Her stomach twisted at the sound of his voice. “Max. It’s Julia.”
He paused for a second, then said, “What do you want?”
“A million things,” she murmured. “But I wanted to tell you I just found out the truth. I know what you did.”
He snorted. “Not too vague. Still a drama queen, nothing’s changed. What the hell are you babbling about?”
“Liam told me everything,” she said in a low voice, meant to cut like a blade.
Max was quiet for a long beat, then said, “You talking to that junkie again? After all these years? How wonderful. Was it a happy reunion?”
“There was no reunion,” she ground out. She could feel her blood pounding at her temples. “He came to see me. To tell me what you did, because he’s felt so guilty all this time for his part in it that he felt he had to. He told me how you set me up.”
“You’re talking nonsense,” Max scoffed, but his voice wavered the tiniest bit.
“How you set me up,” she repeated, with force this time. She felt her fire ignite and flame in her chest, and used that anger to spur her on. “How you paid him to work his way into my life so you could use him against me. How you paid for his drugs to keep him in line when he threatened to back out and tell me what you were up to. How you knowingly got him high and told him to come to my home that way so he could horrify our son. Our sweet, innocent, six-year-old son! He told me everything, Max, you filthy sociopathic bastard.”
Silence floated over the line for a few seconds. Then, in a voice like the devil himself, Max snarled, “Prove it, you pathetic bitch.”
“I will,” she snapped back. “Believe me, I will. And then I’ll find a way to get to Colin and expose you for the disgusting excuse for a human being that you are. He needs to know the truth. All of the truth, not just your twisted version of it. He needs to know just how deranged his father was, and apparently, still is.”
“You stay away from him,” Max warned. His voice was filled with fury now. He was done pretending. “You don’t contact him, or I’ll—”
“You’ll what?” Julia laughed, a hollow, derisive sound. “You’ve already done the worst thing to me you could do. You took our son away from me, and kept him away from me, all these years.” She knew she was almost shouting now, but she couldn’t control herself. “I’ll never get those years back! I have a son who doesn’t know me. I have a son who I’ve always loved, and I might as well be dead to him, thanks to you and your manipulations. So don’t you threaten me, Max. You don’t scare me anymore.” She forced herself to lock down her voice, sound more controlled. “If anyone should be scared now, it should be you. I’m not some powerless, naïve young girl anymore. I’m strong as can be, thanks to the hell you put me through. And now, one way or another, I’m going to make you pay for what you did.”
“You listen to me, you goddamn slut,” Max snarled ferociously. “You stay away from Colin, and you stay away from me. Liam’s nothing but a lying junkie, and you’re nothing but a tramp who lures men while you sing for your supper, one step shy of working the pole. I’m a pillar of the community. You’re a trashy lounge act. No one will believe you. So if you try to stir this up—”
“Oh, I’ll be more than stirring this up, Max. And people will believe me. Which is probably why you suddenly sound so . . . desperate.” Julia tried to sound snide and calm, but her heart pounded wildly in her chest. “Consider this your only warning. When I bring this out, and prove what a disgusting, manipulative person you are to Colin—and the world—you’ll be sorry you ever met me.” She disconnected the call and stood there for a long moment, trying to catch her breath. Her words came back to her . . . and she laughed.
She had finally told him off. Her heart raced, her breathing came in short bursts, but . . . God, confronting that bastard had felt amazing! Empowering. She felt strong, like the woman she was now. The woman she’d worked so hard to become after all that misery. That woman was back on her feet.
Feeling energized, she went to take a shower and prepare for her trek into the city. She had a show to do that night, dammit.
As for Dane . . . she’d deal with Dane when she saw him. If he even wanted to see her at this point. After how she’d rebuffed him last night, she wouldn’t blame him if he never wanted to talk to her again, much less them keep seeing each other. Maybe that would be for the best . . .
Her heart hissed at her. No it wouldn’t, idiot. You love him.
She sighed as she stepped into the shower. She had no idea what he wanted now. Maybe she’d finally pushed him away hard enough that he’d stay away this time. The thought made her throat constrict and her chest tighten.
“Thanks for dinner,” Tess said, smiling at her brother. “This was nice.”
“My pleasure.” Dane put a credit card inside the leather billfold and handed it to the waiter, who thanked him and walked away.
As soon as he did, Tess said flatly, “You’re not yourself tonight.” She stared across the table at him, scrutinizing without mercy. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” Dane shrugged. Of course, he knew Tess knew. He’d been in a pissy mood all day. But he didn’t want to get into why. Didn’t want to talk about what had happened with Julia the night before. Or the fact that she’d been a total wreck, or the fact that he’d called her twice today and texted her and she hadn’t returned any of his messages, or the fact that he couldn’t stop thinking about her and it was making him crazy.
“I’m okay,” he said.
Tess snorted. “No, you’re not. All through dinner, I kept hoping you’d volunteer something, but you haven’t. Talk to me.”
He sighed and said, “I really don’t want to talk about it, Tess. Please.”
She narrowed her eyes at him, then switched gears. “Dinner was lovely. I’m glad you could meet me out. Now, let’s go back to your hotel. I want to have a few drinks and see Julia’s show tonight.”
At the mention of Julia’s name, he actually flinched. He tried to cover it by rising to his feet, but his sister knew him too well.
Standing along with him, Tess pounced. “You think I didn’t see that?” She leaned in and lowered her voice. “Talk to me, for Pete’s sake. Did you two have a fight or something? You’re obviously miserable, and it’s obviously about her.”
“Don’t want to talk about it,” he repeated. “Let it go, Tess. You want to see her sing, let’s go. She goes on in less than an hour.”
Tess sighed, but fixed him with a hard gaze and linked her arm through his. “Yes, I do. We’re going to hear her sing, I’m going to buy you drinks, and I’m going to pry it out of you. Whatever it is.”
“You can try,” Dane smirked. “I’ll take the drinks, though. Definitely that.”
Forty-five minutes later, they were seated at a small table angled off the stage. The bar and lounge were packed with people happy to be out on a late August Friday night. Bouncy swing music played from the speakers in the bar, mingling with the sounds of talk and laughter. Dane and Tess soaked up the atmosphere, comfortable enough with each other not to have to make small talk, which he was grateful for. Even when their drinks arrived, which was his third of the night, he couldn’t shake the tension that had gripped his insides since Julia had shaken off his hand the night before.
When the lounge’s lights dimmed, an anticipatory hush fell over the small crowd. In the bar, the music switched off, leaving only the rumble of human sound, audible but not intrusive. Kelvin and Julia emerged from backstage to applause, and they both smiled in acknowledgment as they hit their marks.
Kelvin, as usual, wore a black suit and straight black tie over a crisp white button down. He preferred to keep it simple and wore the same outfit every night. Julia . . . damn, Dane couldn’t take his eyes off her. Smoking hot in a little black dress. Spaghetti straps over her pale exposed shoulders; he wanted to nibble on them. The neckline plunged to display her impressive cleavage, but not in a lewd way, and the fabric hugged her voluptuous cur
ves until it stopped just below the knee. Sexy as hell, but with class. And just a bit of an edge . . . like captured fire. That was his woman.
His woman. He’d thought that as naturally as anything. She’d probably swear at him if she knew he thought of her that way. He studied her features, wondering how she was really doing. She seemed fine. No hint of her being a total wreck the night before. But she was a consummate professional, always; he admired and respected that.
“Thank you so much for coming out tonight,” Julia said with a warm smile as her eyes skimmed over the audience. When she saw Dane, her face froze for a millisecond. He didn’t know what to make of that. He looked right back at her, schooling his features into neutrality. Little shouts bounced around in his head. Are you all right? What did you do all day? Why wouldn’t you pick up the damn phone? You look gorgeous. I want to devour you. I’ve been worried about you. I want to strangle you for your stubbornness. I love you. Please don’t shut me out.
He wasn’t even aware that Kelvin had started playing, but suddenly Julia was singing, and her gaze locked with his as the words flowed from her mouth.
“I need to go now, and you need to let me . . . I think it’s time to go, my baby . . .”
Dane sat transfixed. The spotlight caught in her hair, bringing out glimmers of copper and gold in that fiery mane. Her voice was hypnotic, beautiful . . . and she was all but serenading him, hurling those lyrics his way as her soulful eyes pinned him. His breath came slowly; it was like the air had changed or time had slowed. All he could see was her, and all he wanted to do was hold her close.
But as he listened to the lyrics, filled with yearning and regret about how some things just can’t be, his jaw and gut tightened. If the song was any indication, if it was aimed purposely at him . . . wasn’t it?
As the song ended and the audience applauded, Julia’s eyes held his for a meaningful beat, then slipped from his, back out to the crowd. He grabbed his drink and gulped back a hard swallow.
Tess put her hand on his arm. He turned his head to face her. His sister’s big blue eyes were filled with sympathy.
“Don’t look at me like that,” he warned.
“She loves you,” Tess said softly. “It’s written all over her.”
“Really? Because what I just saw was her singing me good-bye,” he bit out.
Tess pressed her lips together, then sighed. “I don’t care what she sang. I saw the way she looked at you. That is a woman in love if I ever saw one.”
Dane’s heart skipped a beat. It startled him, how much he wanted to believe his sister. She was rarely wrong when it came to reading him, but she didn’t know Julia. “I don’t think so,” he grumbled.
Tess leaned in and whispered into his ear, “That’s because you’re so in love with her you can’t see clearly. You can always read women! No one knows how to read women like you do. But you can’t read her? There’s a very good reason for that. No objectivity. You’re emotionally invested, and that clouds what you see.”
He scowled and pulled back, shaking his head.
“I’m not wrong,” Tess said, and sipped her ice water with a bit of a smirk.
Dane felt . . . off-kilter. He wasn’t easily thrown, rarely got confused like this—about anything. But least of all over a woman. He didn’t like it one bit. He knocked back the rest of his scotch in two gulps, then raised his hand to catch a waitress’s eye.
Julia sank back against the cushions of the sofa, exhaling deeply as she kicked off her shoes. When she’d first spotted Dane in the audience with his sister, her heart had stopped for a second. He was there. He wasn’t just going away quietly, that’s what his being there was messaging to her. But she looked at him, so handsome, so sure . . . and at his sister, so regal she almost seemed like royalty . . . and knew she’d never measure up.
She sighed. They were from different worlds. She’d been right to push him away. Before she loved him even more, before they could really hurt each other . . . oh God, she loved him. She really loved him. Just looking at him made her heart ache and throb and pound.
“Earth to Miss Thang,” Kelvin said.
Julia blinked and looked up. Kelvin was standing over her, holding a large white plate. “Eat, missy.” He set the ceramic platter covered with various kinds of cheese and crackers on the table, then sat beside her. “He came tonight.”
“I saw,” she said, shifting to reach for some food.
“He’s here because he wants to see you,” Kelvin said.
“Thank you, Captain Obvious.”
“You gonna talk to him?”
She felt her face heat and mumbled, “Probably not,” before jamming a round cracker into her mouth.
Kelvin shook his head, making his dreadlocks sway. “You’re being stupid.”
“Thanks.”
“And unfair. And stubborn. And maybe even childish. And definitely selfish.”
Julia glared at him. “Back off, Kel.”
“Hell no.” Kelvin met her eyes and didn’t flinch. “I saw his face last night. He was in pain for your pain. He cares about you. This isn’t just hot fun anymore, for either of you. He cares. You care.”
Her mouth full, she shook her head violently.
“You can deny it all you want, but I know what I saw last night. You needed someone, and he was there. On his own, because he wanted to be.” Kelvin speared her with a look, but softened his voice. “You push him away, you’ll regret it for the rest of your life. Don’t you have enough regrets already, sweetie?”
She wanted to shoot back a wiseass remark, but there was one problem. Kelvin was absolutely right. She grabbed another square cube of cheddar and popped it into her mouth, unable to meet his eyes.
“Okay,” Kelvin sighed. “Tonight’s lecture is over. You’ve been beat up enough this week. So I’m gonna let this go for now. But only for now. I’m onto you, woman.” He made a V with his long fingers and aimed them at his own eyes, then hers. “I’m watching you. Too bad if ya don’t like it.”
At his exaggerated gesture, she couldn’t help it—a giggle slipped out. She shook her head. “You’re an ass.”
“You’re a bigger one.”
“You’re probably right.”
There was a soft knock on the door, and the friends glanced at each other.
“Ms. Shay?” came a female voice. “It’s Tess Harrison. I was wondering if I could talk to you for just a few minutes?”
Julia’s eyes widened as she looked at Kelvin and whispered frantically, “Why does she want to talk to me?”
“Only one way to find out.” He rose from the couch and went to open the door. “Hi. I’m Kelvin Jones.”
“I know.” Tess smiled and held out a hand. “I really enjoyed your playing tonight. What talent! You’re fantastic. It’s such a pleasure to meet you.”
“Why thanks.” He shook her hand and ushered her into the dressing room.
Julia was on her feet, trying to squelch the sudden unease threatening to close her throat. “Hello.”
“Hi. I just wanted to . . . um . . .” Tess swept her long, impressive mane of dark curls back from her shoulders. She was dressed in a deep blue pantsuit and heels, and it hit Julia that she’d never realized how tall Tess was. She was looking up at her, like she had to with Kelvin or Dane. Tess’s legs went up to her neck; with the shoes, she was probably six feet tall. “I know this is your break in between sets, and I don’t want to take up your time. Just a few minutes?”
God, she was so polite, so refined. Julia almost felt like she should curtsy or something. But she nodded and said, “Of course.”
“Why don’t I let you two have some privacy?” Kelvin gave a little nod to Tess. “Lovely meeting you, Ms. Harrison.”
“Please, call me Tess,” she smiled. “Lovely meeting you, too.”
Kelvin closed the door behind him, leaving the two women facing each other in silence. Julia wondered what Tess wanted to say. She had an uneasy feeling it wouldn’t be anything good.
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Chapter Eighteen
“I won’t take up much of your time,” Tess promised. “Can we sit?”
“Of course.” Julia sat on one sofa, smoothing out her dress as Tess sat on the sofa across from her. The coffee table was something of a buffer between them.
Tess launched right in. “If my brother knew I was back here, he’d be really pissed. I told him I was going to the ladies’ room. But I wanted to see you.”
Julia worked to keep her features neutral, though her insides hummed with soft anxiety.
“First of all, I just have to say—you have an incredible voice,” Tess said. “You’re wonderful. Listening to you and watching you sing is such a pleasure.”
“Thank you,” Julia said.
“You own your audience,” Tess continued. “You know how to work a room. Your presence is powerful, electric.” Her bright blue eyes held Julia’s. “But you know that. You’re that good. That’s why Dane hired you. Out of all the singers he saw, the only one he knew who had star quality was you.”
Julia nodded, keeping quiet, waiting to see where Tess was going.
“I know you and he are together.”
Julia simply nodded again. He’d told her.
“I hope that doesn’t bother you,” Tess added.
“Not at all,” Julia said. “I know you and he are very close. It doesn’t surprise me that he’d confide in you.”
Tess nodded at that and crossed her impossibly long legs. “He’s not just one of my big brothers, he’s one of my best friends. I know him so well. Sometimes, better than he knows himself. For instance . . . I knew he had feelings for you even before he did.”
Julia’s heart skipped a beat.
“He does, you know. I mean, I don’t know how you can’t see it.” Tess’s gaze was both gentle yet unrelenting. “But I know a kindred soul when I see one, so I thought maybe you needed to hear that from an outside party.”
Kindred soul? Julia’s brows puckered. “I’m sorry, you just lost me.”
More Than You Know Page 24
