Chapter 23
Chapter Twenty-Three
Julian drove Isla and two dirty, tired kids back to the city late in the afternoon after showing them the house and walking out into the lemon grove to pick a few to take home.
“This was such a wonderful day,” Isla said. “Thank you so much for taking us.”
“We’ll do it again. Any time you want.”
She glanced back to make sure the kids were still napping. They’d conked out shortly after they’d left the ranch. “Don’t say that in front of them, or they’ll drive us crazy asking to go back.”
“I really enjoyed it, too. I haven’t been around young kids in a long time. I’d forgotten how inquisitive they are.”
“Theo never runs out of questions. Ever. One time, we were coming home late, and I wanted to get them into bed as fast as possible. I had one of them under each arm, and we saw a huge spider in the hallway. Before I could get to it, it’d scurried away and disappeared under the carpet.
Well, Theo wanted to know where it had gone.
Before I fully thought through the ramifications, I said the spider had gone to the guts of the house.
Let me tell you how many thousands of questions I’ve answered about what goes on in the guts of the house.
‘Is his mommy there?’ ‘Does he have toys there?’ ‘Is there Paw Patrol in the guts of the house?’ ‘Mom, in the guts of the house, does he have his own house?’”
Julian was rocking with silent laughter. “He doesn’t mess around.”
“Nope. That was six months ago. He asked about the guts of the house last week.”
“It’s so funny. I used to be obsessed with spiders and where they came from and how they got into the house. If my mom or dad had mentioned the guts of the house, I would’ve been similarly obsessed with what went on down there.”
“I realized I’d made a huge mistake about ten minutes later when he was sitting up in bed, firing questions at me.”
“He might grow up to be a lawyer with that skill.”
“I’ve had that thought more than once. He’s an interrogator when he gets ahold of something.”
“Allegedly, that’s how I was as a little kid, too. I was told I questioned everything and basically drove the adults in my life crazy with my curiosity about all things.”
“And look at where that’s gotten you.”
“I was also told I was lucky I had any siblings, let alone eight of them.”
“How’d they end up with nine kids if their marriage was shaky?”
“I don’t think it was shaky until it was. We’ve never heard what caused the rupture, but it was sudden. At least that’s how it seemed to us.”
“Have you heard any more about them allegedly being back together?”
“Not yet, and we may not be able to prove it. They know how to cover their tracks.”
He pulled into the driveway at Isla’s rental, shut off the engine and handed the keys to her.
“Thank you for driving.”
“No problem. Let me help you get the kids inside.”
Julian carried Theo while she had Mila and the backpack she’d brought with changes of clothes, diapers for Mila, drinks and snacks.
He’d been impressed by how she was prepared with anything the kids needed.
Not once in his entire life had he considered what was involved with taking children somewhere.
Now he knew they required a lot of contingency items for whatever might happen.
Isla led the way to the bedroom the kids were sharing, where she removed shoes, changed Mila’s diaper, wiped their hands and faces and put them down to finish their naps.
“You’re good at that,” he said when he followed her to the kitchen after the children were settled.
“At what?”
“Giving them whatever they need when they need it.”
“That’s motherhood for you.”
He tucked a strand of silky hair behind her ear. “You make it look easy.”
“I don’t know about that.”
“I do. It’s true. You’re a wonderful mother.”
“That’s nice of you to say. And thank you again for a beautiful day. I’m not sure what this day would’ve been like if you hadn’t shown up to give me something else to think about.”
“I’m glad I could be with you.”
“I am, too.”
“Do you want me to go?”
She shook her head. “Not unless you’ve had enough of us.”
He took a step closer and put his arms around her. “This is a really tough time for you. Please tell me if you want me to leave you alone for a while. I’ll come back when you’re ready.”
She rested her hands on his chest as she gazed up at him. “I don’t want you to go anywhere.”
“I feel like I should give you some space…”
She shook her head, and with her hands on his face, she drew him into the sweetest, sexiest kiss of his life, the kind of kiss that stopped traffic and changed lives, even lives that hadn’t been looking to be changed.
“I know we’re a lot,” she whispered against his lips. “I know this isn’t what you wanted. But I have to tell you…”
“What? What do you have to tell me?” He felt like his entire life and any chance he had to be happy would come down to whatever she said next.
“I really, really want you to stay.”
“For how long?”
She smiled, and his heart expanded, making his chest tighten. “As long as you’d like to stay.”
He groaned and dropped his head to her shoulder while acknowledging that she was changing everything one sweet word and one sexy kiss at a time.
And he was allowing it.
If anyone had told him a week ago that he’d be clinging to a woman, about to beg her to give him everything, he’d have thought they were insane.
Julian Remington didn’t do forever or happily ever after.
So what in the world was he doing with his arms around a suddenly widowed single mom, kissing her like the world was expected to end at any second?
He had no idea, but being with her felt better than anything ever had, and all he wanted was more.
The hottest kiss in history was interrupted by the sound of the front door opening and closing.
Isla jumped back from him so suddenly, he nearly stumbled.
Mrs. V. Shit.
He sat on one of the barstools so the older woman wouldn’t see the prominent evidence of what she’d interrupted.
“Hi, honey. How was Ojai?” She glanced at Julian. “Hello.”
“Hi there.”
“Ojai was amazing. The kids had the best time. They saw horses, goats, chickens and three of the cutest dogs.”
Isla’s lips were red and swollen, her cheeks flushed.
Her friend knew exactly what they’d been doing before she’d come in.
“I’m going to lie down for a bit. I’ll see you for dinner?”
“Sounds good.”
She nodded to Julian as she left the room.
Ugh. Mortifying.
He smiled at the face Isla made. “We weren’t fooling her.”
“Not at all.”
He reached out to her.
She took his hand and let him draw her back into his arms where it seemed like she belonged.
“This is happening really fast.”
“I know.” She stepped between his legs, put her hands on his shoulders and leaned her forehead against his. “But it feels so good. Better than anything has in longer than I can remember.”
“For me, too. Things are complicated for you. I don’t want to make anything worse.”
“You’re making everything better just by being here.”
He held her close and rubbed soothing circles on her back.
“I know it must seem unreal that I can be clinging to you right after my husband died, but please know… as sad as I am for him and the kids, and I’m really, really sad, but that relationship has been over for me for a long time. Years, really.”
He nuzzled her neck. “I like when you cling to me. You should feel free to do that as often as you’d like.”
Her soft laughter sent shivers down his spine. “That might be very often.”
“Okay.”
A sense of peace came over him, as if he’d been on a long journey and had finally found his way home. “I’m going to go for a bit while you have some time with the kids. If Mrs. V will be here with them, maybe I could come pick you up later.”
“Where do you want to go?”
“My place so we can be alone?”
She nodded. “I’d like that.”
Neither of them seemed to want to let go, even for a couple of hours.
“You’ll come back, right?”
Wild gochas couldn’t keep him away. “Yeah,” he said. “I’ll come back.”
As Julian drove the short distance from her house to his, he felt dazed, as if he was under the influence of something much bigger than him, bigger than anything he’d ever experienced. He couldn’t wait to be with her again.
When he got home, he landed on the sofa, reliving every extraordinary minute he’d spent with her since Jackson told him the news about Gabriel. He was almost afraid to check his phone.
He’d no sooner had that thought than Carson and Griffin came into his house, looking like a pair of angry bears.
Carson put his hands on his hips. “What—and I say this with love—the actual fuck, Julian?”
Griffin used his thumb to point to Carson. “What he said.”
“Sorry to disappear. I had something I needed to do.”
“You had to go to Ojai with Isla Santana and her children on a workday?”
Goddamned Miguel. He was like a gossipy old woman sometimes.
“Yes, I did.”
“While you were gone,” Griffin said, “Rachel McDavid shot and killed her ex-husband when he tried to break into the house where she and the boys were staying. She’s been arrested and booked on manslaughter charges.”
“Oh my God.” Julian sat up straight. “There’s no way she should be charged for defending herself. We need to get her a criminal defense attorney.”
“Already done,” Griffin replied. “Jackson has had one hell of a day. You might want to check in with him.”
“I will. I’m sorry, guys. I needed a minute.”
“For what?” Carson asked. “What in the world could you be thinking, swooping in on a recently widowed woman with two kids?”
“I’m not swooping in on anyone. She’s had a rough week, yes, but she’d tell you herself that the marriage had been over for years, and the only reason she stayed with him as long as she did was because she couldn’t afford to leave.”
“What do we tell all our clients about relationships after divorce, Jules?” Griffin asked.