29. Chapter 28
“ A re you and Jesse leaving together again today?” Charles asked, slipping his laptop into his bag.
Julia shrugged. “Of course. I’m starting to like these days at the hospital because of him.” More time with Jinx was never a bad thing.
“Don’t think I missed you two having lunch together.” Charles smiled at her. “I’ve never seen him happier than he’s been in the last couple of weeks.” He studied her face, his grin softening. “You, too. It’s good to see you happy, Julia.”
She rubbed the back of her neck. “It’s not that I was unhappy, not really.
” Well, she was some days, her off days.
She’d had one that week. Being with someone she loved didn’t make them disappear.
Jinx hadn’t tried to fix things or told her how to get over it or anything like that.
No, he’d just been with her, listening and holding her and letting her know she wasn’t alone.
Having him was so much better than suffering through them on her own.
“Maybe tense is a better word than unhappy? Though with good reason.” He’d turned serious again, running a hand over his wavy blond hair that he kept much shorter than Jinx did. “Any problems today?”
“I’d tell you if there were.” Julia really would. Charles had proven he’d go to bat for her, even though she wished he didn’t have to. “I’m hoping the worst of it has passed.”
“Well, you’re still part of the gossip floating around, but it’s changed.” He grinned again.
“Shut up. I didn’t see a reason to hide it.” The hospital staff gossiped about how she would ruin Jinx’s life, but as long as neither of them cared about that, she’d rather show how proud she was to be with him. Each time she did, she watched some of his insecurity fade.
“It’s cute.” Charles lifted his bag to his shoulder. “I never expected you to be the type to mark your territory.”
Julia scowled at him before following his gesture to go first, exiting the borrowed office.
She hadn’t expected to be the possessive type either, but she’d forgotten how often Jinx’s personality drew women to him.
Not that she was worried. He told her he loved her pretty much every day now, sometimes more than once.
She’d never had much opportunity for PDA in the past. Touching him and kissing him in public had become a turn-on. That had been a surprise.
The hickey she’d given him the other day had awoken something inside of her. There was still a faint mark, and she’d been tempted to make it darker this morning.
She was still lost in thought when Charles moved in front of her, dropping his bag to push her back even as he held a hand out in front of him. “Whoa, take it easy.”
“Get out of my way!” a woman shrieked.
Julia winced as she recognized the voice. “It’s okay, Charles. I’ve got this.” She shifted to the side to face Dr. Rutherford’s wife.
“It’s not okay, and I’m not leaving.” Charles’s face tightened into an expression she didn’t recognize. She’d never seen him so angry, even when she’d been hassled at the hospital before.
It was probably because Mrs. Rutherford’s hand was raised in a threat. Julia was glad he’d kept her from being slapped. She never wanted to go through that again.
“Of course you’re protecting her. Are you sleeping with her, too?” Mrs. Rutherford pointed a finger toward Julia. “I know you’re fucking my husband!”
Julia shook her head. “Not me. Not anymore.” She bit her lip and sighed. “But it was me before, so I get that you might not believe that.”
“Stop lying!” the woman screamed, lunging toward her.
Charles caught her wrist. “I won’t let you hit her.”
Julia couldn’t stop herself from flinching. Her cheek burned in phantom pain from the memory of the last time John’s wife had attacked her. She expected to feel angry or guilty, like she had before. Instead, all she felt was pity when she looked at the woman’s tight face streaked with tears.
“I deserve your anger. When I found out who John was and that he was married, I should have stopped sleeping with him right away. I didn’t question his claims of being separated, and I really should have.
” Regret was a hard thing, and she hated that she’d done something she wished she could take back.
“I haven’t seen him in months, though. If he’s cheating, it’s no longer with me. ”
Mrs. Rutherford’s eyes narrowed. “I don’t believe you.”
Anger flared for a second, but Julia swallowed it, pressing her lips together.
“Why else would you be here? He promised me you’d been fired!”
Julia’s eyes burned and she closed them for a moment, taking a breath. “I was. I work for Dr. Holden now.” She nodded at Charles. “He’s a private practitioner who sometimes—”
“I don’t give a shit!” Mrs. Rutherford screamed, jerking her arm free from Charles’s grip. She rubbed at her wrist as she continued to glare. “Don’t think that sleeping with him is going to get you what you want. I’m John’s wife, and that’s not going to change.”
Julia thought they deserved each other but then felt ashamed of the thought. No woman deserved to be treated that way. “Look, I don’t want anything to do with your husband. Sure, he was a good fuck, but that’s all he was.”
Mrs. Rutherford’s nostrils flared. “You—”
“I love someone else!” Julia shouted over her.
She swallowed as she realized how quiet the hallway was around them, but she didn’t take her eyes off the woman.
“He’s someone I’ve known for years, and he’s amazing and sweet and everything I could want.
I’m sorry if your husband is cheating again, but it has nothing to do with me, not anymore. ”
She stooped, picking up Charles’s bag, touching his arm to edge to the side with him.
“Is it him?” Mrs. Rutherford asked, her eyes flicking to Charles.
“No, it’s me.” Jinx’s arms wrapped around Julia from behind, and she leaned into him. “And I’m in love with her, too, so I’d appreciate it if you’d stop yelling at her. Please.”
Julia patted his hand where it had curled around her torso.
“It’s okay.” She kept her eyes on John’s wife, relieved when the woman shuffled back a step.
She held her gaze, wishing there was something she could do to take away the emptiness she saw there.
“I really am sorry. I played my part, but your husband did, too. It seems like he’s still doing it.
Someday, I hope you get out of this cycle.
” She pushed at Charles’s shoulder. “Come on, let’s go. ”
Jinx’s arms eased, only one staying curled around her back. He walked beside her closest to Mrs. Rutherford when they passed, but the woman didn’t lunge for them again. Julia took a steadying breath after they turned the corner heading toward the garage.
“Sorry about that,” she mumbled to both of them. “I guess what I did will never go away.”
“Don’t apologize,” Charles said, his hand tightened where he gripped the bag she handed back to him. “That scene wasn’t on you.”
Julia didn’t agree, though it frustrated her that John’s wife seemed to focus on hating the women her husband cheated with instead of getting fed up with him. His wife would be stuck until she realized she deserved better.
“On the bright side, it didn’t take years,” Jinx said, his fingers stroking along her hip.
Confused, she lifted an eyebrow, but when she looked toward him, he had that giddy smile she was beginning to see often.
His cheeks flooded with color. “I’m pretty sure most of the hospital heard you shout that you loved me.”
“The ones who didn’t will hear about it soon enough,” Charles agreed, some of his tension fading.
Julia swallowed, but her lips twitched. “I didn’t say your name specifically.”
Jinx leaned into her, grazing her cheek with his lips. “Yeah, but everyone will know it’s me.” He released her hip to link their hands instead. “Ready to head home?”
“Yeah,” she murmured, loving the way her fingers fit between his. “I’m ready to get you all to myself.”
Charles pretended not to hear while Jinx got even redder. Julia laughed, realizing all over again how much lighter she felt when Jinx was by her side. It was a feeling she wanted to experience as often as possible.