Chapter 10
JULIA
J ulia flicked her gaze across the lawn to the table as she approached, still laughing about the memory of a failed barbecue. Her smile faded a little as she noted the tension at the table. It faded all the way when she spotted the extra guest. Lydia .
Her mind churned with conflicting emotions at the unwelcome sight, a reminder of the chaos she’d left behind. It sent a pang of anxiety through her.
Beside her, Luke’s presence was both comforting and unsettling. The easy laughter they’d shared moments ago now felt like a distant echo as she braced herself for the tense confrontation ahead.
How had the woman found them? No matter how, her presence did not bode well. Not for her familial situation or for their plans to foil her attempts to ruin Grant.
A more sober Julia approached the two open seats, selecting the one next to Grant. “Hi, sorry we’re late. We lost track of time.”
Duchess growled at Grant as she sat down at Julia’s side.
“Duchess stop that,” Julia said.
“No problem, sis,” Alicia said. “Did you have a nice morning?”
“I did, yes,” she said, trying to keep her voice even.
“Sunrise on the Summit?” Alicia asked.
“Yes. And Luke happened to be there…”
“What a coincidence,” Kyle said.
She shot him a narrow-eyed glance at the insinuation. “And we hiked the back side of the Summit. Took a little longer than I remembered.”
“We were fine. I was just getting to know your…family better.”
They ordered their lunch before the conversation resumed. Lydia narrowed her eyes at Luke before she pointed a manicured finger at him. “Don’t tell me we’ve added another member to the little harem?”
“What?” Alicia asked.
Lydia patted Grant’s hand. “Well, your sister is married to Grant, kissing Cooper–”
“Kyle,” Kyle corrected.
“Whatever,” Lydia answered before she turned back to Alicia, “and now…this strapping fellow. What’s your name again?”
“Luke,” he said with a tight-lipped smile.
“Luke. Well, I can see the appeal. He’s quite…” She shifted in her seat as her back arched. “Inviting.”
Sierra slouched in her seat. “Ew, stop. We’re going to eat lunch. I don’t want to be sick first.”
Her sister centered her gaze on Julia. “How do you stand this?”
“Well…” Julia said as the waiter delivered their meals.
“I was just telling your sister that we’re actually more normal than we appear.” Grant’s features seemed pleading. She wondered how badly the conversation had gone before she arrived.
Julia nodded as she dug into her salad. “Grant’s right.”
“You’re telling me this is normal? The two fighting half-siblings, one of whom is into you, living with you while you’re married to his father and also living with his ex-wife?
” Alicia glanced up from her plate, centering her eyes on Grant.
“And you dared to cut in last night while she was dancing with Luke when you’re making her live with one of your exes? ”
Lydia cackled as she slapped the table with a ring-clad hand. “Grant, you didn’t!”
“That’s not exactly what happened,” Julia said, stabbing a few pieces of lettuce to take out her frustration.
Alicia nodded as she chewed. “It is. I thought we’d have another billionaire brawl the way he came after Luke.”
“Hardly,” Julia started before Lydia chimed in.
“Oh, Grant tends to get a little hot under the collar. Always has. I can’t tell you the number of glasses he’s broken over the years flinging them across the room.”
Alicia’s eyebrows shot up. “Really? He’s got a temper?”
“No,” Julia said with a shake of her head, desperately trying to drive the conversation back to some level of normalcy.
“Oh, yes, Julia. In fact, didn’t he just smash a glass in front of you recently? I could have sworn I saw Worthington cleaning that mess up. Why was it? Oh, the affair during the Senate race.”
“You’re having an affair?” Alicia asked.
“No,” Grant said with a shake of his head. “Those pictures were fake.”
“Well, of course, they were, dear,” Lydia said with a pat on his hand before she leaned closer to Alicia. “Humor him, or we’ll have a terrible lunch.”
“Lydia, that’s not true,” Julia said.
“Isn’t it? I seem to remember how touchy he was over breakfast after those photos were leaked. I thought the dishes would rattle apart if he pounded his fists on the table any harder.”
Julia shifted in her seat as she shot Grant an apologetic glance. He reached for her hand, grabbing it and refusing to let go.
Julia’s smile strained under the weight of the conversation.
Lydia’s comments, sharp and cutting, were like needles pricking at her already frayed nerves.
Grant’s hand tightened around hers, a silent plea for unity.
The gesture only deepened the chasm of her divided loyalties.
With every word, the precarious balance she had maintained between her past and present seemed to teeter dangerously.
Her heart twisted in her chest as she wondered in which camp she truly belonged.
She straddled between them, one foot in each.
She shifted her gaze between Luke’s familiar smile as she felt the warmth of Grant’s skin against hers.
Memories of Luke’s comforting touch mixed with the sound of Grant’s laughter as she fought to determine whose side she belonged at.
“Let’s change the subject,” Lydia said. “Luke, I’d love to hear more about you.”
Julia’s gaze flicked between Grant and Luke.
Each represented a different world she’d inhabited.
Luke, with his familiar ease, stirred memories she thought she’d left behind.
Grant, a symbol of her current life, held her hand with a desperation that spoke volumes.
In their touch, the weight of choices made and paths not taken pressed down around her.
“Oh,” Julia said with a nervous laugh, “I don’t think we need to put the spotlight on Luke.”
“I’d like to hear more about him,” Grant said.
Julia shot him a wide-eyed glance. Why was he siding with Lydia?
“What a coincidence. So would I. I mean, it sounds like you were a big part of Julia’s life,” Kyle chimed in.
Julia’s stony gaze shifted to her stepson as the situation spiraled wildly beyond her control.
“Well, there’s not much to tell,” Luke said with a shrug, setting his fork down. “I grew up in Harbor Cove. My dad was a fisherman. I grew up on the sea and still love it.”
“And Julia?” Grant questioned, his voice a little too sharp for Julia’s taste.
“Oh, uh, Julia and I…” Luke glanced at her, his eyebrows knitting as a slight smile curled the corners of his lips. “Gosh, it just seems like we’ve always been together.”
Julia offered another nervous laugh. “That’s not accurate. I mean…I went to college and…”
“Well, yeah,” he said with a shrug, “but I think I was interested in you before you went to college. We hung out all the time with Ally and Ethan. And, uh, when she came back for the summers, we spent a lot of time together. Then we got more serious later.”
“Enough to be engaged, apparently,” Sierra spat before she sipped her tea.
Why is this happening? Julia slid her eyes closed as she tried to stop the cold sweat from drenching her as her insides tied themselves in knots.
“Yep, we were engaged,” Luke said with a bob of his head.
“Why don’t we change the subject?” Julia asked with another chuckle.
“Why?” Lydia asked. “I’m finding this fascinating. Whatever made you leave this…charming little place and the man you loved enough to say yes to?”
“I don’t think that’s–” Julia began.
“Nothing major,” Luke said. “Julia just had some…concerns that we wanted different things from life. So, before she left, I gave her the compass necklace as a reminder that after she pursued those other things, she should come back to me.”
Julia let her eyes close as her stomach dropped. She had been happy to let everyone think the necklace she never removed had been a simple reminder of Harbor Cove, not a romantic one, and not the promise Luke implied.
“Ohhhhh,” Lydia said, her face registering amusement, “and she still wears it. Religiously, I might add, so it looks like that worked.”
“The necklace is from Luke?” Sierra questioned, her eyes wide.
“Yep,” Luke said with a smile and a nod before he smoothed a lock of hair behind his ear. “I gave it to her on our last trip to the island we visited yesterday. A storm stranded us there–”
Julia felt heat rising in her cheeks, and her stomach fluttered as she abruptly rose, her fork clattering to her now-empty plate. Luke’s laughter set the background noise for the strong, but unreadable emotion in Grant’s eyes. “I need to go to the ladies’ room.”
“I’ll come with you,” Alicia said as Julia nearly tripped herself trying to get away from the table.
Julia didn’t bother waiting for her as she stormed her way across the lawn to the restaurant and pushed inside. She snaked her way over the tile floor to the restroom and pushed into the space, clutching the sink as she collapsed over it with a gasp for air.
Alicia pushed in a second later. Julia’s eyes met hers in the mirror before she tried to bolt for one of the stalls.
“Uh-uh,” Alicia said as she side-stepped in front of her. “You’re not running away.”
“Ally…” Julia started, her voice pleading.
“Things getting too uncomfortable?”
“A little, yeah. I’m not enjoying discussing my former relationship with Luke in front of my current husband.”
“Does it matter?” Alicia asked. “I mean, he’s literally sitting next to his ex-wife. A woman who lives with you, Julia. That’s not normal.”
“No, but…it’s complicated. Just…Ally, please, Lydia doesn’t know about the marriage contract, so please don’t say anything.”
“Is she the only one who doesn’t know?”
Julia nodded. “Yeah. Kyle and Sierra know.”
“What’s the deal with him, anyway? Lydia isn’t his mother, right?”
“No,” Julia said. “It was a one-night stand. Kyle had no idea until a few months ago that Grant was his father. Then he showed up angry and looking for revenge.”
“Wow, this guy is a real winner.” Alicia crossed her arms and shook her head.
“He was hurt.”