26. Monday, July 23, 2012
MONDAY, JULY 23, 2012
“ I t’s a vacation rental I found,” Julia explained to William the following Sunday over the phone. “If it’s anywhere near as nice as the listing photos, you’ll love it.”
Since William worked on weekends, Julia had arranged for them to drive up to Sonoma County on Sunday evening. They would spend one night at Fox Glade, then drive home again Monday night.
Kevin, meanwhile, obligingly agreed to fill in for Julia on Monday, servicing the aquariums at Dunphy’s and the pediatrician’s office. He was the only other person she would trust them to. On top of that, Kevin also agreed to keep Paige and Robert at his new place in the city while she and William were gone. It turned out he had not moved in with Izumi, nor anyone else. That wasn’t how he found a new condo so quickly – he just lived at a high enough price point to circumvent most of the market’s competitors. And in the case of Kevin’s price point, the high was quite literal – penthouse-atop-a-high-rise literal.
“Where is this vacation rental?” asked William. He had just wrapped up his Sunday whale watching trip, and now he was about to drive to her parents’ house.
“Nope.”
He grunted. “Fine. See you soon. ”
Chuckling, she hung up and examined herself once more in the full-length mirror. She wore a new kelly-green sundress she made herself, with a fitted bodice and a pinched waist, flaring out to a pleated knee-length skirt. Spaghetti straps and a plunging neckline added sex appeal, and it exposed much of her back, too. Julia knew from experience that William had a serious weakness for her exposed back. Fantasies of him running his tongue up her spine raised anticipatory goosebumps.
She had paired the sundress with strappy sandals that lengthened her legs, and she left her hair down in shiny waves. Her only accessory was the same necklace she wore every day: the simple silver chain and mermaid pendant William had given her nineteen years ago as a promise.
She grinned at her reflection in the mirror. She looked hot.
Half an hour later, when she opened the door to him, he looked positively thunderstruck. His overheated gaze scorched her from head to toe, and she had clearly rendered him speechless.
She flashed him a flirtatious smile and, still holding his gaze, turned to grab her rolling suitcase. It was the smallest one in her arsenal – after all, if their little getaway went according to plan, she wouldn’t need a lot of clothes. Therefore, she conveniently had to bend quite a bit to extend its handle. And rather than bending at the knees, she opted instead to bend at the waist.
She felt his eyes boring into her from behind until his innate chivalry won out and he swept the suitcase from her grasp. Setting it right back down at his side, he touched her shoulder, nudging her to face him; and she smiled encouragingly. He wrapped his arms around her waist. Touched his lips to hers, and lingered a long time.
When he finally broke away, he held her by the shoulders and stepped back, his eyes slowly raking over her again. “Wow. You look… wow.”
She lifted a saucy eyebrow. It seemed like he wanted to say more, but clearly he was floundering. His face reddened, and he broke into nervous snickers.
In her sultriest tone, she said, “Has the poet lost his words?”
“For his muse? Never.” Without warning, he yanked her hips against his, and she yelped. A solar flare erupted between her thighs when she discerned the e ffect she was having on him. “But I defy even a poet laureate to wax eloquent when his blood is rushing to the wrong head.”
“Down, boy,” she teased. “Save it for where we’re going, and I promise I’ll make it worth your while.”
He closed his eyes, bit his bottom lip, and didn’t even try to hide his groan of frustration. Giggling, she followed him outside, where he threw Julia’s suitcase in her trunk. Then, as fast as traffic would allow, she was zipping up 19 th Avenue, through Golden Gate Park and the Richmond, and across the Golden Gate Bridge.
He hummed. “North, huh?”
She flashed him a quick grin, just long enough to see him pinch his chin as the gears turned in his brain. “Don’t even bother. You’ll never guess.”
Chuckling, he contented himself with sightseeing – starting with her.
“What?” she snickered when she caught him staring with a wolfish smirk.
“I’d really like to make it to our destination first, but you’re making it very hard for me.”
Squirming in her seat, she reached over and swatted him. “That’s for making me horny while I’m trying to drive.”
He tossed his head back in wide-open laughter and seized her hand. For half a second, she wondered what he was going to do with her hand; but he only wove his fingers through hers before resting their joined hands on the center console. Electricity buzzed through every cell that connected them, radiating from their hands through the rest of Julia’s body.
Halfway to Healdsburg, William’s cell phone rang. Retrieving it from his pocket, he glanced at the phone screen and frowned.
“Who is it?” Julia prompted.
Sliding his thumb over the screen to answer it, he mouthed the word Mom. That one word sent Julia’s heart plummeting to the floorboard. Ann had always been very respectful of William’s space. She never disturbed him when he was with Julia.
“Hey Mom. Everything okay? ”
The canned sound of Ann’s voice on the other end of the line drifted to Julia’s ears, but she couldn’t make out any words. However, she could definitely make out William’s groan as he dropped his forehead into his palm.
“What?” Julia hiss-whispered; but he held up one finger, still listening. Her imagination ran wild, and the first thing it seized on was Mike. Something must have happened with Mike.
“Yeah, of course,” William droned out a moment later. “No, I know you wouldn’t, Mom; it’s okay. I’m just sorry this is happening, and worried; that’s all.” Another pause. “Yeah, okay, no problem. We’ll head back... See you soon.”
After he hung up, she waited on pins and needles for what felt like minutes, but was probably only seconds, before he turned to her with the longest face she had ever seen.
“I’m so sorry, sweetheart,” he began, his voice choked with regret. “But we’re going to have to go back.”
“Is it Mike?”
“Mike? I wish. No, Pilar has gone into early labor. The doctors tried to stop it, but they can’t. The twins are coming.”
Julia gasped. “Oh, no! But I thought they weren’t due until–”
“September,” William confirmed, his voice flat. “My new nieces have other plans, apparently.”
“Oh, God...” breathed Julia as she exited 101, then made a U-turn heading back south.
“I’m sorry, but I promised when the time came, I would help look after Xavier and Zach. Mom isn’t energetic enough to handle the boys herself.”
“Of course,” Julia murmured. “You don’t have to explain.”
“And I guess this also means I’ll be spending a lot of time at Kelly and Pilar’s house for a while,” he added quietly. “They’ll need all the help they can get while the twins are in the NICU.”
Julia considered a moment. “What about Pilar’s parents and sisters?”
“They'll help, too, but her parents work full-time. They still have two kids at home, and pay college tuition for two others. Sergio and Delfina just can’t afford to take much time off. ”
“We’ll all pitch in.” Julia nudged him with her elbow. “Don’t forget, we live only three blocks away. And as my mother recently pointed out, we’re practically family now.”
She peeked at him just in time to watch his cheeks flush red. Facing forward, he tried and failed to smother a delighted smile. The sight of it set a flock of hummingbirds alight in Julia’s chest.
But William’s smile faded all too quickly. “I’m just so sorry you put this whole trip together, and now I’m bringing it to a screeching halt. You have no idea...” He turned to her, pure agony warping his features. “... no idea... how disappointed I am.”
Julia reached across the center console and took his hand again. “Sweetheart, I do know. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed, too, but I’m even more in love with what a good brother and uncle you are.”
Yet again, he flushed adorably, and she leaned over the console to give him a quick peck on the lips.