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“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.”
