Chapter 19
chapter nineteen
On Thursday, Dee stopped by to pick up Julienne, as they finally found a day that worked for both of them. As she sped through the midday traffic on Kam Highway, she didn’t even try to hide her need for information about Alek.
“So, that big, gorgeous Hawaiian? What’s going on with him?”
It was true that Dee and Micah were considered family friends, but she didn’t know them all that well. But apparently, Dee didn’t care.
“That’s…well, shouldn’t we pretend to spend some time with small talk before you spring that on me?’
“I could, but one of my best friends is coming to lunch with us too, so I thought maybe I would get it out of the way.”
“Uh…Wait, what?”
She laughed. “Sorry, but May has wanted to meet you.”
“May…wait, May Chambers? Evan’s wife?” Julienne asked. Evan Chambers was Micah’s partner in Rough ’n Ready. She knew both of the men; although, she knew Micah best, probably because of his connection to Nic.
Dee nodded as she slipped around a sedan full of what looked to be tourists. They had a look about them with their brand-new Hawaiian shirts and sunburned skin. They also seemed to drive slower, or that’s what Julienne thought. It seemed they were in no rush to get anywhere, which made sense.
“And, you’re running out of time. If you think I’m nosey, you have no idea how bad May is going to be.”
She snorted. “I have a feeling I can handle her. I’ve dealt with the British press and they are all jackals.”
Dee cut her a look, but Julienne didn’t miss the twist of a smile. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
She should have listened.
Fifteen minutes later, they were seated in one of the Big City Diners that she understood was a chain on Oahu. After they placed their orders, May smiled at her. Inwardly, she scoffed at Dee’s warning. The beautiful Hawaiian woman exuded warmth and happiness. She should have known better.
“So, I hear you got yourself a hot local you’re banging.”
She blinked and glanced at Dee who shrugged. “I warned you.”
“I mean, I don’t need actual positions or anything like that, but I did look you up.”
Immediately, warning flags went up, but May shook her head.
“Oh, don’t worry. No one will know I know you. It’s just that Dee said you were famous, and I haven’t heard of you?—”
“And just so you know, she doesn’t pay attention to anything outside of Hawaii.”
May shrugged. “True, but it’s the reason I wanted to check you out. Your ex sounds like an asshole.”
Again, she blinked. “He is.”
“Yeah, I mean, even if you did run some kind of sex club, what business is it of anyone’s? I mean, I guess it is a business, but you know what I mean.”
She looked at Dee again, who laughed. “You look like everyone else the first time they meet May, but she’s just letting you know that she did look you up.”
May offered her a bright smile. “Being kind of known, at least in England, I thought I should disclose that.”
“Alright.”
“So, who’s the hot piece?” she asked, leaning back against the leather booth.
For a second, Julienne said nothing. The other woman was gorgeous, Hawaiian with long dark hair and green eyes, she was almost like Julienne’s opposite. She looked like she would be so…well, sweet. Instead, Julienne thought that she might be a little insane.
“Give her a break,” Dee told May with a chuckle, then she turned to Julienne. “I apologize for my friend’s rudeness.”
“It’s just…” Her brain went blank. There was so much to unpack there.
“What?” Dee asked.
She sighed. “I’ve never been very forthcoming, and it’s worse after what happened with my ex.”
Dee set her hand on top of Julienne’s that sat atop the table. “That’s understandable.”
“Do you want us to hurt him? We could.” This was offered from May.
“We are not going to England to rough up her ex,” Dee said, shaking her head. What was a little disturbing was that she didn’t laugh. No, Dee seemed to take the comment seriously.
May shrugged. “You and I both know that your brother could make this asshole’s life miserable.”
“We are not going to do that either.”
May leaned forward, setting her arm on the table, and offered Julienne a conspiratorial smile. “Her twin is Devon Stryker. You know, the computer/game genius. Or whatever.”
“She has no idea what he can do. She just thinks he can hack into anything and mess with things,” Dee explained.
“He can, though.”
Dee sighed and Julienne realized that this was probably a regular argument between the two friends. “Probably. But let’s not encourage him. I don’t want my niece and nephew to have to visit my brother in prison.”
May snorted. “Like they could catch him.”
“How did we get so off topic? We’re trying to get to know Jules and you’re threatening her ex with my brother, and now we’re arguing about whether or not he’s a criminal.”
Julienne couldn’t stop the giggle. “Bloody hell, you two need to have a show or podcast.”
May’s eyes widened, then she clapped. “Podcast…I like that idea.”
“No.” Dee turned her attention back to Julienne. “Back to what I was saying before my best friend suggested we commit felonies; I understand if you don’t want to share with us. But, I’m good friends with Nic, and I wanted you to know that if you need some girlfriends, we’re here for you.”
“Especially if you tell us about the hot Hawaiian you’re banging.”
“Maylea Aiona Chambers!”
She shrugged as if she didn’t care, but Julienne saw the way her eyes danced. She was trying to make it easier on her by lightening the mood.
Another giggle slipped out and Julienne felt the weight she had been carrying around lift a bit.
“Alek Johnson.”
May’s eyes widened. “Of the Johnsons of Maui, the ones who own the resort?”
She nodded and May whistled.
“What?” Dee asked.
“He’s kind of a legend. Walked away from family money to serve his country—so of course he’s a stud for doing that—but everyone thought he would get signed by a big school back on the mainland for his football skills. He was a quarterback, of course.”
She knew nothing about American football except that quarterbacks seemed to be a big deal.
“Anyway, is he as good looking as he was back then? He was a dream then.”
“I don’t know what he looked like back then, but he’s gorgeous now,” Dee offered.
“Why am I even here?” Julienne joked.
Dee smiled at her. “So, you’re involved?”
Julienne sighed. “Yeah, but we’re trying to keep it on the down low.”
“Cool, cool, cool,” May said. “I can be discreet.”
“Sure you can,” Dee said. “You know, it’s totally discreet to offer my brother up for felonies.”
“International kind of felonies because Gregor lives in England,” Julienne said, a smile curving her lips.
May snorted. “You are way too hot to be tied to a guy named Gregor.”
Julienne smiled and for the first time in forever, she felt at ease with a couple of women. “Thank you.”
“So, this Alek…”
“Bloody hell, you’re relentless.”
For once, May said nothing. She just smiled, but when she looked closer, she saw the kind light in May’s eyes. She didn’t know these women well, but she trusted them, which said a lot about the “friends” she had before she and Gregor broke up.
“We met in San Francisco and he was supposed to be a one-night stand. Just…I’ve never had one. I’d only been with Gregor, and I wanted one night to just let loose.”
“I can totally understand that,” Dee said.
“No, you can’t. You were a virgin until you brought Micah to his knees.”
“Really?” Julienne asked.
May nodded. “It was so much fun because here was this big, bad Dom, and he did not know how to handle a virgin.”
“Oh my,” Julienne said, giggling. God, that felt good. These two reminded her of Nic. She’d trusted her brother’s wife the first time she met her.
“So, you have this one-night stand…” May said.
“Yes, and it was…well, amazing. Thing was, I had to follow on to Hawaii and I thought that was that.”
“But?”
“We’re actually helping the Johnson family with the upgrade to the resort. I was there a few days later to meet with all of them for the first time and in walks Alek.”
There is dead silence.
“What?”
They looked at each other, then back at her and started laughing. It was so loud that several people turned in their direction. At first, she was embarrassed, but when she thought about it, she started laughing too. And damned if that wasn’t a fantastic feeling.
“Yeah, I was…well, I didn’t know what I was. I mean, who does that happen to? I tried my best to be bad…have a one-night stand, enjoy myself for once…and, of course, I shag someone I have to deal with through work for weeks.”
“And he came here to see you this weekend?” Dee asked.
Julienne waited until their food was served and the waitress left them alone before continuing.
“Yes. We had agreed to be just friends.”
Dee choked on her coffee.
“What?’
“Uh, that man does not want to be just friends.”
“Yeah?” May asked, slathering an immense amount of butter on her toast.
“Oh, yeah. When I walked up, he looked like he wanted to beat the shit out of Micah.”
May snorted. “Good luck with that.”
“Oh, no, he could do it,” Dee said. “He’s huge. Definitely has a little bit of Samoan in him.”
“And he used to be an Army Ranger,” Julienne offered.
“Oh, damn. Do you have a picture of him?” May asked.
She pulled out her phone. “Yes.”
They had been out on the lanai Saturday, the sun had been setting, and he looked over at her and smiled. She couldn’t help but take the picture. She’d been staring at it dreamily for days now.
“Damn, woman…is he really as big as he looks?”
Dee nodded. “He is.”
“He is pretty,” May said.
Julienne snorted. “I accidentally told him that the night we met.”
She took her phone back and slipped it in her purse.
“So, what’s going to happen with you two?” Dee asked.
“We agreed to keeping it a fling.”
Dee shook her head. “Not going to happen.”
“What?”
“Whether he knows it or not, that man is not going to let you go back to London without a fight.”
“He has to. My life is in London.” Why did that make her sad? And why did her argument not feel right? It left her feeling unsettled.
“Either that or he’ll follow you there. That is one hooked man.”
“We barely know each other.”
Dee shrugged. “Sometimes you know right away. You just click.”
Julienne sighed. “I have obligations.”
Dee patted her hand. “It will all work out. Believe me, I didn’t think Micah and I would make it. But we did, against all the odds.”
“Because Micah wasn’t about to let you go. He hunted you down.” May looked at Julienne. “He did. Her brother stole her, then Micah had to find her. He used to be a bounty hunter you know.”
“Really?” Julienne asked. “I need to know this story, right now.”
Dee smiled, completely at ease with the direction of the conversation, but Julienne saw the look in the other woman’s eyes. She definitely knew that Julienne was trying to deflect attention, but apparently, she was going to let it go for now.
Around six the next morning, Julienne’s mobile buzzed on the table next to her, jolting her out of sleep. It amazed her she had slept this late. After stretching, she reached for her mobile and saw Nic’s face on the screen. Panic set in as she started to get some texts, but she ignored them. She clicked on the FaceTime call.
“What’s wrong? Are you okay?”
“No, but we have a nightmare on our hands, Jules.”
Then she realized Nic was frowning at her. Anger was easy to see in the set of her eyes and the dark frown she had on her face.
“Tell me,” she demanded.
“I guess you didn’t see the pictures?”
A sense of foreboding hit her. “No. I’ve been sleeping.”
Her sister-in-law sighed. “Okay, I’ll send you the stuff from Royals. Your mother is furious.”
Julienne nodded but said nothing. She saw the text and clicked on it and then the link. Oh, bloody hell. They were pictures of her and Alek from…it looked like Friday night. It was when she was giving him head. Some bastard had taken what was a beautiful memory and ruined it. Anger and pain shifted through her. He was going to hate her.
Before she could register the fact that she was crying, the tears were streaming down her face.
“It gets worse. Someone got hold of your number. They just posted it.”
Now the texts made sense. “They’re already texting. I’m turning this off,” she said. “Get me another phone with a new number and call Alek.”
Nic nodded. “Don’t worry. We will take care of this. I am so sorry.”
“This isn’t your fault.”
“Not for that. Sorry that David, Jakob, and Lillian are on their way over to Hawaii.”
“What? Why? And why didn’t you tell me before now?”
“Sorry. I just now found out about all of this. They up and left in the middle of the night.”
Oh, god, this just kept getting worse and worse. And all through the conversation, her phone kept pinging. Dick pics, calling her the worst names…all of it horrible.
“Please tell Alek so he knows what’s going on. I would hate for him to be hit with this before we tell him.”
“Anything. I got this. Turn off your phone and I will get a new one to you. I love you, Jules.”
She nodded, but she couldn’t say anything else. She shut her mobile off and tossed it across the room. She buried her face in her hands. How did this keep happening to her? She wasn’t a horrible person. Truly. She could be a bitch, and a little fussy about her tea, but she must have been a monster in another life to have this happen to her.
And now her relationship with Alek was ruined. There was no way she could make this up to him. And that was what she got for trying to start over. She made one mistake, trusting Gregor. Their relationship had been expected, as was their engagement. But even in the beginning, with their lackluster sex life, she’d had misgivings. The problem was that she didn’t trust her instincts back then. Now, she understood that she was right and everyone else was wrong. And now Alek had to pay the price.
Her heart actually hurt as if someone stabbed it. She knew what bone deep sadness meant. It went beyond the embarrassment of that photo. She was in love with the man. She could see it clearly now. The idea that she would never see him again almost stole her breath, but that was what would happen. The press would be too much and she couldn’t blame him.
She laid down and cried for the loss of a love that was just beginning. She knew most people would tell her to give Alek a chance, and that was exactly what she was doing. She was toxic and a man like Alek deserved so much better.