by Joan Hohl
Who cares? Julia surprised herself with the immediacy of the thought. “I doubt it, he’s been carrying a heavy schedule for some time now,” she said, almost afraid to think he might be glad for the time alone. If he’d even be alone.
She mentally shook off the destructive thought, catching enough of what Krissy was saying to understand.
“…and I haven’t called Laura yet. But it would be great if the three of us could hang out at the shore together again. It’s been sooo long. God, we were just kids the last time we were together like that.”
“Yeah.” Julia smiled softly at the rush of memories. “When are you going to call Laura?”
“As soon as we’re finished talking.”
“Then goodbye, Krissy,” Julia laughed. “Let me know at once if Laura can go. Okay?”
“I will. Bye.”
Julia was still smiling when the phone rang again only a couple of minutes later.
“Hi, again,” Krissy said, sounding a lot brighter than she had earlier. “Laura would love to go with us. She’s calling her parents now to ask if they’ll keep the kids for the week, but she’s almost sure they will. She sounded so excited about going, I never even thought to ask about Drew.”
“This is really terrific, I hope the answer is yes from Laura’s parents.” Julia laughed. “Now I’m getting excited, just like when we made plans to go to the shore to work the summer we graduated.”
“Yes, except this time, we don’t have to work.” Krissy laughed with her. “We can do whatever we want, lie on the beach, eat and drink, stroll the boardwalk, eat and drink, run down to Cape May, eat and drink. I wonder if The Ugly Mug Tavern is still there? We could run up to Atlantic City if we feel lucky—”
“Eat and drink,” Julia cut in, nearly choking from trying to talk and laugh at the same time.
“Yeah.” Krissy was having the same problem. “Oh, Julia, it will be such fun.”
“If Laura can go.”
“Right.” Krissy was quiet a moment. “Do you think, maybe, her parents would be open to a bribe?”
Julia roared with laughter. “Are you kidding? Laura’s parents?”
“Damn, I suppose you’re right.” Krissy giggled, sounding young and lighthearted.
“Oh, I can’t wait. Come on, Laura. Call me.”
“She can’t call if you’re on the phone,” Julia pointed out. “Now, can she?”
“Boy, when you’re right, you’re right. Bye, Julia.”
Julia smiled as she hung up. Her mood had lifted. She felt eager to go to dinner with Jon and, secretly, even more eager to go to the shore with Krissy and Laura. She mentally crossed her fingers that Laura would be able to go.
The bedroom phone rang as Julia was dressing for dinner. Hoping it was Krissy, and not Jon calling to tell her he couldn’t make dinner because he had been called to an emergency, she lifted the receiver with trepidation.
“She can go,” Krissy exclaimed, before Julia could even say hello. “Laura’s parents are delighted, already talking about taking the kids to amusement parks and up to Camel Back in the Poconos for the water park. All except for Drew Jr., who has to work. Apparently, he got a summer job to earn money for college in the fall.”
“That’s wonderful,” Julia said. “I mean about Laura…and Drew Jr., of course. I…”
“Julia?” Jon called up the stairs. “Are you almost ready? We should leave soon. It’s twenty-five of seven.”
“Oh, Krissy, I have to go. Jon’s taking me out to dinner and he’s ready to go. Can I get back to you tomorrow to make some plans?”
“Sure,” Krissy said. “I should get off the phone, too.” She laughed. “Rand’s taking me out to celebrate the wrap-up of my scenes, and he’s beginning to glare at me.”
“I am not, Julia,” Rand shouted. “But I am starving, and all this woman has been doing is talk on the phone.”
“Goodbye, Krissy,” Julia said.
“Bye,” she returned. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow, when Rand’s working…and I’m not. Oh, don’t worry about transportation. I’ll take care of that from here.” She laughed. “Now I really have to run. Rand’s holding open the door. Bye!”
“Julia, didn’t you hear…” Jon was grousing as he entered the room. “Oh, you’re on the phone.”
“Bye, hon,” Julia said, holding up one finger to indicate to Jon she’d be off shortly.
Arching his brows, he mouthed the word hon?
Still smiling at the eagerness in her friend’s voice, Julia replaced the receiver and turned to Jon.
“That was Krissy,” she explained, stepping in front of the full-length mirror to give her appearance a final check.
Narrowing her eyes critically, she took a slow appraisal of herself. Her hair and makeup were perfect. As were the pale yellow sleeveless dress she’d chosen to wear and the strappy high-heeled sandals she’d slipped into.
She’d do, she thought.
“You look lovely. Is that dress new?”
Startled by the compliment, Julia swung around to stare at Jon. Although at one time Jon had been free in his compliments to her, it had been quite a while now since she’d heard one from him.
“Why, thank you,” she said, both pleased and astounded. She had bought the dress during her Philly shopping spree. But she had worn it just a few weeks before at a hospital function they had attended.
Apparently, he hadn’t noticed then. But of course, Brooke had also attended the function.
“Ready?”
The phone rang. “Let me just get that,” Julia said, picking up the receiver. “Hello?”
“Is Jon there, Mrs. Langston?”
Brooke’s soft but firm voice severed whatever pleasure Julia had been feeling. For just an instant she entertained the idea of saying Jon wasn’t home. “Yes, just a moment.” She held out the receiver to her husband. “It’s for you. Your nurse.”
Jon gave her a puzzled look as he took the receiver. “Is there a problem, Brooke?”
Julia had emphasized the word nurse deliberately, knowing the younger woman would be annoyed, considering the remark an insult. After all, Brooke was not merely a nurse but a nurse practitioner.
Big deal. Julia tried to feel ashamed of the belittling thought, but she just couldn’t. The woman was after her husband, for Pete’s sake.
Jon hung up the phone. She had been so into her unkind thoughts, Julia hadn’t heard a word of his part of the exchange. “Trouble?” she asked, fully expecting him to tell her their evening was off and he had to return to the hospital.
Once more, he managed to surprise her. “Nothing that Brooke can’t handle until morning,” he said, taking her arm to lead her to the doorway. “Now, let’s get the hell out of here before that damn phone rings again.”
Julia’s favorite restaurant was a short fifteen-minute drive from their home. A restored eighteenth-century inn tucked away off a black-topped back road, it nevertheless did a booming business. Reservations were always required.
Her meal, the house specialty and Julia’s favorite, was delicious, as usual. Sighing with repletion, she sat back in her chair. “That was wonderful,” she said, raising her wineglass in a silent toast to Jon. Bringing the glass to her lips, she drained the last swallow.
“Yes, it was.” Jon returned the toast with his own glass. “More wine?” he asked, draining his glass.
Julia shook her head. “No.”
“Dessert, then?”
“Oh, no.” She laughed. “I’m stuffed. But I will have coffee.”
“How ’bout a cappuccino chocolat?” he enticed, deliberately tempting her. “With whipped cream and grated dark chocolate on top of it?”
“That’s practically the same as dessert,” she protested.
“Yeah,” he agreed. “But it’s not any more filling than plain old coffee.”
Julia caved, but only because she wanted the drink.
Jon ordered the drink for her and a latte for himself when the waiter approached the t
able.
Moments later he smiled as he watched her savor each careful sip of the hot, whipped-cream-laden beverage. “Good?”
“Heavenly,” Julia said, licking the cream from her upper lip. “How’s your latte?”
“Heavenly,” he echoed, his smile sliding into a devilish grin.
Julia nearly choked on the sip she was just then swallowing.
“Okay?” Jon looked alarmed.
“Yes.” She reached across the table to touch his hand reassuringly. “I’m fine.”
And she was, Julia realized. She was feeling good. It was like old times again with him. Laughing. Teasing. Showing concern for one another. She almost decided not to go to the shore with Krissy and Laura, not even tell Jon about the proposed trip with her friends.
Almost.
But she didn’t. Instead, she decided being apart for a while might be more beneficial…to her. One relaxing dinner really didn’t indicate a huge change in their relationship.
Besides, she was looking forward to a whole week just hanging loose with her dearest friends.
“Er…Krissy’s call today…”
Jon gave her a questioning look. “Yeah, what about it?”
Julia took a quick breath and forged ahead. “She called to invite me to spend some time with her and Laura down the shore.”
“Down the shore, where?”
“Ocean City, New Jersey. She’s rented a place.”
He looked pensive for a moment. “You want to go?”
Julia didn’t hesitate. “Yes, I want to go.”
“When?”
“Week after next.”
“For how long?”
Julia again grabbed a quick breath. “A week.”
“An entire week?” He sounded a bit disturbed.
“Yes.” Julia strove to keep her own voice even, mild. “You have a problem with that?” Raising her eyebrows, and cup at the same time, she finished her drink.
Jon moved his shoulders in a near-shrug. “Well, no, but I mean…a whole week away?”
“Jon.” She tried to appear calm while inside she was growing annoyed. “How many times have you been away from home four, five days at a time attending symposiums and medical conferences?”
“But that’s different,” he said in protest, actually looking shocked. “That’s business.”
Yeah, right, Julia thought, not too kindly. Business with Brooke along for non-business hours.
“Nevertheless,” she said, holding on to her temper. “Since the Ems will still be with Mom and Dad, and I’ll be rattling around the house for the most part on my own, I already told Krissy I’d go.”
“Well, thanks for telling me.” He sounded more than a little pissed.
Too bad.
Wiping her mouth with her napkin, Julia placed the cloth back on the table. “Are you ready to leave?”
Jon tossed back the last of his latte, then wiped his mouth with his napkin. “Yeah, I am now.”
They drove home in silence.
They entered the house in silence.
Giving a mental shrug, Julia headed for the stairs. “I’m going up. Good night.” She started up the stairs, Jon right behind her.
“So am I.”
Scintillating conversation, Julia thought, entering the bedroom and dropping her evening bag on the dressing table.
“I’m going to grab a quick shower,” Jon said, disappearing into their bathroom.
Alert the media. Julia shook her head at herself for her inner sarcasm. At one time, she would have never dreamed she would ever harbor such negative feelings for Jon.
Of course, she reminded herself, that one time was several years ago.
Using the other upstairs bathroom, Julia cleaned her face and teeth. Back in their bedroom, the sound of the shower still running, she changed into a nightgown, hung up her clothes and slipped into bed, hoping to fall asleep before Jon emerged from the bathroom.
She was no sooner under the covers when he crawled in next to her in the queen-size bed. She never expected him to move closer, slide his arm around her waist. But that was exactly what he did. She froze.
“Julia?” His voice was soft. His hand was warm. “Are you angry because I made a big deal about you going away?”
“No.” Julia sighed. “Disappointed, I guess.”
“You expected me to be happy about you going away with your friends for a week?” Jon’s voice was still soft, but it had a slightly rough edge.
“No,” she repeated, her breath catching as he slid his hand up to her rib cage. “But I did expect you to understand.”
“Understand what?” His hand moved higher, covering her breast.
Startled by his action, and at herself because it felt so good, Julia stifled a gasp. “What are you doing?”
“You have to ask?” Now amusement laced his voice. His finger stroked the tip of her breast. “What is it you thought I’d understand?”
What? Oh, that. The shore. Intent on the sensations radiating throughout her body, Julia had lost the thread of the conversation.
“I…er, thought you’d understand my wanting to go. You’re away most of the day and…” She shivered as his hand moved down her torso to her belly. “And you work late most evenings.” She drew a quick breath when his hand stroked over her hip to her thigh. “The house seems empty already and the girls only left this morning.” Oh, oh, now his lips were at her ear, his teeth nipping the lobe. “I can’t play tennis twelve hours a day and…Jon,” she cried when he cupped her with his palm.
“It’s been a while, Julia,” he murmured, moving to nearly cover her with his body. He kissed his way to her mouth, his body pressing against hers. His body was warm with arousal, his erection hot against her belly.
“I…I…know…” Her words were muffled by his mouth covering hers.
“I need you tonight.” His voice was raw, made raggedy by passion.
Tonight. Julia shut her eyes. Tight. He needed her tonight. Well, then, if that was how it was, she thought, that’s how it would be, as her restless body was telling her she needed him tonight, too.
Murmuring, “Yes,” she parted her legs for him.
It was almost as good as it ever had been.
Almost.
If Jon’s reaction to his climax was any indication, it was very good for him. He was sound asleep within minutes of collapsing onto the mattress beside her.
After dragging herself into the bathroom to rinse off under a pounding shower spray, Julia shrugged into a clean nightgown and slid back into bed.
There had been a time when, after making love, Jon would cradle her in his arms. He’d whisper his love for her, how good they were together, in bed and out.
That was then. This was now—and had been for some time. Without a word, whispered or shouted, he stretched out on the bed in satisfied relaxation and dropped deep into sleep like a heavy cruise ship anchor.
Julia turned onto her side, away from him. And tried to ignore the tears trickling down her face over her temple…to wet the pillow.
CHAPTER 13
Drew was not at all happy about Laura going away for a week with Krissy and Julia, even if Krissy was footing the bill for the apartment. He made his feelings perfectly clear. In fact, he had the gall to tell her she couldn’t go.
Laura laughed in his face, surprising herself as well as her husband.
“Who do you think you’re talking to?” she said, getting angry at his stern, stubborn expression. “You have no right to tell me what I can and can’t do. I’m not a child, Drew.”
“I know that,” he shot back at her, every bit as angrily. “But I am your husband, and I do have some rights.”
Husbandly rights, was it? The lousy cheat. Laura didn’t hesitate to strike back at him. “Yes. You have the right to remain silent,” she began, reciting the Miranda Rights. “You have the right…”
“Very funny,” he shouted her down. “What about the kids? Are you taking them with you?”
; “Are you out of your mind?” she shot back. He knew damn well she wasn’t taking the kids. She had told him that first thing. “I said they’re going to stay with my mom and dad. All except Drew, he’s staying here, closer to his job.”
“So he’ll be on his own?”
“Oh, give it a rest, Drew. Our son is nineteen years old,” she reminded him. “He is six feet three inches tall and weighs all but two hundred pounds. He can take care of himself. In fact, he’d be insulted if we didn’t agree.”
“But…”
That’s all the further she let him get. “Besides,” she said, nicely. Way too nicely, to anyone paying attention. “You’ll be here with him in the evenings. Won’t you?”
He looked about to explode.
Laura defused him before he could sputter his anger all over her. “Think of it this way, Drew.” She smiled serenely. “You and your son can bond. You can explain the facts of life to him. You know, those naughty birds and bees.”
His face flushed. “We have bonded, and he knows all the facts about sex.”
“That’s correct,” she retorted. “He knows, because I had that discussion with him.” Her voice took on a cutting edge. “I believe you were working late in the office that evening. Oh, I seem to recall it was until 2:00 a.m. or so.”
Aha! Stumped him.
Drew’s mouth worked, but nothing came out for a second. When he finally got it working again, all he could manage was a frustrated growl. “Then go. Do what the hell you want.”
“I planned to all along.”
Heading for the door, he snapped, “Who cares. I’m going out for a while.”
“Who cares,” she yelled an instant before the door slammed shut behind him.
Her breathing heavy, Laura stood stock-still, shocked at her temerity. Perhaps she should be feeling awful and ashamed of herself for shouting at her husband the way she had. But she didn’t.
Laura felt as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. Her breathing slowed to a regular pattern. She was thrilled at having expressed herself in such no-nonsense terms.
Always before, she had backed down from an argument with Drew—and everybody else. She had always tried to keep the peace. She had that type of personality.
