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“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.
