Chapter Fifty-Two
CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO
NOW
“JOSH!” JUSTIN BARLOW’S VOICE rings through the phone. “How was your holiday?”
“It was…eventful.”
How else could I describe the events that had transpired?
I find Elizabeth and Lara, preparing dinner in the kitchen while Michaela sits on the counter with a glass of wine. They giggled at whatever my sister said before I walked in. I kiss Elizabeth’s cheek and swat her ass, earning my own giggle as I walk by. Stepping through the pantry to the dining room, I close the double doors for more privacy. I haven’t told Elizabeth about this yet. I wanted to find out if this was even a possibility before getting anyone else’s hopes up.
“Do I even want to know?” Justin asks.
“Probably not. What about you? Did you get a chance to get out to Washington to see your mom?”
“Unfortunately, no, things have been…eventful.”
“Seems to be the trend lately,” I say. “Do I want to know?”
“Probably not,” he says, and we both chuckle.
I check in on Justin a few times a year. He went to Chadwick and was part of Theta Pi until it was dismantled. Justin Barlow used to go by Justin Henderson but changed his name in late 2016 after he transferred schools.
Justin Henderson is the reason I was put into an arranged marriage. Justin Henderson is the boy who was beaten so severely by a sophomore during initiation in the fall of 2015 that he had to be taken to the hospital. He doesn’t know I was there that night. He doesn’t remember most of it and he doesn’t remember I’m the one who took him to the hospital. After the hazing incident, he tried to return to Chadwick, but it was too hard—mentally and socially—so he moved back to Washington State for a while to let the dust settle. He’s originally from Washington and lived there until his parents divorced when he was barely a year old. He stayed there with his mom for a while, but she struggled to care for him and eventually sent him to live in Florida with his dad.
A few years ago, he moved back East, landing a job in Charleston.
“You still interested in a job in Charleston?” Justin asks.
“You have something?”
“Well, not my company, but I’ve been hearing rumors that one of the hospitals is gonna be looking for a marketing director soon.”
“You’re kidding.”
“Nope, guess the VP is retiring, so the director spot is about to open up.”
“Holy shit.” I brace myself on the back of the dining chair. This almost seems too good to be true.
“You want me to throw your name in the pot? My source tells me there aren’t many options right now, so I think you have a pretty good chance. Not to mention, you’re not a far transfer.”
“I’m actually in Jupiter now.”
“Even better! Send me your resumé again, and I’ll get it over to ‘em. Can’t promise you’ll hear anything right away since tomorrow is New Year’s Eve, but—”
“No, yeah, I get it. I appreciate it, man. You have no idea.”
Before we hang up, Justin suggests catching up over lunch in the next week. Dropping my phone to the table, I can’t hold back a smile.
“Holy shit.” The words tumble out again.
“Who was that?” Elizabeth asks, slipping through the double doors.
“You remember Justin? Well, I asked him a few weeks ago if he knew of any jobs in the area.”
With a lift at the corner of her mouth, she drapes her arms over my shoulders, locking her fingers behind my neck.
“I didn’t want to tell you in case things went…south, but he just called with an opportunity.” I plant my hands on her hips, pulling her flush against me.
“Josh, are you sure you want this? To move. We can go back home. We can—”
Gripping her hips, I lift her onto the table and tilt her chin up to stare into the eyes of my beautiful brown-eyed girl. “I want you.” I kiss her, and she smiles against me. “Home is wherever you are, Sugar. Whether that’s here or Winchester or Antarctica, I don’t care. As long as I’m with you, I’m home.”
Elizabeth pulls my mouth down on hers with the collar of my polo. Cupping her cheeks, I ply her mouth open and delve further into her, swallowing her moans. Her fingers slip underneath my shirt, cool against my heated skin.
“Sugar,” I warn against her mouth.
I’m two seconds away from laying her out on this table and fucking her. Honestly, the idea of doing it right here where we could get caught by the others who are less than fifty feet away is exhilarating. But the last thing I need is for Brie to come down the stairs and scar for life before we even get to know each other.
Elizabeth giggles and pulls her hands from under my shirt.
“Tease,” I mumble.
“What’s the job?” she asks, wiping the corner of her mouth, but it does little good. Her lipstick is smeared which means I have it on my face. That’s not going to be obvious whatsoever.
“Director at a hospital.”
“Josh, that’s amazing!” She kisses me again.
“It is, but it means a lot more work. I already increased my load when I took over Warren’s position.”
“The difference is you’ll have a bigger team to back you up. You’re not alone.”
She’s right. While I’ve never been busier since my promotion, I have more help and I’d have even more in this new position. With the power to delegate things and pass projects down to my team, I can handle the bigger things. Being a director is the same thing I’m already doing…just on a much bigger scale. I can do that.
“You can do this, Josh,” Elizabeth says, touching my cheeks. “If you want to, that is.”
“I don’t even know if I’ll get the job.”
“You’ll get the job.”
“Elizabeth.” I sigh. Not even five minutes ago, the thought of a new job felt like a sign from above, but now it feels like I’m taking two steps backward. My commitment to work has proven to be one of our downfalls, why would I want to take on an even bigger role than before? “We just…We’re barely two weeks into starting over, and now I’m going to jump into something that was one of our biggest issues before?”
“We can do this, Josh. I know we can.”
Her confidence is reassuring, but there is still a hint of hesitation in the back of my mind.
“And if it becomes too much, we’ll handle it.” Elizabeth shrugs. She makes it sound so simple, but I guess it is, isn’t it? “I called Liam, by the way.”
My heart stops. She called Liam. Her attorney. Why did she call her attorney?
“I asked him to file a motion to dismiss the divorce petition.”
My heart jumps. Of course that’s why she called him. What was I thinking?
“That’s okay, right?”
“Yes!” My outburst catches her off guard.
I hadn’t even realized I hadn’t said anything. Of course, that was okay—it was more than okay. She didn’t even need to ask. Truthfully, I hadn’t even thought about it, but I guess telling our attorneys we no longer needed their services was a pretty important step. “I mean...yeah, of course.”
“Are you guys decent?” my sister asks. Looking over my shoulder, I see her sticking her head through the double doors with her eyes covered.
“Yes, MJ.” Elizabeth laughs, stepping down from the table.
Michaela lets out a breath and uncovers her eyes. “Well, if you two are done canoodling in here, the rest of us would like to eat while the food is hot.”
“Go tell the boys to wash up, then,” Elizabeth directs her, and Michaela scurries away. Elizabeth turns back to me, standing on her tiptoes to press a quick peck on my lips. “Will you tell Brie dinner is ready?”
“Anything for you, Sug.” I smile and kiss her one more time before heading up the stairs.
We made an appointment to have a paternity test done at the end of next week, and in just a few short days, we will have confirmation whether or not Brie is my daughter. I don’t know how I’m supposed to feel about that. Part of me is relieved, but part of me is extremely anxious. What if the results come back positive? Then, I’ll have a daughter I am now responsible for, and I have to decide how she fits into this new phase of my life. But the bigger question is, what if the results come back negative?
Either way, I have to get ahold of Juliet, and hopefully Ed Brown can help me with that if Brie can’t. Does he work on holidays? I’d imagine so—Nina called him the day after Christmas, after all. One thing that’s been on my mind: when we finally learn the truth, what do I say to Juliet when we speak for the first time in over fifteen years?
Stepping up to the third floor, Brie walks out of the bedroom, and I have to do a double take. For a moment, I swear I’m looking at Juliet with her skin and angel face—big brown eyes and a small button nose. She even has the same dimple on her right cheek. If it weren’t for Brie’s brunette hair, I’d swear it was Juliet.
“Everything okay?” she asks, breaking the spell.
“F-fine.” I clear my throat and stuff my hands in my pockets. “Dinner is ready.”
She nods and walks past me to the stairs but pauses a few steps down. “Josh, I—”
My brow quirks in response when she doesn’t continue.
“I um—I talked to my mom a few minutes ago.” Her words come out more confident with each word. “You were on the phone, though, so she told me not to bother you.”
“Brie!”
“I’m sorry! When I told her you were on the phone, she told me not to disturb you.”
“Call her back,” I demand, crossing my arms over my chest. “Right now.”
“She can’t answer, but…you can call tomorrow. Yeah! She said that she’ll be available tomorrow.”
I sigh and rub the crease of my forehead—the beginning stages of a headache building between my eyes. “Brie, I need to speak with your mother. I don’t care if I’m on the phone or working or whatever excuse you come up with to not interrupt me…Just do it. Do you understand?”