,”

Lucy clarified louder. “The hottie you’ve had your eye on all summer?”

Julianne blushed, even in the darkness. Even perfectly sober, subtlety had never been Lucy’s strong point. “Yup. He’s the one.”

“You’re right, Jules. He’s cute—really cute!” Lucy giggled. “Oh my gosh, I almost missed my house.” Lucy looked up sheepishly before dashing off for home.

“Good night, you guys! Nice to meet you, Remi,” she practically cooed.

Remi finally slipped his hand into Julianne’s, and they walked the rest of the way down the beach together, stopping to sit down in the sand when they reached the stretch of beach between their two houses. Half an hour later, Julianne and Remi were lying on their backs, looking up at the stars. The