Chapter 18
CHAPTER 18
JULIA
J ulia glanced down at the hand wrapped around her arm before she raised her tear-filled eyes to Luke. She had no idea where she belonged anymore, but she felt a strong sense of guilt. The betrayal that had flitted across Grant’s face certainly suggested it.
Or maybe it had been purely anger that she’d broken their agreement to leave other relationships at the door.
“Luke–” she began.
“Julia, you don’t belong here. You have to know that. You belong with me. What more do I have to do to prove it?”
She stared at him, suddenly seeing the expensive suit as part of the mounting evidence he was presenting to her to make his case. Earlier she’d thought Lydia had done this of her own accord, spotting a weakness and exploiting it. But now she realized she’d been part of his plan, too. “Did you…did you do all of this to…”
She couldn’t put her thoughts into words, maybe because they sounded ridiculous to her. But had he gone into business with Lydia to prove to her that he was the man for her?
Luke’s eyes held a new depth of emotion she hadn’t seen before. “To prove to you that we should be together? Sort of. But it’s not just about proving something, it’s about realizing what’s truly important. And that’s you. Maybe I’m too late, but I’m here now, ready to be the man you always wanted me to be.”
The statement made her mind whirl. She stood speechless for a moment, trying to make sense of what he’d just admitted.
“Julia, I…miss you. I love you. I want you back in my life.”
Her forehead creased as she glanced up sharply at him. “Do you? Since when?”
He stared at her, confusion crossing his features. “What’s that supposed to mean? I’ve always been clear about my feelings for you.”
“Right, yes, but you didn’t choose to actively come back for me until I was married.”
He shook his head, flicking his gaze across the room. “Fake married, Julia.”
“It doesn’t matter. I’m married,” she said flashing her ring finger at him. The massive diamond she wore sparkled even in the dim light. “I told you that.”
“Well, you barely did. You kept this entire thing hidden from even your family. That’s how important it was to you.”
The words hit her like a physical slap. He had a point. She had kept it secret for a reason. “Still…”
“Still nothing, Julia. This marriage you’re hiding behind is a fraud. And in a very short time, you’re not going to be able to use it as a shield.”
She chewed her lower lip as she crossed her arms, suddenly feeling more exposed than she liked.
“Stop running, Julia. You’ve run from me so many times, but you always come back. There’s a reason for that. There’s a reason we can’t stop coming back to each other.” He took her hands in his, focusing his gaze on her.
“I can’t do this right now, Luke. And showing up here was a cheap trick. I’d like to think it was all Lydia’s idea, so I’m going to caution you to watch your back with her. She’s dangerous.”
“Really?” he said, irritation building in his voice. “How so? Is she a threat to your so-called marriage?”
“No,” Julia said with a shake of her head. “But trust me, she’s dangerous.”
Luke heaved a sigh as he shook his head. “I don’t see it. She’s been pretty great, honestly.”
Julia huffed out a sarcastic chuckle as she pulled her hands away from him. “She’s got you fooled. How deep in with her are you? Please don’t tell me you owe her money.”
“No, I don’t. Julia, this is a little bizarre to me. I don’t understand any of this. All I know is I want you back. I’ve wanted you back since you left years ago, but…I don’t know…seeing you again a few months ago just made me realize how much.”
Julia flicked her gaze away from him.
“Julia,” he said, grabbing her hands again, “come on. If this doesn’t prove it to you, I don’t know what will. I guess…I guess seeing you with him, even if the marriage is fake made me realize what you’ve been saying about me being too small-minded. So, I fixed that. I went out on a limb. And I did it for you. For us.”
She glanced up at him, her mind searching for answers to questions she didn’t want to face. The only one she found was that she couldn’t do this right now. They were in the middle of a dinner party and several fires burned around her ranging from Grant spotting their kiss to Kyle’s involvement with Lydia to Sierra’s pictures.
“I really need to get back,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper.
He blew out a frustrated sigh, his jaw clenching.
“I’m sorry, Luke. I married Grant for a reason. And we have a lot going on right now that we need to deal with.”
Luke pressed his lips together, shaking his head. “Okay. We’ll pause…for now. But we’re not finished with this conversation.”
She stared up into his dark eyes, knowing she couldn’t escape facing her feelings, whatever they may be. With a slight nod, she silently agreed.
“And you won’t be married for much longer, Julia, so you’ll have to face this sooner rather than later.”
The words struck at her heart, making it ache. Had she married Grant simply to hide from Luke? And now with the dissolution of her marriage hanging above her head, could she return to him?
“I know. But unless we solve these problems…”
“What?” Luke asked. “Please don’t tell me you’d consider another year of this nonsense.”
“I don’t think it’ll come to that,” she answered, the words sticking in her throat. She couldn’t imagine Grant was pleased with having two years of his life tied to a woman he had no romantic interest in. He’d want to move on…and soon. He already seemed antsy.
More than once, he’d seemed on the verge of wanting to tell her something but stopped himself. She assumed he hoped to broach the subject of moving on but thought better of it because of their agreement.
“Let’s hope not,” he answered.
She swallowed hard before she spun to take a step toward the door.
“Julia,” Luke said, catching her arm before she could leave, “I’m here if you need me.”
She stared down at his hand on her arm again before she raised her eyes to his and offered a weak smile and a nod. “Thanks.”
Her stomach rolled as they finally made their way down the hall and back toward the living room. Her heart pounded against her ribs as she stepped back inside, eyeing the room.
“There you are,” Alex said with a smile as he looped his arm through hers and dragged her toward the couch. “I’m dying for an update.”
“What?” she asked as confusion creased her brow.
“You left with the Captain, then G-man left, and when he came back…wow. What happened? Inquiring minds what to know.”
“Wow, what? What happened?” Julia questioned, her pulse still racing.
“Excuse me, sorry to interrupt. I need to have a word with Julia,” Kyle said as he wrapped his fingers around Julia’s arm and tugged her away from them.
“No worries, Junior G,” Alex said with a raise of his drink and a grin. “We’ll just wait for her right here.”
“I really don’t think I like him,” Kyle said as Julia stumbled along with him toward a corner of the living room.
“What are you doing?” Julia asked.
“I’d like to ask you the same thing,” Kyle shot back.
She knitted her brows as she shot him a confused glance. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Uh, did you or did you not just slink off with Luke?”
“I didn’t slink anywhere,” she said, heat entering her voice. “I can’t believe you’d say that. You who are always accusing Grant of keeping me on a short leash.”
“What happened while you were gone?”
She shook her head. “I’m not answering that.”
“Julia,” he hissed, “Luke is involved with Lydia. You can’t trust him.”
“Speaking of Lydia, didn’t you just slink off with her? What did she say?”
“There was no slinking on my part either,” he countered. “Lydia practically dragged me. Which is more than I can say for you. You went willingly.”
“I am an adult.”
“A married one who just willingly disappeared with her ex who has made it very clear he wants her back. In Maine, he practically kept you on house arrest to make sure you couldn’t leave.”
She heaved a sigh. “A fake married one, and that was mostly Ally who did that. Also, this is none of your business.”
“It kind of is. We’re partners. Also, I love–”
“Stop. Can we please just focus on Lydia and all of the trouble she’s causing? What did she say to you?”
“Not much.”
“Really? She seemed pretty insistent on speaking with you.”
Kyle slid his eyes sideways as he sipped his scotch. “She made a few comments about the pictures she took of us. When I asked why she brought Luke, she laughed and said she had to bring someone who could get the job done. And then she made a vague threat.”
“What was the vague threat?”
“She said soon it wouldn’t matter. But she may as well have a little fun in the meantime.”
A chill snaked down Julia’s spine as she wrapped her arms around her midriff. “Soon it won’t matter? What does that mean?”
Kyle shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know. She could be referring to anything.”
“It sounds like she’s referring to some big endgame.”
“Or it could be a bluff. Who knows?” Kyle narrowed his eyes at the woman across the room as she spoke to Alex.
“Did you tell Grant?”
“No.”
“Weren’t you talking when I came in?”
“Yeah, about other things,” he answered, avoiding her gaze.
“Were you two fighting again?”
He snapped his gaze up to her. “No, you’ll be happy to know we were not.”
“I think that makes me even more nervous, actually. What were you–”
Ava’s touch on her arm interrupted her. “Hey, Sunshine, Alex and I are going to head out. It was great seeing you, though. Maybe you and Grant could visit the Hamptons soon. We’d love to have you.”
Julia arched an eyebrow at the reference to them as a couple, still surprised that they were together. She forced a smile, knowing they’d never be able to keep the promise she was about to make. Although maybe the Hamptons would be a nice place for her to recover after her marriage ended. “That sounds great. Let’s plan on it.”
Ava smiled at her as Alex tugged himself away from Lydia with a disgusted glance. He sidled up to them. “Did you ask her?”
“I did. And they’d love to,” Ava said.
“Awesome. Well, we’re going to take off. And I’m going to get working on our little…problem.”
“Thanks, Alex. Keep me updated?”
“Always,” he said. “I may be waking you up in the middle of the night, though, because I’m that good.”
She grinned at his confidence, hoping he wasn’t overshooting things. They said their goodnights before Alex shifted his gaze to Kyle. “Nice seeing you again, little Grantling.”
The tension in Kyle’s jaw betrayed his displeasure with the comment. Julia walked them to the foyer, saying one last goodbye complete with hugs.
As she offered them a final wave, footsteps announced the arrival of more people. She spun to find Lydia hanging on Luke’s arm. “Oh, Julia, there you are. Luke’s leaving. In case you wanted to say anything to him.”
“No, Lydia, outside of ‘good night,’ I think we’ve said everything we wanted to earlier.”
“Really?” Lydia asked with a raise of her shoulder. “Well, then, I suppose I’ll walk you out, Luke. There are a few things I’d like to say to you.”
Julia held back rolling her eyes as they pushed past her. With a deep sigh, she shuffled back to the living room, exhaustion coursing through her. She had no desire to talk about anything anymore, but she felt she needed to explain what Grant had seen earlier.
As she shuffled into the room, Sierra’s eyes went wide. “Finally! I have been waiting to talk to you all night.”
“I’m sorry, Sierra, it’s been…chaotic.” Julia flicked a glance at Grant who looked like he was in no mood to speak to anyone.
“But I need you,” Sierra said as she flung her arms around Julia’s neck. “I need you to tell me how great I am. Daddy tried but he’s terrible at it. It doesn’t even sound like he means it.”
“What?” Grant screwed up his face. “Of course, I mean it, Sierra. How can you say that?”
Julia cupped her stepdaughter’s face in her hands as she offered her an amused smile. “You are such a special woman. And I am glad I got to know you.”
Sierra grabbed her hand as she flicked a gaze over her shoulder. “ That’s how it’s done, Daddy. Take notes.” She twisted back to Julia with a grin. “Thank you, Julia. I feel so much better.”
“I’m glad. Now, maybe you should get some rest. It’s been a long night.” She leaned closer, lowering her voice. “And Alex told me he’s going to solve our problem soon, so, with any luck, we’ll be in the clear and you won’t have to worry at all.”
“Thank you, Julia. He’s sort of weird, so I hope he can actually do it.”
“He can.”
“Has he always been like that?”
Julia chuckled. “For as long as I can remember. But he’s also the best tech person I know.”
Sierra smiled at her and squeezed her hand. “I love you.”
Julia pulled her stepdaughter into another hug as she answered, “I love you, too. Good night.”
Sierra left them behind, and Julia found herself alone with Grant and Kyle. She puffed her cheeks out as she blew out a breath. “Well, that was a long night.”
Without a word, Grant stalked to the drink cart and poured himself another bourbon. She wondered what had happened when he’d returned after spotting her kiss with Luke. Alex had never told her.
No matter what happened, she needed to address it.
“Well, I’d better go to bed. I have an early shift tomorrow. But I will have plenty of time for other things, too.” Kyle polished off his drink and set the glass down with a glance at his father.
Julia tugged her lips into a frown at the words. She also hadn’t determined what he and Grant had been talking about that hadn’t resulted in an argument. And now it seemed like he wanted to be anywhere but near her before she asked again.
That made her even more nervous about this strange dynamic between them. Although not more nervous than being left alone to explain that kiss to Grant.
As Kyle hurried from the room, she flicked her gaze to him. She tried to remind herself that he likely didn’t care. The guilt coursing through her–mainly caused by the feelings she harbored for him–weren’t returned and even if they were, they would likely be fleeting.
Maybe he felt a pang of jealousy because he didn’t like to lose, but no sooner would he win before he looked for his next conquest.
The reminder did little to ease her nerves as she shuffled closer to him and poured a brandy. After a sip, she flicked her gaze up to him. Her heart thudded in her chest as she reluctantly brought it up. “I think we need to talk about what happened earlier.”
The tension in his jaw suggested he preferred not to discuss it, but she needed to get the guilt off her chest.
He shifted his eyes sideways, away from her. “There’s really no need for that. I–” His voice seemed to hitch, and the tightness around his eyes suggested a guardedness that she couldn’t unravel. “Lydia seems to be pushing for drama at every turn.”
Julia knitted her brows, trying to pick apart the statement. “But there is.”
He shifted his gaze to her, questioning in his eyes that almost seemed like need.
“We agreed to no outside relationships. Luke kissed me. And I made it very clear that we are still married.”
A storm of unidentified emotions passed through his eyes as he flicked them down to his bourbon. “I’m certain that was encouraged by Lydia.”
Julia’s shoulders slumped, wanting to give in to that excuse, but she couldn’t. “I really want to believe that, but…”
“But?” he asked.
“I’m afraid Luke is just as deeply invested in this as she is. I don’t think Lydia would have been able to pull this off if he hadn’t been so willing.”
“So, he’s staking his claim. Does he know? About us? Did your sister tell him?”
Julia nodded. “Yes. He knows. He’s known since we were in Maine.”
Grant slid his eyes closed. “Do you think he’d tell Lydia?”
“No. Ally knows she doesn’t know. I’m sure she told Luke. As much as Lydia is using him, I think he’s using her, too.”
“I’m not certain that’s possible when it comes to Lydia.” He took another sip of his drink.
She sighed. “Well, at any rate, I feel awful about what you walked in on, and I wanted to let you know that I’m committed.”
He shot her a glance that seemed questioning.
“We have enough on our plates without Luke’s interference. Anything that happens like that is not because I’ve encouraged it. I just…want us to be on the same page. Especially after what Kyle told me Lydia said.”
“What did she say?”
“Something like none of this would matter soon. I don’t know what that means and neither did he. But…I don’t like it.”
Grant sucked in a breath, some of the tension in his shoulders seeming to release despite the ominous words. “I don’t either.”
“Did he say anything to you about it? He said you talked without arguing, but he wouldn’t say about what.”
“We did. Miracles do happen,” Grant said with a slight chuckle.
She smiled up at him. “Apparently, they do. I hope it was a fruitful conversation.”
He shifted on his feet like he was suddenly uncomfortable with the situation. “It was okay. Maybe there’s hope for us yet.”
She narrowed her eyes at him. First Kyle, now Grant. Neither of them would address what they’d discussed. Why?
“Well, anyway, I appreciate you addressing it. I felt…it wasn’t my business to bring it up,” Grant said, sending an ache spiraling through her heart. “But I’m glad we’re on the same page. It’s been a long night, though, and if Lydia has another threat looming on the horizon, we should get some rest.”
She studied him for a moment before she nodded. What happened between him and Kyle that set them both on edge but wasn’t an argument? “Right. Well, good night. I’ll see you in the morning.”
“See you in the morning, Julia.”
She offered him a smile before she set her glass down and left the living room behind. As she climbed the stairs, her phone chimed. She tugged it from her pocket and glanced at the text message on her lock screen. Good news, kid, I’m in like Flynn on the Ice Queen’s accounts. Let the search for these nasty pictures begin.
She grinned at the message as she closed herself in her office and typed a thank you message back. She considered finding Grant to give him the good news, but before she could, a knock sounded at her door.
A grin crossed her face. It must be here. The conversation had been rough about Luke, maybe he wanted to have a lighter one.
“Hey, I have some–” Her words cut off, and her grin faded as she stared at the figure darkening her doorstep. “Lydia.”
“Julia,” she said with an arch of her eyebrow as she sauntered into the room.
“By all means, come right in.”
“Close the door,” Lydia responded.
Julia swung it shut, crossing her arms. “What do you want? Haven’t you done enough damage tonight?”
Lydia stuck out her lower lip. “Aww, was it hard for you? I know you have trouble being a one-man woman.”
She pressed her lips together into a thin line, her nostrils flaring as anger burned through her. “You just love torturing people, don’t you?”
A grin spread across her face. “I sort of do, yes. And speaking of that, you’re up.”
“What?”
“You’re up. It’s your turn. You’re finally at bat, sister. You’re tagged in. You’re playing the game. You’re–”
“Please stop. What are you babbling about?”
“I’m going to need something from you very soon. I expect it to be delivered or else…well, you know. And you seem so close to Sierra lately. It would be such a shame if those photos came out because of you.”
“What do you want?”
“I’ll let you know when the time comes.” She leaned closer, her voice dropping to a chilling whisper. “Just be ready, Julia. When I call on you, it won’t be for a small favor. Think of it as…a pivotal moment. One that can tilt everything in my direction.” Her eyes glittered with an unspoken threat as she slammed into Julia’s shoulder on her way out of the room.
Julia collapsed into her desk chair, her heart pounding. Her mind whirled as Lydia’s threat echoed in the silence of the room. A heavy dread settled in her stomach, her hands trembling slightly. What could Lydia want? And how could she protect Sierra without unraveling everything they’d worked so hard to maintain?