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She bobbed her head again, but before she could answer, he spoke again. And the words send a shiver down her spine. “We also need to talk.”
The grin faded from her features as she stared up at him. What was serious enough to have ruined this moment?
CHAPTER 21
GRANT
Grant sat in his office, staring down at the text from Kyle. He was still brooding over the conversation with Julia. Her disappointment, the harsh words, the protective stance she’d taken on Luke, all of it bothered him.
He wanted to shout at her he loved her, but the storm in her eyes before she’d left him behind kept him quiet.
So many times before, he’d imagined telling her his feelings. She’d stood quietly as he’d spoken before she threw her arms around him with an excited, “Yes!”
Then, she would tell him she felt the same way, that she had for some time but had been too afraid to say anything. They’d ended the moment with a kiss. Not a fake one for a camera, or even the soft ones they’d shared while at a public event, but a real one, filled with all the emotions that had been pent up for all this time.
Now, he pictured it differently. He’d tell her he loved her, that he had for some time. But instead of throwing her arms around his neck, she crossed them and shook her head. “I thought you were better than this. We agreed to keep things separate. That was the deal. Not this.”
She’d then tell him she was leaving with Luke. And his heart would break into a million pieces over a woman he’d never had a chance with but had fallen harder for than he could have ever expected.
He tugged his mind from the melancholy thought and read Kyle’s message again. What did you tell Julia? She’s texting me about how disappointed she is that we’re conspiring to destroy Luke and now she won’t answer her phone.
He wrote a message back. I didn’t say anything. She found your stupid note. I got an earful, too.
His phone rang a moment later. With a deep sigh, he answered it. “Kyle, just let it go. Let her cool off.”
“Let her cool off? Are you serious? This is how you lose, Dad.”
“Pushing her when she’s this upset is not a good idea. Okay? Just…let her have some time.”
“Oh, right. That’s a great idea. I’ll let her have enough time to run straight to Luke.”
Grant held back a sigh at his son’s overzealousness. “Kyle–”
“You may want to sit on your hands, but that’s the exact behavior that is going to push her straight to Luke.” Before he could answer, the line clicked.
This time he couldn’t hold back the sigh as he tossed his phone on the desk. Maybe he was a coward, unwilling to put his heart on the line for Julia to stomp on it. But he couldn’t bring himself to go after her.
The last time he had done that, they’d had an explosive argument that had nearly cost him their relationship. He wasn’t about to do that again. He’d let her cool off, and he’d do the same.
He sat lost in his thoughts until the banging of the front door pulled his attention away from his brooding. Footsteps pounded up the stairs. He stayed tucked in the safety of his office, sipping the coffee Worthington had delivered somewhere along the line.
He hadn’t said two words to the man, so lost in his own mind. The clock on the mantel ticked away the time until a knock interrupted it.
“Come in,” he called, twisting to eye the door and hoping to see Julia.
Instead, Kyle popped inside. “Well, you’re welcome. I think I squared everything away with Julia. And she’s not running off with Luke.”
“You left the hospital to talk to Julia?”
“Someone had to do it. And she wasn’t answering my calls, so I came home to talk to her in person.”
“And she said she’s fine?”
Kyle set his hands on his hips with a shrug. “Not in so many words. But…I did tell her it wasn’t fair that Luke strolled in here and…did whatever it was he did that set you off–”
“He kissed her,” Grant answered.
Kyle’s eyes went wide. “Seriously? He kissed her? So, he’s definitely making a play for her.”
