by DRAYER, GINA
“Out. Now! You need to shower and get dressed,” Megan said and pointed to the clock. “If you don’t move your ass, I’m going to abandon you. My father is due any minute and I want to avoid him as much as possible. Although, seeing us in the kitchen with ‘the staff’ might actually give him a stroke.”
“It’s already four?”
Julia untied the apron and tossed it over one of the stools. She’d have just enough time to shower and get dressed before the first guest arrived. As they walked through the living room to the stairs, Julia took a quick look around. Megan had done a wonderful job planning the event. The catering staff had moved furniture and set up tables. It looked professionally planned.
“He’s not here yet,” Megan said.
“Who?” Julia asked, frowning. She knew exactly who Megan was talking about, but she wasn’t about to give her the satisfaction of letting her know that.
“Don’t worry. After fetching you out of the kitchen, the next thing on my To Do list is to call Simon and bitch him out.”
Julia was about to deny looking for him, but Megan was already halfway down the hall before she came up with an appropriate lie.
Where was he? Last night was the first time they hadn’t chatted in over two weeks. The nightly chats had become part of her routine, and she’d discovered that not only was Simon melt-in-your-mouth hot, he also had a good eye and gave outstanding advice.
That morning, there had been an email, but she couldn’t open it. She didn’t want to hear some weak apology or tired excuse. Julia had had a lifetime of that with Luke. It wasn’t as if he owed her any explanation. And besides, she had plenty of things to keep her busy. But since they hadn’t talked, that nagging voice in the back of her mind got louder, telling her to back away while she still could.
She couldn’t stop comparing him to Luke. Like Luke, Simon was dedicated to his work. They both came from wealthy families and had appearances to keep up. The chats were eerily similar, too. Luke preferred to keep in touch via email and chat while he was away. Despite the fact she and Simon chatted daily, they never spoke on the phone.
Now that she was comparing the two, Julia couldn’t help but wonder if he shared Luke’s disdain for fidelity. After all, Simon had hooked up with her without any problem, and Megan had commented on his playboy lifestyle more than once.
She should be relieved that she’d figured this out before they did anything foolish, like jumping back into bed. But the ache in her gut wouldn’t go away.
She looked down at the dress laid out on the bed. She had known giving Megan free reign in her dress choice would end like this. Megan always hated the conservative clothing that Luke had preferred Julia to wear. She’d tried to talk Julia into a complete wardrobe change those first months, so it wasn’t a surprise that she went to the other extreme just to prove her point.
The dark red truly was perfect for her coloring, but it was outside her comfort zone. Julia wasn’t sure she could wear it. The plunging back and high leg slit were bordering on indecent. It was the kind of dress that screamed sex—contents too hot to handle!——and it wasn’t the message she wanted give off now that things were so uncertain with Simon.
And if the dress wasn’t bad enough, Julia saw the shoes Megan had picked. If she Googled “fuck me pumps,” she was positive there'd be a photo of those. To Meg’s credit, they did match the style of the dress, but they were higher than any shoes Julia had ever worn.
Her worries shifted from the dress being inappropriate to concern about being able to walk down the stairs without breaking her neck. If she could get away with it, Julia would just as soon wear her simple black flats, but even she knew they would look ridiculous with this dress.
Putting her clothing dilemma out of her mind for now, Julia jumped in the shower. Megan had replaced her soap with the orange-scented bar from the market, and her personal shampoo was gone too. First the dress and now the soap? Megan was up to something. At least she hadn’t swiped Julia’s lotion.
Despite rushing, the styling and makeup took another hour, and Julia was late. The party was in full swing by the time she went downstairs. And as she walked in those impossibly high heels, she felt on display like some pageant girl. Ignoring the crowd, Julia focused all her concentration on not tumbling down the stairs. Thank God, Megan was just a few feet from the bottom, in a conversation with her father.
“Megan. Honestly, you could do so much better,” Richard Shelton said in that over-enunciated way that grated on Julia’s nerves. "If you don’t want to finish your PhD, I understand, but if you insist on working, you could at least do something more prestigious than working at art school. I’m sure Simon could find a place for you at his firm. Of course, you could always settle down. Michelle would love it if you had more free time to work on a charitable committee with her.”
“Dad, I told you before I like teaching.” Megan snatched a few lemon tarts off a passing tray and shoved them in her mouth.
“Well, when you’re done sowing oats and whatnot,” Richard said, waving a dismissive hand, “I will be happy to help you find a proper job. That is, if you aren’t married by then.”
Megan pointed a finger at him, on the verge of a verbal counter, when she caught sight of Julia. She let out a sigh of relief and dragged her over. “Father, you remember my friend Julia, don’t you?”
Richard looked her up and down appraisingly. Finding her without flaws, he smiled and held out a hand. “No, I don’t think I’ve had the pleasure."
“I’m Julia Hopkins, Senator Shelton.” Julia took his hand and gave it a polite shake. “I met you last fall.”
She couldn’t figure out why he didn’t remember her. The night they met was certainly memorable to her. After Megan fought with her dad and stormed out of the restaurant, Julia was left alone, and without a ride, with Richard and his wife, Michelle.
“Of course you know her,” Megan said, frowning. “Julia was with us at my birthday dinner. She works with me.”
Richard looked her over again and dropped her hand, bristling in that way only someone who’d found you below their station could.
“Oh, yes. Your art teacher friend.” He scanned the crowd and turned back to Megan, dismissing Julia completely. “I see Michael Higgins over there and I really must say hello. Please think about what I said, dear.” Without even saying goodbye, he crossed the room. “Michael, you scoundrel. How’s your swing?"
“Thank God you came when you did,” Megan said. “I was about ready to throw myself over the deck.”
“I’m always happy to run interference. Besides, I know how much that dress costs. It would be a waste to get blood on it.”
Megan laughed and gave Julia a once-over. “Speaking of dresses, you look smoking hot. I knew the moment I saw it in the window it would be killer on you.” She leaned in close and whispered. “I think that dress is going in my next book. There’s not a man in the room who isn’t checking you out right now.”
Julia took a quick look around and discovered Megan was right. Almost every man, and several of the women, kept glancing her way. She felt exposed and had the sudden urge to hide.
“Don’t worry. I’ll be a good date and beat the lechers off.”
To her word, Megan spent the next half hour doing just that. Julia was the talk of the party and everyone wanted to meet her. The fact that she already knew a fair number of the people from Chicago just pissed her off. She’d been to dozens of social gatherings with Luke, but evidently she’d just been the faceless woman on his arm.
“There’s Matt and Beth. Come over and meet them. You’ll love Matt’s wife.” Megan turned and waved to a group in the corner. “And there’s Peter over there. Maybe I can talk him into leaving. A whole group of us always end the night down at the boathouse to watch the fireworks. I’ve already put in my fifteen minutes, so there’s no need for us to stick around this stupid party.”
Julia glanced over to where Peter stood and her heart stopped. She gripped Megan�
�s arm hard enough to leave a mark and nodded his direction. “What is Luke doing here?”
Megan followed her gaze. Luke was standing in the small group that included Peter. Kitty was hanging on his arm, wearing the floral Lupo dress she’d admired at Cypress. The fact that she looked horrid in it was a small consolation.
“Why is he here?” she repeated, unable to look away.
“Fuck. I’m sorry, babe. I can’t believe I didn’t put two and two together. Star Atlantic is one of Simon’s clients, but I didn’t think Luke would be involved with the marketing. They only had contact with upper-level executives.”
“He got promoted just after Christmas. He’s going to be heading the London offices.”
“You know what?” Megan said, squeezing her arm. “It’s good he's here. Every man in this room would kill to be with you. And you should rub that in his face.”
As if sensing her stare, Luke looked their way and started to walk in their direction.
“I can’t. I need some air.” Julia felt lightheaded and realized she’d been holding her breath.
And as if the situation couldn’t get more awkward, the front door opened and Simon walked in. The sight of him dressed in a dark suit and tie was like a kick to the gut. She couldn’t handle any of this right now. Not Luke, and definitely not Simon.
Julia pulled Megan out of the crowded living room onto the deck. The cool night air felt good against her flaming skin, and she was finally able to catch her breath.
“Sweetie, are you okay?” Megan said. “You’re starting to scare me."
As her head cleared, Julia started forming a plan. This wouldn’t be a problem. She’d already decided to avoid Simon, and she could handle Luke. She’d already talked to him once. Luckily, she had years of experience dealing with awkward social encounters. All she had to do was smile and be polite. There was no need to panic.
“Good evening, Megan,” Luke said, and all thoughts of not panicking flew out the window.
Julia turned to find him standing two feet from them, and cringed. He was impeccably dressed, as always, in a crisp white dress shirt and light blue tie with matching suspenders. Fucking suspenders. They made him look like a pretentious hipster.
Biting back a pithy comment, Julia plastered on her best Stepford smile. “Luke. I didn’t expect to see you here.”
Luke ignored her and turned to Megan. “Would you mind giving Julia and me a moment alone?”
“I don’t think so,” Megan said and hooked an arm around her. “Come on, Julia. I’ll grab Peter and we’ll go down to the boathouse. There’s no reason to stay.”
Julia waved her off. “Why don’t you get Peter and I’ll meet you down there when we’re done?”
Megan eyed Luke suspiciously. “Are you sure? You don’t owe him anything.”
“I’ll be down in a few minutes.”
After she left, Julia walked over to the railing, away from the crowd. “What do you want, Luke?” she asked without looking at him.
“You look stunning tonight.” He reached out to caress her arm and Julia cringed from his touch.
“Don’t.” she said, taking a step back. “Is there something I can do for you or did you just want to compliment my dress?”
“I’ve missed your clever wit.” He laughed softly and took a sip of his wine. After a long moment of uncomfortable silence, he finally said, "I was going to give you until the end of the summer, but seeing you tonight just reminded me how much I’ve truly missed you.”
“The end of the summer for what exactly?”
“Before we fixed things between us,” Luke said as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. “I know I messed up, and that's the main reason I’ve given you space. But it would be ridiculous to toss away three years over a silly mistake. We had a plan.”
“No, Luke. You had a plan. And it wasn’t a silly mistake. You had an affair. I was there for you and instead of coming home to your very horny fiancé, you decided to fuck your assistant on the conference room table.”
Julia’s volume had risen past polite conversation levels and several people had turned to stare. Usually she hated public displays, but once the words started, she couldn’t turn them off.
She took a step closer, pointing a finger in that perfectly starched white shirt. “Furthermore, you’re here with someone else and by the looks of it you’ve been screwing her, too. I can only imagine that your assistant wasn’t the only one. Did you have someone in London too? Was that why you never wanted me to call you?” Quickly, she held up a hand to stop him from answering. “You know what? I don’t want to know. There’s nothing for us to fix, Luke. It’s over.”
He let out a deep sigh and shook his head, as though disappointed in a young child. “There’s no need to make a scene. Kitty means nothing to me. I needed an escort to the party and since you’ve been away—”
“Left you,” she interrupted.
“Since you’ve been gone, Kitty has been nice enough to accompany me to functions.”
“I’m sure she has,” Julia said, unable to keep the biting tone out of her voice.
“If it’s about the other women, you’re right. I was foolish not to know what I had waiting for me at home.” He gaze eased down her length, appraisingly. “I knew time away would be good for us. Christ, Julia. You were as exciting as a damp dish towel, but this new confidence you’ve found is sexy.”
Before she knew what he intended, Luke scooped her up in his arms and kissed her hard. It was the type of kiss that would have made her melt against him in the past, but now all she felt was revulsion. She placed her palms squarely on his chest and shoved. He stumbled back and frowned.
“Don’t you ever lay a hand on me again. We’re over.” She turned to leave, but she wasn’t quick enough.
“Don’t be so hasty,” he said and grabbed her arm, twirling her back around to face him. “I still want you, Julia, and I know you can’t make it without me. That joke of a job might be able to support you, but what happens to your mother when she runs through what’s left of your father’s money? At the level of care she needs, the money will be gone in no time. And then no more private nursing.”
It wasn’t true. She’d never taken a dime of her father’s money, for just that reason. But Luke’s taunting brought up her biggest fear. She pushed out of his arms, stumbling back straight into Simon’s chest.
“Don’t touch her again,” Simon said. His voice was quiet, but Julia could feel his muscles tense behind her.
“Simon. Nice to see you. Don’t mind us.” Luke smiled and waved a hand dismissively. “Julia’s my fiancé and we’re just having a lovers’ spat. Nothing to worry about.”
Simon slipped an arm around her waist. The gesture was protective and claiming at the same time, and Julia leaned into him, finding his support comforting.
“No, Luke. I think you’re done here,” Simon said.
Luke looked down to his arm and back up to Julia’s face. “I see now. You’ve traded me in for a better model. A senator's son. Well done, Julia." He stepped around them to leave, but not before putting in one last jab. “You know, Simon, after the newness wears off, you’ll find she’s a terrible lay. Call me. I can recommend a good assistant to help you out.”
Shame, embarrassment, and horror all converged on Julia at one time. Hot tears stung the corner of her eyes, and without thought, she smacked him across the face. She was about to do it again when Simon pulled her back.
“Get the fuck out of my house, Luke. You’re not welcome here anymore.”
Chapter Fourteen
Modern Girl Tip #19: Guilt Is A Waste of Energy—Feeling bad about your one-night stand is pointless. If you used protection, played it safe, and found the sex enjoyable, you have nothing to regret.
Simon grabbed Julia’s hand and led her around to the side of the house before she could protest. He knew if they had stayed there one more second, he would have beat the shit out of that prick.
Behind them,
he could hear Luke saying something about never doing business with his firm again, as if he had that kind of authority. And even if he did, Simon still would have kicked him out. No one had the right to treat a woman that way, and the fact Luke had been doing it to Julia made him see red.
The deck wound around the side of the house and came out to a paved path that went the from the gardens to the boathouse. They were halfway to the boathouse when Julia stumbled on her stilt-like heels. Simon stopped his relentless escape and scowled down at her feet. “How the hell can you even walk in those things?”
“I can’t, really,” she said and started to snicker, then laugh uncontrollably. She kicked off the offending heels. “Those are the most impractical shoes I’ve ever seen. I don’t know what Megan was thinking. If I didn’t trust her, I’d think she was trying to kill me.”
He’d planned to take things slow and see if their online friendship and the animal attraction they’d shared could find a balance. But when she looked up at him through her thick lashes with humor coloring her features, it was all Simon could do not to push her up against one of the trees and devour her.
“I’m so sorry about that back there,” she said. “Luke was being an asshole. I’ll call him next week and try to talk him down. I don’t want you to lose a client over a misunderstanding.”
Simon wasn’t worried about losing Star Atlantic. The marketing team had already approved the package they’d put together and most of the ads were already in place. There was no way they’d change direction this late in the game.
“That was no misunderstanding. He was out of line. Please, don’t call. He doesn’t deserve a second of your time. Besides, I'm the one who should be apologizing,” he said as they continued down the path. “If I’d known Luke Davis was your ex I would have made sure he wasn’t on the invite list. I vaguely remember you saying he was an executive with an airline. I should have asked. But I have to be honest, I’m having a hard time imagining you two together.”
