“I’m talking to Jules.”
Frequently throughout these past two days, Julianne thought her friend had been on Will’s side. But when she’d needed her most, Carly was there. With her. She swallowed to keep the tears at bay, relieved to know she could still count on her friend. But Carly’s question weighed heavy in her heart. It didn’t matter what Julianne wanted; her wants had been sacrificed when she’d committed the egregious sin against Will by trying to deny him his son. The guilt of that offense was eating her alive. Julianne owed Will and apparently, he’d found his pound of flesh. If she was going to agree to this—and she still wasn’t sure she could—she’d do so for the sake of her son, another innocent victim in all of her deceit.
That didn’t mean she was giving in to Will without a fight. Her son’s father might be holding all the cards right now, but she had some ground rules she intended to lay down before any wedding—even a fake one to pacify Will’s enormous ego—took place.
She squeezed Carly’s hand. “I’m good. Would you both mind going to check on Owen while we finish”—she wanted to say
negotiating
, but she didn’t want Carly to worry—“working out the logistics?”
Carly hesitated a minute before standing and releasing her hand. Nicky stood, too, giving Julianne a gentle squeeze on the shoulder. “This is for the best. You’ll see.” Neither his words nor his gesture pacified her. Instead they left her feeling as if he were placating her. Again.
Julianne attempted to jump off Will’s lap, but he held her there. “Wait until they’ve gone inside before you start spitting nails at me,” he breathed into her ear.
As soon as Carly and Nicky entered the hospital, she wrenched herself free of his grasp and scrambled for the chair Nicky had vacated, rushing to get her point across before he could raise a hand to stop her. “First things first, this is a marriage in name only.” She wrapped her arms around her as a cool breeze blew through the courtyard. Her body instantly missed the warm heat of Will’s, and she shivered involuntarily. “There’ll be no touching like that again.”
Will’s mouth tightened into a straight line before he spoke. “True that, Princess. From now on, even the Heimlich maneuver is off-limits. Like I said before, my only interest in this relationship is one with my son.”
His words were a vicious reality check. Julianne tried to get a handle on the roller coaster of emotions she felt about Will. One minute she hated him. The next, her body was shuddering over the loss of contact with his. She needed to keep her wits about her. To set up barriers to ensure she survived any and all close encounters with him.
“I’m not doing your laundry or cooking your food. I’ll take care of Owen and myself. You can spend as much time with him as you want, but I’m not pretending we’re one big happy family.”
She thought she heard him grind his teeth. “I don’t care what happens inside the house, but when we are out in the town, no one knows this is a sham.”
“Oh, come on! They’ll all know it’s a sham when Owen and I pop up out of nowhere.”
“I don’t care! My son will
not
go through what I did as a child living in that town!”
Julianne felt a moment of fear. Where was he taking them? What would Owen be exposed to?
She felt a measure of distress, too, for the man sitting next to her. He’d obviously had a tough childhood growing up without a father. One that left scars. She didn’t want that for her son. Maybe he was right to want her to pretend.
But marriage?
Sighing, she rested her head in her hand. “Will, this is crazy. I know you’re angry with me for . . . lots of things.” It wasn’t hard to admit she was guilty on so many levels. And she empathized with his desire for Owen to live a respectable life, but she suspected her calling out Nicky’s name while they were making love was the trigger for this
Frequently throughout these past two days, Julianne thought her friend had been on Will’s side. But when she’d needed her most, Carly was there. With her. She swallowed to keep the tears at bay, relieved to know she could still count on her friend. But Carly’s question weighed heavy in her heart. It didn’t matter what Julianne wanted; her wants had been sacrificed when she’d committed the egregious sin against Will by trying to deny him his son. The guilt of that offense was eating her alive. Julianne owed Will and apparently, he’d found his pound of flesh. If she was going to agree to this—and she still wasn’t sure she could—she’d do so for the sake of her son, another innocent victim in all of her deceit.
That didn’t mean she was giving in to Will without a fight. Her son’s father might be holding all the cards right now, but she had some ground rules she intended to lay down before any wedding—even a fake one to pacify Will’s enormous ego—took place.
She squeezed Carly’s hand. “I’m good. Would you both mind going to check on Owen while we finish”—she wanted to say
negotiating
, but she didn’t want Carly to worry—“working out the logistics?”
Carly hesitated a minute before standing and releasing her hand. Nicky stood, too, giving Julianne a gentle squeeze on the shoulder. “This is for the best. You’ll see.” Neither his words nor his gesture pacified her. Instead they left her feeling as if he were placating her. Again.
Julianne attempted to jump off Will’s lap, but he held her there. “Wait until they’ve gone inside before you start spitting nails at me,” he breathed into her ear.
As soon as Carly and Nicky entered the hospital, she wrenched herself free of his grasp and scrambled for the chair Nicky had vacated, rushing to get her point across before he could raise a hand to stop her. “First things first, this is a marriage in name only.” She wrapped her arms around her as a cool breeze blew through the courtyard. Her body instantly missed the warm heat of Will’s, and she shivered involuntarily. “There’ll be no touching like that again.”
Will’s mouth tightened into a straight line before he spoke. “True that, Princess. From now on, even the Heimlich maneuver is off-limits. Like I said before, my only interest in this relationship is one with my son.”
His words were a vicious reality check. Julianne tried to get a handle on the roller coaster of emotions she felt about Will. One minute she hated him. The next, her body was shuddering over the loss of contact with his. She needed to keep her wits about her. To set up barriers to ensure she survived any and all close encounters with him.
“I’m not doing your laundry or cooking your food. I’ll take care of Owen and myself. You can spend as much time with him as you want, but I’m not pretending we’re one big happy family.”
She thought she heard him grind his teeth. “I don’t care what happens inside the house, but when we are out in the town, no one knows this is a sham.”
“Oh, come on! They’ll all know it’s a sham when Owen and I pop up out of nowhere.”
“I don’t care! My son will
not
go through what I did as a child living in that town!”
Julianne felt a moment of fear. Where was he taking them? What would Owen be exposed to?
She felt a measure of distress, too, for the man sitting next to her. He’d obviously had a tough childhood growing up without a father. One that left scars. She didn’t want that for her son. Maybe he was right to want her to pretend.
But marriage?
Sighing, she rested her head in her hand. “Will, this is crazy. I know you’re angry with me for . . . lots of things.” It wasn’t hard to admit she was guilty on so many levels. And she empathized with his desire for Owen to live a respectable life, but she suspected her calling out Nicky’s name while they were making love was the trigger for this
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