Chapter 123

That night, Jimmie had to work up his courage before finally dialing his sister’s number.
“Juniper The moment the call connected, a smile bloomed on the usually stoic actor’s face, his voice instinctively softening. “I reviewed the dance choreography proposal for the music video. It’s perfect.”
His sister was brilliant; she’d even prepared two versions. The one without backup dancers was clearly superior.
“Good,” Juniper said, holding the phone with her right hand while her left guided a stylus across her iPad, making final adjustments to a jewelry design.
“Juniper,” Jimmie said, a hint of disappointment in his voice when she didn’t call him ‘brother.” “Are you free tomorrow? I’d like to take you out to dinner and introduce you to a friend.”
For the next two months, he would be busy with the music video, which likely meant frequent travel. This MV was a gift for his sister, and he couldn’t afford to mess it up.
He’d heard her adoptive family was a single mother with a daughter in her last year of high school. It must be tough for her to manage two kids. With Juniper’s university entrance exams approaching and those local thugs still lurking around, he had been racking his brain for a solution. He needed to find someone to look after her temporarily.
The perfect candidate: Shanley. The man had plenty of free time and, more importantly, was already smitten with someone else, so he certainly wouldn’t develop any inappropriate ideas about Juniper. Having him watch over her was the perfect solution.
A friend? An image of Shanley’s face involuntarily popped into Juniper’s mind.
“Let’s do the afternoon,” she said, a small smirk playing on her lips. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she added casually, “I’ll head over after my classes. Just send me the address.”
“Okay,” Jimmie agreed with a smile, then started asking if she’d eaten, if she was tired from studying a stream of chatter he seemed reluctant to end.
“Bro Finding him a bit long-winded, Juniper couldn’t help but cut in. “You should probably get some water.”
He’d been talking nonstop for ten minutes; he had to be thirsty.
Bro? Hearing her finally call him that, Jimmie felt a wave of satisfaction, and his smile widened. “Alright, I won’t keep you from your rest. I’ll see you tomorrow, Juniper.”
“Mhm,” she mumbled in response before adding, “Bye, brother,” and unceremoniously hanging up.
She really had to wonder about this brother’s mental state. Were they actually related?
On the other end, Jimmie stood by the window, savoring the moment with a faint smile on his lips. Juniper had called him brother! Twice!
After a while, he dialed Shanley’s number.
“Let’s meet tomorrow afternoon. I want to introduce you to my sister.”
“Sure,” Shanley agreed readily, a chuckle in his voice. “What does she like? I should bring a gift for our first meeting.”
Jimmie’s sister was his sister. Besides… the little sister was a fan of Lunar, right? Good taste. The gift had to be something special.
Jimmie thought hard about his sister’s hobbies and finally came to one conclusion: “Food. She loves to eat.”
“Food?” Hearing this, a smirk played on Shanley’s thin lips, and a deep, husky laugh rumbled in his throat. A fan of Juniper’s, right down to the hobbies. How fitting!
“I’ve got it,” Shanley said, an idea already forming in his mind. “I guarantee she’ll love the gift.”
…
Meanwhile, just as Juniper finished her design sketch, a call came in from Shanley. “Hello?” She hesitated for a second before answering.
“Juniper, are you free tomorrow afternoon?” Shanley asked, standing before a glass window, idly fiddling with a photo of ‘Lunar’ dancing. His eyes were full of warmth. “Tomorrow afternoon?” Juniper tossed her stylus onto the desk and leaned back against her headboard, recalling her brother’s earlier call. He had asked her to dinner in the afternoon and mentioned introducing her to a friend. Could that friend really be Shanley?
“A friend of mine just found his little sister who was lost for many years,” Shanley explained, his voice a low, smooth drawl. “I heard she’s a big fan of your dancing, so
I was hoping you could join us for dinner. It would make her really happy.”
So it was true.
“Are you sure about that?” Juniper asked, her mood lifting as she glanced at the colorful candies on her desk.
“Hmm?” Shanley didn’t quite catch her meaning. “What’s wrong? Are you busy tomorrow?”
“I’m free,” Juniper said, a slow smile spreading across her lips. “See you tomorrow afternoon.”
“I’ll come pick you up.”
“No need,” she declined, her voice tinged with a light, lazy tone. “I’ll be in the area anyway. I can get there myself.”
“Alright.” Shanley rarely questioned her decisions. “I’ll make sure there’s plenty of good food.”
“Just make sure you still have an appetite when the time comes,” Juniper replied cryptically before hanging up.
Listening to the dial tone, Shanley frowned slightly, not quite understanding what his little girl meant by that.