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She squeezed it before she rubbed his back. “I’m sure you can do something about that, can’t you, dear?”
Lydia arched an eyebrow. “You see? Even Julia thinks this was a slap in my face and a situation that needs to be fixed.”
“That’s going a little far, but I do think this is an easy enough request,” Julia said.
“I’ll see what I can do,” Grant answered before he clenched his jaw.
“That’s not good enough,” Lydia answered. “Don’t you have an entire table at the event?”
“And it’s full,” Grant shot back.
Lydia clicked her tongue. “It can’t be.”
“It is,” Grant growled through clenched teeth. “So, I’ll see what I can do.”
Lydia narrowed her eyes at him before she flicked her gaze to Julia. “Well, now you can see how he treats you once he kicks you to the curb.”
Julia held up a hand. “I’m certain he can do something. He just doesn’t want to make a promise on the off chance it doesn’t pan out.”
“I expect results, Grant. Oh, and I want a plus one.”
Grant scoffed at the words. “You’re something else, you know that? First, you demand an invitation, and now you want a date. Although, I’m not sure you’ll actually find one.”
“Oh, don’t you worry about that. Just because you’re delusional enough not to see my worth, doesn’t mean all men are. Just get the job done, Grant. I have a dress fitting tomorrow. I expect results because I’m not having a fabulous dress made for nothing.” She spun on a heel and stormed from the room. “Worthington, martini, stat!”
“Right away, madam,” Worthington said with a sigh as he pulled the doors closed behind him, leaving Grant and Julia alone.
Grant reached for Julia’s hand as he sighed and let his eyes slide closed. “I don’t know how much more of this I can take.”
She slid her fingers between his as she spun to lean against the desk. “I know. She’s not making it easy.”
Silence stretched between them for a second before she settled her eyes on him. “That’s why I think we need to talk.”
Her words fell like a cold shroud over the room. The ticking of the antique clock on the mantel sounded like a countdown to an inescapable fate.
Something about the way she said it made his heart skip a beat. The seriousness on her features twisted his stomach into a knot. What was she about to say and what would the fallout be?
CHAPTER 2
JULIA
Julia stared at the rosy picture on her phone, memories of snapping it before she and Grant left the beach together spilling into her mind. Her thumb rubbed the wedding band around her finger. They’d left that beach with a plan and a new resolve. They’d left that beach as a team.
But were they a team in name only?
She killed the display, unable to look at the picture anymore. Their vacation to her hometown had been a disaster. What Sierra had hoped would be a time for family bonding had turned into a fight between her past and present. And one that had nearly torn her apart.
In the end, she realized as she sat alone in a cave, trapped by a rockslide after saving her stepdaughter who had fallen over a cliff, that she’d never forgive herself if she didn’t at least finish what she and Grant had started.
Even if it meant her heart would be broken in the process.
She set her phone down on the desk and stared blankly at her computer screen. Memories of Luke and Grant floated through her mind. She squeezed her eyes closed, trying to stop the march of unwanted thoughts, but failed.
Seeing Luke again had triggered a maelstrom of emotions within her from their deep-seated connection to the anguish of the harrowing decision to leave him behind. She reminded herself why she’d done that and that nothing had changed since she had. At least not for him.
She, on the other hand, had developed feelings that went well beyond the parameters of the contract tying her to her current husband. She bit her lower lip as she tried to temper the frustration swirling within her.
Why had she been so stupid as to have allowed him into her heart? Even if he felt the same way, which she highly doubted, she couldn’t trust him. She was nothing like his ex-wives. Based on their looks and personalities, he wouldn’t have picked her from the bunch.
