“It wasn’t my idea to bring her. Lillian volunteered.”
“Ah. She couldn’t stand to be away from you.”
He laughed. “Not exactly. We’re trying to get to know each other. Clock’s ticking here.”
“Yeah, your invite is on the fridge. Just a few weeks to go, right?”
“Right.”
Pete leaned back in his chair. “Is that good or bad?”
He rolled his eyes. “I’m here to fix your books, not dive into my relationship.”
“The day I married my Judy was the best one of my life,” Pete said, ignoring him. “You should have seen how impatient I was in the weeks leading up to the wedding. I was done with living on my own. I wanted her with me every minute, and waiting for our future to begin drove me crazy.”
“Our situation is different,” he pointed out.
“Bah. You’ve achieved everything you ever wanted. Marriages should be about more than money or gain.”
“You’re wrong. I will achieve everything I’ve ever wanted. Once I marry Lillian.”
“That makes for a cold life, my boy.”
“The world is a different place than it was when you met Judy.”
“That, at least, is true. In my day we weren’t obsessed with taking pictures of our food before we ate it.”
He chuckled, taking a seat beside the only man who’d ever given a damn about him. “I told you, social media is an important marketing tool.”
“We use it.”
“Your last post was of snowy trees. It’s August.”
“We try to use it.”
He shook his head. “You know I’ll cover the salary of a marketer if you want one.”
“We do just fine. Don’t you worry about us. You’ve helped more than enough as it is.”
“At the very least, I could hire you an accountant.”
“And then what would I do with my days?” Pete clapped a hand on Julian’s back. “Sometimes you don’t need more. You can be happy with exactly what you have.”
“I’ll have to take your word for it.”
Pete chuckled. “You’ve never been satisfied with anything in your life. Always wanting something else.”
I don’t want another fiancée.
There was no escaping the truth. When he’d hatched this plan, it didn’t matter who walked down the aisle with him.
But now?
It has to be her.
Logically, another heiress would work for his ambitions, but the thought of approaching one of them left a bad taste in his mouth.
For better or worse, he was in this with Lillian and no other.
It should have felt like a noose tightening around his neck.
So why doesn’t it?
Because somehow, with her quiet words and simple touches, Lillian was changing everything. “You’re thinking too hard again,” Pete said, glancing up from his calculator.
The familiar words brought a smile to his face. “I’ve told you for years, that’s impossible.”
“I know. When you were a teen you used to tell me I was wrong, and you were thinking just enough. Considering where your life ended up, I guess you were right. But while I couldn’t help you with your company, I can help you with this. Don’t over complicate things.”
He patted Pete on the back. “You always have the best advice.”
Too bad it was impossible to take it.
Lillian, and her effect on him, wasn’t a topic he could just forget.
Chapter Eleven
“Honey, go call the boys for dinner.”
Holly glanced up from the salad she’d been preparing. Judy’s kitchen was large and airy, giving it both a homey feel while being functional enough to support a large B&B.
“Are you sure there’s nothing else you need help with?” she asked, wiping off her hands.
“You’ve been an excellent assistant, but I think everything’s ready. Go on with you. Down the hall, third door on your left.”
Dutifully, she set off.
Judy was a warm and jovial woman, and she’d infused every inch of her business with the same comforting atmosphere. Holly was glad she came, and not just because it offered her some insight into Julian’s life.
Reaching the study, she knocked on the old wood door.
Julian answered, smiling at her in a way that made her heart skip a beat.
“Dinner?” he guessed.
“I’ve been sent to summon you.”
“Perfect timing. We’re starved.” He pulled the door wider, and an older man sitting behind a desk came into view. “Pete, soup’s up.”
“Please tell me she made a roast. That woman cooks like a dream,” he said as he came around the desk. When he reached her, he took her hand in his. “You must be Lillian. It’s wonderful to meet you.”
“You, too,” she said with a smile. “And it is a roast, but you didn’t hear it from me.”
Pete laughed and patted her hand. “You’re in for a treat, then.”
Stepping around her, he started down the hall to the kitchen.
She glanced back at Julian to find an uncharacteristically soft smile on his face.
“What?” she asked.
“Nothing,” he replied before pulling her closer.
She should move away, but when he leaned down to kiss her, there was nothing she could do but let her eyes flutter shut.
The kiss was gentle, more of a hello than anything else, and still it made her breath catch in her throat.
“How was hanging out with Judy?” he asked as he drew back.
“I like her,” she replied.
A smile curved his lips. “Good.”
“And she really likes you.”
His smile widened. “I think she vowed when I was a kid that she’d wear me down if it was the last thing she did. I gave up resisting a long time ago.”
“She’s proud of you.”
He ran a hand through his hair. “Yeah.”
She blinked twice at the red tinging his cheeks. “You’re embarrassed,” she exclaimed.
He shot her a glare. “You not the only one allowed to feel the emotion.”
“Aw, is the big bad CEO nervous about what I’ll hear tonight?”
“Judy doesn’t do subtle well.”
A lightness filled her. “Now I’m curious. Did you sleep with a night light till your adult years? Have a worn teddy bear hiding somewhere in your closet? No, don’t tell me. You had an imaginary friend, didn’t you?”
Something flashed through his eyes before he stepped forward.
Her humor disappeared as he pushed her across the small hall and crowded her up against the wall, one leg shifting between hers.
“Go on, sweetheart. I can tease, too.”
She swallowed, trying not to be as affected by his nearness as she was.
In her best Lillian voice, she declared, “You don’t intimidate me.”
A wicked glint entered his eye. “No?”
Bending down, he ran his lips along the side of her neck, breathing her in. Teeth scraped lightly against her earlobe as she shivered at the touch.
“I’m glad to hear it,” he whispered in her ear as his thumbs slid under her shirt to glide along her sensitive skin.
Her bravado melted away as she gripped his arms, waiting to see what he’d do next as he drew back enough to meet her wide eyes. A flash of a grin was her only warning before his lips claimed hers. Need raced through her at the searing intensity of his touch. This was nothing like the light hello kiss.
No, that had been a greeting. There was nothing polite or staid about this embrace. Julian was trying to make a point, and boy, had she heard it. If she was going to play with him, she ran the risk of getting burned.
Problem was, his particular brand of heat felt so damn good.
Lillian would push him away with a single finger.
She, on the other hand, melted into a puddle the second he put his hands on her.
The world around them drif
ted away as she pulled him closer. Tilting her head to the side, she deepened the kiss in a way she would never have dreamed of doing when they first met. Back when he’d been an enemy to fight against.
Now she had a hard time remembering where the line should be. Whenever Julian stepped into a room, all she wanted to do was walk into his arms and do exactly this.
Her fingers delved into his hair, brushing through the soft locks that should make him look far more girly than they did. No, with those piercing eyes of his, no one would mistake him for feminine. Certainly not with his ability to turn women’s worlds upside down with a kiss.
And that ability was for her alone.
The knowledge curled her toes.
He’s mine for at least these few moments.
A pointed cough tore through the desire flooding her body, and she froze in his arms. Together they turned to see Judy standing at the head of the hall, arms crossed and toe tapping.
“You’ve got the rest of your lives for that,” she said. “The food’s hot now. Come along so we can eat.”
“Do we have to?” Julian asked.
“Yes, we do,” Holly said, batting at the hands that had slid fully under her shirt. “Let go.”
The gaze he pinned her with was sultry. “Don’t wanna.”
“Julian Samuel Worth, get yourself into the kitchen this instant,” Judy said.
“Samuel?” she said with a little laugh.
“Tease me again,” he whispered into her ear before stepping back. “I dare you.”
She straightened her shirt before lifting her chin. “Maybe I will.”
Back straight, she marched down the hall toward Judy.
And tried not to think about what would have happened if Julian’s foster mother hadn’t interrupted them.
…
A chuckle threatened to escape him as his fiancée strode away, her back ram-rod straight.
Over her shoulder, Judy shot him a pointed glare, but he just shrugged. Lillian might not use them often, but the kitten had claws when she needed them. He had no doubt she’d put him in his place if he did anything she didn’t enjoy.
Which meant she’d been enjoying herself a hell of a lot.
He loved the way she molded to him, pulling him closer as if she never wanted to give him up.
The sexual side of their bargain hadn’t been something he’d considered much. Back when he’d assumed they’d live separate lives, it had been easy to picture his life going on as it always had. Temporary relationships between willing partners. A life with women who didn’t care how his day had been so long as he gave them an entertaining night. It was an easy way to live. No attachments. No entanglements.
But that wouldn’t work with Lillian. The idea of turning up at another woman’s door left him cold. And the thought of anyone else touching Lillian…
I’d rip them apart.
He stared at Lillian as she rounded the corner to the kitchen. Why would he want anyone else when Lillian set his blood on fire with those cursedly guileless smiles of hers?
She’s the one I need.
And there he was, a man who never wanted commitment or a partner, waxing poetically about a woman.
Urgh, I’ll never live this down if Jason and Ryan find out.
Whether he wanted it or not, Lillian was changing something in him. It was unsettling. Uncomfortable. And yet, undeniable.
Who are you, Lillian Abbott, and what are you doing to me?
Judy was right about one thing, at least. He had a lifetime to answer those questions.
Shaking his head, he jogged down the hall to catch up.
Only to pause when he entered the kitchen. Pete was setting the last plate while Judy scooped potatoes onto a serving dish that Lillian raced to the table. It was all perfectly domestic. I could have this.
He’d spent so many years being unwanted, thinking a family was a weakness because he’d never needed one to get where he was.
But Judy and Pete had made it clear they’d claim him no matter what. And now there was Lillian.
A socialite beauty who laughed at Judy’s bad jokes as she transported a homemade roast to the table.
Something buried deeper than he wanted to think about relaxed within him. Outside these walls, the world might be his to conquer, but the scene before him was filled with everything he’d tried his best not to want.
Everyone needs their people.
He’d always thought the rule didn’t apply to him.
Look at that. Maybe I’m growing up.
And there was only one person to thank for that.
Lillian Abbott.
The woman who would become the rest of his life.
Chapter Twelve
“What can I do to help?” Julian asked as he entered the kitchen.
She glanced at the table. “I think we’re in good shape.”
“Just sit down and make yourself comfortable,” Pete said, putting a pair of salt and pepper shakers on the table.
“And tell me red or white,” Judy chimed in.
“Red,” Julian said, taking a chair at the table.
She slid into the one beside him. “I picked it out earlier. It’s a pinot noir.”
His smile was for her alone as he leaned closer. “Mm,” he said as his gaze dropped to her mouth. “My favorite.”
“Be good,” she hissed.
“Trust me, I’m excellent.”
Her cheeks heated in an instant. “Not what I meant.”
His grin was unrepentant as he straightened. “You’ll just have to find out for yourself.”
As if I’m thinking about anything else.
Not after that kiss in the hallway.
Charlotte’s suggestion whispered through her mind again. What if she just tried to be herself and build something real with him?
Would he walk away from me if he learned the company wasn’t as strong as it should be? Will he leave me if I’m not the heiress he believes?
They were questions she had no way of answering.
“Bon appetite,” Judy declared, bringing over the potatoes. “Dig in.”
The plates rotated between the four of them. Julian heaped so much food on his plate she had to shake her head. Looked like he had a thing for home cooking.
“So I’ve been trying to think of the perfect wedding present,” Judy said. “Anything in particular you want?”
Holly shook her head. “Having the two of you at the wedding is more than enough.”
“Blah,” Judy said. “I got a cake stand on my wedding day that I still use with guests. We’ll think of something good.”
She glanced at Julian for help, and he nodded. “Lillian’s right. Coming is enough.”
“As if we’d miss it, my boy,” Pete said.
“Yes, you wouldn’t believe the number of weddings we’ve been to in the last few years,” Judy said. “So many of our kids have hit the age of tying the knot.”
“It must have been an incredible experience fostering children,” she said as she cut into her roast.
“You wouldn’t believe it,” Judy said. “There were times Pete and I wondered what we were doing. What did we know about raising kids?”
“But you did it well,” Julian cut in.
Judy smiled his way. “Too often people are in it to try and make a buck. We know the foster system isn’t perfect. But we wanted the kids who landed with us to be treated right.”
“And they were,” Holly guessed.
Pete gave his wife an adoring look.
“Every child is wanted,” he said, clearly repeating an adage Judy had instilled in him.
“Every single one,” she agreed, reaching over to pat his hand.
Holly smiled as she cut her food. “You two are amazing people.”
How can strangers be this kind when my own father treats his kids as tools?
“It wasn’t always an easy road,” Pete said.
“No. Particularly not when we got a kid like Julian here.”
>
Julian groaned.
“Now, now, you know you took years off our lives,” Judy said.
“How so?” she asked, leaning forward with bright eyes.
Pete laughed. “When he was placed with us, the first thing he said was that he’d be gone soon, so we didn’t need to bother learning his name.”
She glanced at her partner. “Seriously?”
“I wasn’t an easy kid.”
“We hadn’t even hit two months before he tried to run away,” Judy added.
“Where did you go?” she asked.
“Bus station,” he replied. “But I didn’t have the fare to go anywhere. Pete found me huddled outside the building, trying to decide on my next move.”
“That time,” Pete chimed in. “Then it was the back of the school, the library parking lot, the train station, and once a neighbor kid’s tree house.”
“I wasn’t running away that time,” he protested. “I was thinking things through.”
“Point was, I wanted to ankle chip the boy,” Judy said. “Flighty as a sparrow, that one.”
“I don’t know. He’s been pretty constant since I’ve known him.”
Julian grinned at the unexpected assistance.
“I grew up,” he assured her.
“Slowly,” Judy added.
“We had a lot of kids rotate through our home,” Pete said. “Many of them still stay in touch and keep us updated. We tried to help where we could. But Julian was different.”
“He was ours,” Judy said, turning loving eyes on Julian. “From the moment he rebuffed us.”
Her heart tugged at the unconditional love she read in Judy’s expression. She’d never had that except with her sister. And Julian, a man without a family, had found it without trying.
Does he realize what a gift it is?
One she’d give anything to receive.
She may have the blood he wanted, but he had the family she’d always craved.
…
Julian groaned as Judy talked about his past.
He remembered the night at the bus stop. Yet another set of foster parents had been paraded in front of him, and this time he knew the score. No matter how nice a couple looked, it was always the same. People with easy anger or easy fists. There was a reason he’d become known as an escape artist. He wasn’t one to stick around if he had better opportunities elsewhere. And he had opportunities. They were all waiting in his head. Ideas he knew would matter. But he needed the education to cultivate them and the mentorships to take those daydreams into business ventures. Back in the early days, he’d had none of that.
Betraying the Billionaire Page 9
