by Sienna Skye
“Yes. Catch up. You want to slow down on those drinks before I have to drive your ass home later?”
Sarah tried to defuse the tension. “I think it’s so cool that she has her own advice column. I love Ask Nikki.”
I held my hand up in a stop motion. “Hold on. Wait. Jules is Ask Nikki? The advice columnist who answers everything from family problems to all sorts kinky sex questions?” Hell, I was the reason she was able to answer most of those sex questions.
Hunter looked me dead in the eye. “The one and the same.”
“Damn, I never put it together. I never realized it was her.”
“Me either, man.”
“Yeah, but…” I cut off before I finished. Hunter never knew that Jules and I were involved. We were in love and we were lovers. Then that all went to shit.
Sarah’s phone rang. She announced it was work and she stepped away to take the call.
I ran a hand through my hair. “I wish you would have told me you were planning on inviting her.”
“She’s our sister, Morgan. Why wouldn’t I invite her?”
“I know. I know. I’m sorry. You wouldn’t understand…”
“Christ, Morgan. You don’t think I know? What kind of dumbass do you take me for?”
“Why don’t you tell me what you think you know?” There was no way I was admitting to anything.
“You want to play it like that? Okay. The two of you were involved. Intimately. I didn’t figure it out until after she left.” I threw back the rest of my drink as he spoke. “I mean I knew there was an awful lot of sexual chemistry and energy between the two of you. I was just never certain you guys had acted on it. Not until after she left. You were a bastard for months. First you started screwing a string of girls who resembled Julia, then it was women who were the complete opposite. You drank too much. You tried every which way to forget her. I just don’t know what actually happened between you two that caused her to leave and not come back and cut ties for four years.”
I knew all too well why she cut ties. Very simply put, it was because I tore out her heart. I lied to her with words and then with actions. I let her think that I was done with her, that I didn’t love her anymore. Nothing was further from the truth. I was backed into a corner and chose to give her up so that she could have a better opportunity. The deceit would have had to be kept up for a couple of years. I was cocky enough to think I could go to her after that and make it better. There was nothing he could do about it then. But my actions had hurt her so badly that she had basically gone off the grid. Sure, I could have dug if I really wanted to. IT was my specialty after all. But, I was a damn pussy chicken shit. The lies I told had festered. Jules was a passionate fiery woman and I knew the longer she brewed and hurt, the more impossible it would be. Besides, she was gorgeous, intelligent, and funny as hell. There was no way some lucky bastard didn’t get to benefit from my loss.
“I am going to need to take you up on that drive home.” I flagged down the waitress and ordered another drink. “I wondered sometimes if you knew. You never told me anything after you guys would talk.”
“You knew I was talking to her.”
“Yeah. There’s a tone in your voice that you only use with her. Besides, nobody makes you laugh the way she does. I can always figure out when you talk to her. I just didn’t know if she told you not to say anything to me.”
“No, she’s never said anything. I don’t even think she knows I know. I was always too afraid to scare her off to mention anything.”
“It might have. I’m glad she kept in contact with you. I was worried about her being alone down in North Carolina.”
“She never went to North Carolina. She’s been in Virginia with Claudia. And Jace.”
“Jace? She’s been with Jace.” Thankfully, the waitress returned at that moment with my new drink. “He never mentioned anything.”
“Jace is more your friend than mine, but even I know him well enough to know that he would try to be as loyal to the both of you as he could. If you would have asked, he would have told you.”
“How was I supposed to know to ask that? I thought she went to North Carolina.”
“From what she’s said, he has been really good to her.”
“I’m sure he has. He’s always had a soft spot for Jules.” I knew without a shadow of a doubt Jace would take care of Jules. That’s what was worrying me. I saw Sarah heading back to the table. “I’ll tell you what happened Hunter.” I nodded toward Sarah. “Just not now. I’d like you to keep this between us. At least until I have a chance to talk to Jules.”
Chapter Four
Julia
I looked down at the crumbs on my desk. A swarm of locusts couldn’t have gone through that brownie faster than I did. I saw at least 500 squats and lunges in the near future, but for the time being, I was content in my food coma. I started searching the internet for dresses to wear to the wedding. Somewhere around the fourth dress, I realized I was looking at them while trying to see them through Morgan’s eyes. I wanted to make him jealous. Have him see what he threw away. I needed to stop that crap. He was done with me a long time ago. He made that point abundantly clear in more ways than one. Damn, why did it still have to hurt so much? Maybe it was because I never quite understood how things spun out of control so quickly. The next image popped up on my screen and without hesitation I knew that was the dress I was going to wear. Whether it made him jealous or not, the dress was hot, and I was going to look hot in it.
Before I knew it, it was time to leave. I had spent the day shopping online and getting things set for going back home. I hadn’t done a lot of work, but I wasn’t really in any shape to be dishing out advice anyway.
I walked through the front door armed with a grocery bag full of comfort food ingredients. I needed to make sure that didn’t become a habit otherwise I was going to have to slather myself in butter to slip into the dress I just ordered.
“Hey, Aunt Claudia. Everything good?”
“All is good. What’s in the bag?”
“Oh, stuff to make homemade chicken pot pie, some Ben & Jerry’s Phish Food ice cream, whipped cream…”
My aunt had her keys in her hand and was getting ready to leave. Hearing my grocery list, she tossed the keys on the kitchen table, pulled out a chair and sat down.
“Alright missy, spill. What happened today?”
My aunt and I had a mutually beneficial arrangement. I turned to her when my life went to hell in a handbasket. My aunt had a house that I officially lived in and she also had a boyfriend who she unofficially lived with. She was not ready to give up her home or her independence. She liked me living in her house because she loved it so much and she wanted it to be lived in and loved. She also never charged me rent, but I would stock the place with groceries, took care of the yard work, and kept the place up.
I plopped down in the chair directly across from her.
“I spoke to Hunter today.”
Well that made her eyebrows shoot up. “Really? What prompted that?”
“He sent me an invitation to his wedding, so I called him to give him my RSVP.”
“Which was?” Again with someone studying my face.
“I told him I would go.”
“I think you made the right decision.” She nodded to emphasize her comment.
“Well, I also wanted to let you know that I decided to stay there for a couple of months. Is that alright with you?”
“Julia, of course it’s alright. I do need to ask you, though. Are you planning on talking to Morgan? I mean really talk to him?”
“Yeah. Which is the reason for the binge eating.”
“Baby girl, you never really pulled yourself out of this thing. I mean to the average eye, you would seem just fine, but I have known you since the day you were born, and that wound has never fully healed. You need to air it all out and move on. Plus, Morgan has the right to know. He is under a totally different impression than what the reality is.”
“You are the second person to tell me the same thing today. How did I let this get so far out of control?”
“You were shattered. You did what you could at the time. More than one person betrayed you, but you never made your choices out of anger or vindictiveness. You simply did what you thought was right. Maybe it was right at the time. I don’t know. I have wrestled with that myself. What I do know is that it is time for you to at least try to set it right. It may not work out, but it has to be done.”
“I have two months to work this all out in my head. Maybe it would have been easier if this just snuck up on me. Rip the band-aid right off. Then there would be no time to overthink.”
“I hate to bring this up, but what are you planning on doing about your mother? Are you planning on talking to her as well?”
“Not if I can help it. I mean what kind of mother does that to her daughter? I didn’t get much further than deciding to go to the wedding, talk to Hunter, and make the choice to have a sit down with Morgan. Oh, and I bought a dress. That’s enough for today. Otherwise, I will end up going out and buying wine…and pie.”
“Okay. Do some damage tonight. Cuddle up to Ben and Jerry. Then that’s it. No more pity party.”
“I will party my ass off tonight.”
“Yeah, well, if you don’t stop, that will be some ass.”
“At least I know I come by my sarcasm honestly.”
“Yeah. Yeah. We need to work on finding you a place to stay while you are there.”
“Well the wedding is down the shore. I will rent a vacation place down there for that. Hunter said I could stay at his old place for the rest of the time. I will need to pack up stuff to bring up with me.
“Why don’t you drive up alone for the wedding?”
“Alone?”
“Yes, I will take care of things here and then drive up afterward to help you get all settled.”
“If you’re sure.”
“Absolutely. Now, let me get to Charlie before he sends a search party out for me.”
Later that night, after dinner was done and I had cleaned everything up, I sat in the living room, sipping a glass of wine. Funny how life worked. Just a day prior, I was living my life in my usual routine, yet somehow it seemed like a lifetime ago. My day had been such an emotional roller coaster. I was spent.
I was a little nervous about Hunter learning the truth, but even after all was said and done, there was a good chance he would want me in his life. Morgan, though. I had no hopes there. The two of us didn’t do anything half assed. Having fun. Making Love. Fighting. I saw none of the first two happening, but I did anticipate a whole bunch of fighting. We were both passionate head strong people. There was a storm brewing and it was going to get ugly.
Chapter Five
Julia
I met Hunter and Morgan when my mother and their father had decided to get married. I was still raw over my father’s death.
I loved my Daddy. He was handsome, smart, kind, and strong. In my eyes, he was the perfect father. He listened to me and I knew he loved me. My mother on the other hand was a different story. Even at a young age, I couldn’t quite figure out how the two of them ended up together. I often wondered if she used to be different, but somehow changed into this cold, self-absorbed woman. Maybe she hated being a mother. Maybe motherhood just wasn’t for her. I never really knew if she loved me. My father on the other hand, there was never any doubt.
Nicholas Angelini was tall, dark, and handsome. He ran and lifted weights and was in incredible shape. He had wavy dark brown hair and dark brown eyes. He was a high school history teacher and he also coached the varsity basketball team. All the basketball moms would go gaga when they saw him. I got my hair from him. My eyes from my mother. And while people often complimented me on their sapphire color, when I was younger, I couldn’t stand them, because all I saw was my mother.
I had just turned thirteen a couple of months before. I was in my middle school class play and was very excited that I had a whole three lines to say. As we were leaving in the morning I grabbed my father and reminded him that the play was that evening.
“I wouldn’t miss it for the world Sweet Pea!”
“I had three lines to memorize.”
“Those are the three most important lines in the play!”
“Daddy! You don’t even know what the lines are. How could you say they are the most important?”
“It’s simple. Because the most important girl in the world to me is going to say them.”
I threw my arms around him and gave him a big hug.
“I love you Daddy”. He hugged me tight and kissed the top of my head.
“I love you too, Julia. Now have a good day at school. I will see you tonight.”
Those were the last words we ever spoke to each other. I stood on that stage, my eyes wide trying to find him in the audience. Afterward, the Principal escorted my Aunt Claudia over to me and they brought me to the main office. I listened dully and tried to comprehend the words. “Your Dad was at basketball practice…” “Collapsed…” “Ambulance…” “Hospital…” “Heart Attack…. “In heaven with Grandma and Grandpa”…
I started to raise myself for a while. My mother could barely be bothered with me before and that seemed to only get worse after my Dad died. I guess she saw me as a barrier to her going out and having a life. Thankfully, I had my Aunt Claudia. It was odd timing that she had been up from Virginia when my Dad died. She stayed on for some time after the funeral and while she never said, I knew she was concerned about me. I was also the only immediate family she had left. She had buried both her parents and her younger brother. Let’s just say my aunt and my mother were not fans of each other. I felt a little panicky when it was time for Claudia to go back home. I asked my mother if I could go and live with her. Why would she care? She was hardly ever around and when she was she acted like she could barely tolerate me. My mother refused. I don’t think it was for any other reason except to stick it to my aunt.
It was about eight months later when I started noticing my Mom wearing new jewelry and new clothes. Then there was a new car. A few months after that, she dropped a bombshell.
“Julia! Where are you?”
I jumped. Holy shit, she actually called my name. I walked out of my room, not really sure what I would find out in the living room. She looked annoyed when I saw her. Oh good, she was in her usual mood.
“What’s up?”
“I need you to put on something more appropriate. We are going out to dinner.”
She wouldn’t try to poison me in public, would she?
“Ummm…what would be ‘appropriate’?”
She let out a frustrated huff. “A dress. Something tasteful.”
“Tasteful.”
“Yes, not something provocative.” Was she serious? “Something that you would wear…I don’t know…to church.”
“Buuuutttt….we don’t go to church.”
“Must you always be such a contrary child?”
“I will figure it out. What is the occasion?”
“We are celebrating my engagement.”
“YOUR ENGAGEMENT? I choked on the words.
“Yes, my engagement. Obviously, my fiancé will be there too. He will be bringing his two sons.”
“Wait. Wait. Just wait. I didn’t even know you were dating anyone.”
She looked at me like I had five heads. “Well obviously I have been dating someone, Julia. Otherwise I would not be getting married, would I?”
The M word. Somehow my poor brain could not quite wrap itself around the fact that the M word went along with an engagement.
“Daddy hasn’t even been gone a year yet.” I half whispered, half cried the words.
“What is your point, Julia?”
“Did you even love him? Did you?” Now I was screaming, and tears were flowing down my cheeks.
“I am the adult here. You are never to speak to me like that! Do you understand me? Parker is everything that
your father was not. He is ambitious and extremely wealthy. He lives in a mansion for Christ sake. I would never want for anything. And he is extremely handsome.”
“Daddy was handsome!”
She sighed heavily in exasperation. “Julia, go wash your face and get changed. We need to leave here within the next thirty minutes.”
I briefly wondered how quickly I could Google and master some kind of incantation or maybe construct a voodoo doll.
Chapter Six
Morgan
I remember very clearly the first time I met Jules. I was 16 at the time and Hunter was 17. We knew our father had been dating someone new. Our mother had been gone for three years. She had gone to the doctor complaining of some abdominal pain. The next thing we knew, she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and gone less than four months later. Hunter and I were devastated. Our relationship with our father was tenuous at best, but we loved Sophia Stone with all our hearts.
So yeah, we knew he was dating someone. We knew the drill. The dinners and late nights. The lingering scent of perfume in the house. His closed bedroom door that we never went near because we damn sure did not want to hear what was going on in there.
We were summoned to his home office and instructed to go change into suits. I raised an eyebrow at Hunter. He shrugged letting me know that he was as clueless as I was.
“I assume we are going out, because it doesn’t look like there is an event here.”
“Yes, Hunter, we are going out. We are going to have dinner with my fiancé and her daughter.”
Well this was interesting news. Nothing our father did shocked us anymore, though.
“Shalimar.” Hunter said as he looked over at me.
“Is that what that is?”
“Yep.”
“How do you know?”
“I noticed Mrs. Greene, the history teacher, smelled the same. I asked her.”
“I’m sure the two of you find yourselves very amusing. Put some of that energy into getting ready.”
We were barely to the door when he spoke again. “I am sure I do not have to tell you both to be on your best behavior.”
