Why Romeo Hates Juliet (24 page)

Later that afternoon, Juliet was sitting in front of her laptop computer. She’d snuck away for awhile and had returned to her own beach house.

Romeo was still sleeping - she’d checked in on him before she’d left - and Sara had been on the phone with her husband, Rob. All had been quiet and Juliet had thought that she could come home to work on her book for a bit. But she’d been staring at the blank screen for a half hour now and no words or ideas had come to her. The truth of it was that her mind was still too preoccupied with Romeo’s amnesia problem to focus on anything else.

Letting out a frustrated sigh, she shut down her computer. No - she just wouldn’t be able to write anything again until she knew that Romeo had regained his memory and that his injuries from the shooting had healed. Maybe it would happen soon? She hoped it would. It was almost the end of July and she needed to turn in a completed manuscript to her publishers by September otherwise she’d have to declare personal bankruptcy. That gave her one more month to finish her book. Okay, a lot could happen in a month. She still had time and she wasn’t going to freak out… not yet anyway.

~ ~ ~

Half awake, half asleep, Romeo could sense someone moving around in his bedroom. Opening his eyes, he saw Juliet coming towards him carrying a food tray.

“Hey, you’re finally awake,” she commented, as she put it down on his bedside table.

Sighing deeply, Romeo sleepily smiled up at her. “How long have I been out?”

“A good six hours. It’s already after eight p.m.”

Romeo was surprised. “Eight? You’re kidding?” He didn’t think he’d been that tired when he’d gotten home from the hospital, but as soon as his head had hit the pillow, he’d been out like a match. As he went to sit up in bed, he moved his injured shoulder by mistake and winced at the pain that shot through his system. His hand instinctively came up to the bandages.

“What’s wrong? Is it your shoulder?” a worried Juliet gushed as she came over to help him sit up.

Romeo nodded. “I think the pills have worn off,” he mumbled. Shit, he thought to himself. It was one thing to pretend to be in pain in front of her, but quite another to be in pain for real. It made him feel weak and he didn’t want to feel that way with her. Maybe it was a stupid macho thing, but he just didn’t want her pity. Besides, it could throw him off of his game plans and she still needed to pay for what she’d done to him. The pain shooting out from his shoulder certainly reminded him of that. “I’m okay,” he muttered again.

“Let me help you,” Juliet said, as she reached for the pillows behind him, positioning them comfortably against his back so that he could sit up in bed and rest against the headboard. She then smoothed out the covers over his mid-section, making sure he was properly covered. In the back of her mind, she kept thinking that he was naked underneath those sheets right now, and she could feel a sudden surge of desire for him flare up.

Why did he have to look so damn hot ensconced in that huge, king-size bed of his?

As those thoughts raced through her brain, Juliet immediately backed away from the bed as if it was on fire, and remembering her promise to Sara, she reached her hands behind her back and secretly pulled Nana’s elastic band. The band snapped sharply against her skin and Juliet winced at the sting she felt. The ‘Romeo spell ’ was instantly broken again… thank God!

“What was that?” Romeo frowned, having heard the slight snapping of the elastic.

“I didn’t hear anything,” she mumbled, as she secretly rubbed the sore spot on her wrist still behind her back. Quickly changing the subject, she moved forward to retrieve the food tray. “I’ve brought you dinner.”

“Great! I’m starving - but not just for food.” A devilish look came into his eyes as he took in her flushed cheeks and soft, pink lips. His hungry gaze lowered to her full breasts straining against the cotton fabric of her t-shirt as she propped the tray in front of him. Oh yeah, those puppies definitely wanted to come out to play, he wickedly thought, but their mistress wouldn’t let them - unfortunately.

His mind quickly raced back to that day in his hospital room when she’d let him taste and caress them and had been ready to make love with him before Sara had interrupted. It had been a slice of heaven. He could still get hard just by thinking about it again. But what had happened between that day and now, when she kept pulling away from him? Obviously, she’d thought better of it and her sister had probably gotten to her too.

But if she was ready to have sex with him then, then it would only be a matter of time before he’d break down the defenses she’d erected and get her into his bed where she belonged. He just needed to play this cool, but not push her - at least, not all the time.

“Food is all you’re going to get, mister,” Juliet sternly cracked back but smiled. Yes, she knew his gaze had been fixated on her chest, but if she was supposed to be his wife, that was natural and he was just teasing her anyway.

“Okay then, feed me, wench,” he smiled, as he looked down at the food on the tray. It was a steaming hot bowl of chicken soup with a steak and green beans on the side - and it smelled delicious. Romeo hadn’t realized how hungry he really was. “This looks good. Where did you buy it?” He turned questioning eyes back up at her as she sat on the edge of the bed beside him and placed a napkin in front of him.

“What do you mean?” she muttered, as she focused on stirring the soup for him.

“Which restaurant did you get it from?”

Juliet gave him a surprised look. “I made it.”

“Like from a can?”

“No, like from a chicken.” She took a spoonful of soup, blew on it and brought it to his mouth.

Romeo was stunned as he took the delicious broth that was being offered to him. “You mean you actually cooked this - from scratch?” he mumbled between mouthfuls.

“Of course. Why do you sound so surprised?”

“Because…” Romeo had just been about to say that he’d never known any of his women to cook ‘real’ food before. They’d always depended on him to take them to restaurants and have him pay, or they’d been expert salad makers and can openers, but nothing more demanding than that.

And truth be told, he’d never done more than open a can himself - or at the most, barbeque a steak. When he was home in his Malibu mansion, his kitchen staff did it all and hot food was usually brought out to him on a platter. He’d just never thought about it before.

And yes - he had been about to let all that accidentally slip out of his mouth, but he’d caught himself in time because if he had said that, then she would’ve asked him how he knew what his previous girlfriends had been like - and then she would have said his memory was obviously back -

and he would have been busted! “Because… you just don’t look like the type who can cook, at least not in the kitchen,” he cracked slyly.

“Well, I can and I’m actually quite good at it. My best dish is coq au vin, as a matter of fact. Maybe I’ll make it for you sometime,” Juliet informed him, as she kept feeding him like a big baby. Yes, maybe she should be letting him feed himself, but she was still so worried about him injuring his shoulder again should he twist it in the wrong way, that for now, she’d just coddle him. It was the least she could do for nearly killing him. As guilt washed over again, she silently vowed once more to help him recover in any way she could.

Romeo looked her over as if he was seeing her for the first time. “I’m impressed,” he confirmed, as he watched Juliet cut his steak into small pieces for him.

She looked back up at him then as she brought a piece to his lips. “I’ll take that as a compliment,” she smiled.

Romeo melted at her sweet smile. When she looked like that and sounded like that, he forgot about everything that she’d done to him and felt like jell o in her soft, little hands. Feeling an overpowering urge to touch her, he brought his right hand up and let his finger tenderly caress her cheek.

“You’re full of surprises, my sweet Juliet,” he whispered, as his eyes followed the path his finger was tracing across her flesh.

Ensnared by the intensity of his gaze, Juliet felt herself being pulled towards him. “Am I - your sweet Juliet?” she responded shyly, again aware of how little restraint she seemed to have when it came to Romeo Boyd, used car salesman and charming husband.

“Did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight! For I never saw true beauty till this night,” he softly intoned, reciting a line from Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet.

Juliet caught her breath and her heart skipped a beat at his soft, romantic words. And like a deer frozen in headlights, she remained motionless as she let him continue to touch her, his gentle finger now tracing an imaginary line across her warm lips. His eyes were studying her with a curious intensity, trapping her in their hypnotic power. The moment hung suspended in time.

“Juliet, you’re wanted on the phone.”

The spell was broken and Juliet quickly pulled away from him as if she was doing something wrong. She turned to see Sara standing quietly in the open doorway. “Th - thanks, Sara,” she stammered, as she got up from the bed and moved away from temptation. Intuitively, she knew that there was no phone call and her sister was coming to her rescue.

“I’ll feed Romeo. You go take that call,” Sara decreed, as she moved closer to the ‘patient’, who was now frowning at the new change of plans.

As the sisters passed each other in the room, Juliet threw Sara a silent ‘thank you’ and knew that her little sis was saving her once again from potential disaster.

~ ~ ~

Romeo’s hungry gaze traveled up and down Juliet’s luscious body as she lay asleep in Tommy’s old bed. Sometime during the night, she must have thrown off her bedcovers because they were crumpled in a heap on the floor. As his eyes continued to admire her, he noted that she was sleeping on her stomach, wearing some lacy baby doll tank top and shorts that exposed her tight, sweet ass and which, praise-the-lord, was on full view for him to enjoy. Man, she looked smoking hot, he thought.

Last night, after Sara had made him eat his own cut-up steak pieces with his good hand, he’d made a bathroom pit stop, taken a couple more of his meds and gone back to bed, thinking that he’d just relax for awhile. But surprisingly he’d fall en asleep again, his body obviously needing more time to heal. He’d awoken early this morning feeling refreshed, stronger and raring to go on his plans to play house with his new ‘wifey’.

Tearing his eyes away from her delicious body, he glanced over at Tommy’s bedside clock. It was a little after six o’clock in the morning and time for Miss Sleeping Beauty here to wake up. A wicked smile fluttered across his lips as he brought his good right hand up and quickly brought it back down, giving her a hard slap on her upturned ass.

With a start, Juliet gasped as she awoke from a deep sleep. Not knowing what was going on or exactly where she was, she raised her head off the pillow and turned to see Romeo standing by her bedside, bare-chested with a pair of shorts on and wearing a stupid grin on his face.

“Get up, woman!” he cheerfully decreed. “Your man wants bacon and eggs and his good morning kiss; and not in that order.” His smile grew even wider.

still groggy and confused from having been awakened so suddenly, she lashed out at him. “What the hell are you doing in my house? Get out!” she screamed.

Romeo looked taken aback. “Your house? Isn’t this my house too?”

Befuddled, Juliet tried to blink the sleep from her still squinting, half closed eyes. “What?”

“Okay, so maybe I’m only a used car salesman and you probably make more money than me, but you don’t have to hold it over my head because I can’t support my wife.” He looked crestfal en.

At the mention of the word ‘wife’, Juliet let out a sigh and looking around the bedroom, quickly remembered everything. This wasn’t her own room in her and Sara’s beach house; this was Tommy’s room in Romeo’s beach house and she was pretending to be his wife because he had amnesia - which she’d caused.

She looked up at Romeo’s sad face and knew she had to do some damage control and do it fast. She’d almost blown everything when she’d seen him standing there. “That’s not what I meant,” she rambled, as she lifted herself up and swung her long legs over the side of the bed. “I - I was dreaming and you startled me, that’s all.”

“Were you dreaming about what a failure you have for a husband?” he challenged back, defiant.

“You’re not a failure. Why do say that?”

“Because it’s obvious we could never afford a house like this on a car salesman’s salary. And since you’re the bestselling author with a herd of paparazzi after you, you must be the one bringing in the dough, not me.” Romeo threw her his best forlorn, puppy dog eyes look, all the while thinking to himself that they didn’t pay him millions of dollars for his acting skills for nothing.

“That’s not true.” As Juliet stood up, her pajama tank top gaped open and she caught Romeo’s quick interested stare. Realizing how little she had on, she moved swiftly to the chair where she’d thrown her shorts and tee the night before and threw them on over her pajamas. She turned back to him then. “You - you’re a good provider and together we’re a team. That’s what counts, isn’t it?” Dr. Burrel had said to keep him calm and go along with whatever he said so as to not upset him and that’s what she was trying her best to do now. He had to remember things on his own, the good doctor had also said.

“So you’re saying I’m a good husband.”

“The best.”

“And you married me for love?”

Juliet squawked. Why was love being brought into this? “Of - of course… love, what else?”

“Do you still love me, Juliet? Tell me that you do, I need to hear you say it.” She balked again. What could she say? No… she wasn’t in love with him, which could turn this entire situation upside down - or yes… she did love him, and pile more lies on top of more lies? She looked up at him and he was standing there, massaging his injured shoulder, his hand faintly tracing the criss-crossing white bandages covering the damage she’d done to him.

“Yes, I do love you, Romeo,” Juliet gushed, surprising herself that the lie seemed to flow out of her mouth so effortlessly.

“Good. Glad to hear it,” he nodded and in a flash, he was standing directly in front of her, leaning seductively into her lips. “So how about that morning kiss?”

Quickly, she stepped back as his magnetism enveloped her like a powerful lightning bolt. “I - I think I’ll get you breakfast first and then we’ll see.

You’re still not well enough for - that,” she stumbled on her words before turning and racing out the bedroom door.

The second Romeo heard her making her way down the stairs, he burst out laughing. He’d never seen anyone look more uncomfortable than she had when she’d scampered out of the room just now. And when he’d forced her to admit her ‘love’ for him, the words had tumbled convincingly out of that soft, full, sensuous mouth of hers like syrup. If he hadn’t known the truth, he’d have almost believed her. What a good little liar she was, but he was better. His plan to make her life hell had only just begun and he was going to have fun putting it into play, but boy did she look amazing in the morning. That was one sight he could get used to seeing everyday for the rest of his life.

~ ~ ~