Chapter Fifteen
Julia stepped out of the apartment building one morning and watched a long black stretch limo pull up beside her. Maddy again?
The back window rolled down and an older woman with dark brown hair done up in a sophisticated chignon waved for Julia to approach the limo. Everything about her said refined sophistication. Julia looked over her shoulder and then pointed at her own chest in question.
The beautiful older woman nodded impatiently, and Julia walked over. Maybe she’s lost and needs directions to some charity event?
“Julia Bennett?”
“Yes?” Julia answered in confusion. “Do I know you?”
“No, but I know you, and we need to talk.” The driver came around and opened the limo door for Julia to enter.
Julia looked back and forth from the Cogent Solutions building ahead to the dark interior of the vehicle. “I have an appointment I need to get to this morning. I can’t be late.”
The woman leaned out and gave a small smile. “This will only take a few minutes and could be quite a lucrative opportunity for you.”
“You’re interested in my jewelry?”
“I don’t discuss business in the street,” she said coldly and sat back in the limo.
They say opportunity knocks. No one ever mentioned that it could pull up beside you in a limo. Am I crazy to think about getting in? My life is already so off course.
On the other hand, if I don’t get in, I will never know what she might have offered me. For all I know, she is an eccentric gem collector and wants me to create the perfect pieces to showcase her stones.
Or she’s a high-paid madam, and this is how she recruits.
Julia remembered the harsh lines on the older woman’s face and thought, No, she looks way too uptight to have had sex in the last decade.
What kind of a businesswoman am I if I won’t even listen to a proposal?
Julia slid into the limo and tried not to jump when the driver closed the door behind her. Her hands went suddenly cold when the vehicle pulled out into traffic. “Where are we going?”
The woman’s smile didn’t reach her eyes. “We’ll merely circle the block.”
Of course. How silly of me to worry.
I really have to stop getting into limos with people I don’t know.
“I’ve done research on you since I first heard about you. Have you sold any of your jewelry yet? Made any noteworthy connections?”
“I have some leads,” Julia said vaguely. Don’t show your hand in negotiations. She must have heard about me from one of the entrepreneurs I showed my line to. A burst of excitement started to build in her stomach. Persistence does pay off. My name is out there. This could be it.
“You must be getting anxious about your father’s company. Your time is running out to save it, isn’t it?”
The hair on the back of Julia’s neck rose. I never mention that while I pitch. “I’m sorry, what did you say your name was again?”
“I didn’t,” the woman said, flashing another smile that did little to calm Julia’s nerves. “Who I am is irrelevant.” She took out an envelope and tossed it onto Julia’s lap. “What matters is that I am willing to pay you to go home to your family.”
Julia opened the thick envelope and looked back at the woman in confusion.
“It’s one hundred thousand dollars. You’ll receive another hundred thousand once you’ve left New York and are back in Rhode Island.”
Julia’s mouth dropped open. “I don’t understand.”
“That is how much you need, isn’t it?”
Shaking her head, Julia asked, “Yes, but I’m confused. Do you want me to work on my jewelry back in Rhode Island?”
“Keep your trinkets, dear. Just get the hell out of New York.”
Julia’s hand closed tightly on the envelope as she studied the woman’s features, and an awful realization came to her. “Are you Gio’s mother?”
“The resemblance is strong, no?”
Only in the worst possible way. You both assume I can be bought. “Why would you want me to leave New York?” Understanding hit her like a sledgehammer to the stomach. She held up the money, outraged heat spreading up her neck. “Are you upset that I’m living with him?”
“George isn’t serious about you. You’re the flavor of the month. Take the money. It’ll last a lot longer than whatever you think you have with him. All I ask is that you leave before the weekend.”
Julia couldn’t remember ever being so insulted. “I’m not going anywhere. Well, I am going somewhere. I mean, we are. We’re going to a wedding. Not ours.”
“Perhaps you think I’m kidding? I couldn’t be more serious.” An ugly expression darkened the woman’s face. “How much does your father’s company mean to you? You can save it, and no one ever needs to know how you did it. Tell me, are a few romps with my son worth watching your family lose everything?”
Her words sent a chill down Julia’s back. She laid the envelope down on the seat beside her and reached for the door handle. “It’s not like that. And my father’s company is going to be fine. I still have time to make a sale.”
“If you’re counting on my son to give you money, he won’t. A week from now he won’t even remember you.”
Julia hastily climbed out of the limo. That’s quite a family you have there, Gio.
Holy shit.
Instead of taking the bus down to the Diamond District, Julia called and rescheduled her appointment. She knew she couldn’t tell Gio what had happened, but she needed to see him.
* * *
Tom glared at her when she entered the building. She walked over to the security station.
She looked at the stranger sitting next to him and asked, “Where’s Paul?” Guilt struck Julia when she realized that she’d been so swept away by Gio that she hadn’t called Paul to check on him. I’ve always believed that the right match made you a better version of yourself. I’m so absorbed in what’s going on with Gio, I didn’t think about Paul. What does that mean? Is Gio the wrong man for me, or would I be an ass regardless of who I’m with?
Tom put the clipboard down decisively. “Where do you think he is? Your boyfriend fired him.”
Julia frowned. “No.”
Tom glared at her again. “I knew you’d be trouble from the first time I saw you. You couldn’t just do your job, could you?”
Julia wished the floor would open and swallow her up. She felt horrible that she’d played a role in separating them. She’d spent enough time with both of them to know that loss was the source of Tom’s anger. He would miss working with his best friend. “I’ll talk to Gio . . . Mr. Andrade. I’ll fix this.”
“You’ve done enough. Paul’s still looking for a job. He doesn’t interview well.”
Despite Tom’s angry tone, Julia leaned closer. “I am sorry. I didn’t mean for this to happen. You know that.”
Her words softened Tom’s expression slightly. “I told Paul to check on you. I guess it’s partially my fault.”
“There has to be something I can do.”
Gio was a reasonable man. Was it too late to ask Gio to hire Paul back?
Rena was at her desk when Julia entered Gio’s outer office. “Is he in?” Julia asked tentatively.
Rena stepped out from behind her desk. “He is. How are you?”
“Good,” Julia said, straightening her shoulders in determination. “Could you tell him that I’m here?”
Instead of reaching for her phone, Rena looked her over. “Are you still going to the wedding with him?”
“Yes, is that a problem?” Julia asked cautiously. Seriously? And they say people in small towns can’t mind their own business? This is ridiculous.
Rena’s eyebrows rose in reaction to Julia’s tone. “I was wondering if you felt ready.”
“Ready?”
“Have you looked over the invitation list? You should wear your own jewelry when you go. Who knows, you may find an investor. If you’d like, I could help you recognize who’s who.”
It was hard not to be suspicious of the kind offer. Julia wasn’t about to be fooled twice in one day. “Why would you do that?”
“I like you?” When Julia looked unconvinced, Rena added, “How about, because I have the feeling that if our roles were reversed you would help me?”
Julia let her suspicions fall away. Rena had never given her a reason not to trust her. And it wouldn’t hurt to go into the situation as prepared as possible. I used to think I liked surprises. I’m not finding that as true in this situation. “I have to ask Gio something, but then, yes, I’d like to talk to you about what to expect tomorrow.”
“Great. If you don’t have your dress yet, I know the perfect place to look for one.”
A dress? Of course I need a dress. Shit. “Thank you for the offer, but I can wear the one I just bought.”
“No, that one has been in the papers. You need something new.” Rena went back to her desk, sat down, and picked up her phone. “Julia is here to see you. Yes, I’ll send her right in, but before I do . . . one quick question. Do you mind if I take her dress shopping tonight and charge it to you? That’s what I thought.” She hung up and smiled at Julia. “All set. He told me to have you back early.” Rena winked at Julia. “I personally think you should make him cool his heels waiting for you. He’s far too used to getting what he wants.”
“I don’t need another dress. I don’t want him to buy me anything,” Julia said adamantly.
Rena stood and crossed to stand near her. “Whoa. I’m sorry. I just assumed . . .”
“That I’m with him for what I can get from him?”
Rena raised her hands in truce. “No, that you’d want something new for a high-profile wedding, and that since he invited you I figured he should buy it for you.”
“Well, I don’t, and he shouldn’t.”
“Hey,” Rena said gently, “my family drags me to so many social events I have a closet full of dresses I’ll never wear again. You could borrow a couple.”
Releasing her breath slowly, Julia searched Rena’s face. “If you’re sure.”
A wide smile spread across Rena’s face. “We’ll make a girls’ night of it.”
“I’d like that.”
“Julia,” Gio said from the doorway. She thanked Rena one last time and crossed the office to Gio. He closed the door and locked it behind her, taking her mouth passionately as if they’d been apart far longer than the few hours they’d had been separated. She wrapped her arms around his neck and gave herself fully to the moment.
When he broke off the kiss, he touched his forehead to hers, still holding her in his arms. “I thought having you at my place would make it easier for me to concentrate, but I find myself watching the clock.” He claimed her mouth again and Julia shuddered against him with pleasure. “You’re one powerful addiction.”
She could have said the same. A moment in his presence and nothing else mattered. Want me on the desk? Let me scramble on up there. How about the couch? The carpet? I don’t care who knows what we’re doing or who walks in. I want you on me, in me, licking whatever you want to. Just don’t stop.
He raised his head, breathing as raggedly as she was. “Sorry, I lose my head around you. Did you come to see me for a reason, or just for this?” The lusty smile he gave her sent heat rushing through her. “Either is fine with me.”
Julia put a shaky hand up to her kiss-swollen mouth. Did I come here for a reason?
You know, besides this?
She shook her head to clear it. I know I’m forgetting something.
He looped his hands behind her and pulled her full against the evidence of his arousal. “I like that you get along with Rena, but you don’t need a dress for the wedding. I have no intention of going anymore.”
Julia pulled back. “Why?”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“It matters to me.” Julia realized that although they had spoken about many things over the last week, he had avoided all personal topics. “We said we were going. They’re expecting us. Maddy will be hurt if we don’t show up.”
“I’ve made my decision.”
“Without even talking to me about it?”
“It’s my family.”
“And none of my business,” she said, unable to keep some of the hurt she felt out of her voice.
His silence was his answer.
Julia stepped out of his embrace. He didn’t try to stop her, and that confused her even more. Was his mother right—at least when it came to how temporary their union was? Julia didn’t feel like the flavor of the month. What they had felt special. But maybe that’s how he makes every woman feel?
In that moment of resistance, she remembered part of why she’d come to see him. “About Paul.”
Gio frowned. “Why are we still talking about that man?”
She looked him in the eye and said, “I didn’t know you fired him. I understand that he went too far, but he was protecting me. I feel awful that he lost his job over me. He and Tom have been friends forever. I can’t be the reason they don’t work together anymore.”
Gio returned to his desk and sat down, a not-so-subtle act of dismissal. “Was there something else you wanted?”
Julia glared at him. “Sometimes I don’t like you very much.”
He was around his desk with a predatory swiftness and harshly pulled her against him. “You don’t have to like me.” He dug a hand into her hair and held her immobile before him. “You want me.” Julia wanted to hate the way he took her mouth in his as if she belonged to him, but the strength of him was heady. She welcomed his plundering kiss and reveled at how he also lost control. He lifted her and carried her toward the couch.
The intercom on his desk beeped, then his secretary’s voice filled the room. “I’m ready when Julia is. We have a car waiting for us downstairs.”
Gio groaned. “Why does she hate me? Do I not pay her enough?” He let Julia’s feet slide to the ground.
Julia adjusted her clothing and gathered her thoughts. Gio was a strong man and one who was painfully honest, but he wasn’t cruel. And he cared about her; she had to believe that. “I’m going out with Rena tonight. She said she had some dresses that might fit me.”
“Dresses for a wedding we’re not attending?”
Julia put a hand on one hip. “Yes.”
“Why borrow from her? I said she could take you shopping.” Julia met his eyes angrily and his expression darkened. “Because you don’t want anything from me.”
In that moment, Julia glimpsed the reason she couldn’t stay away from him. However he tried to hide it, she knew he felt things deeply. “I do want something from you, but nothing you could buy.”
He had a cornered look in his eyes that reminded her of the stray dog her family had once brought in during a snowstorm when Julia was twelve. The dog had paced and clawed at the door as if he were trapped in the shelter they had offered him. He’d responded to attempts to pet him with defensive snarls. Her mother had suggested that they call the dog warden. They didn’t need a dog and certainly not one who might be a danger. Her father had asked them both to give him a month. He said the dog didn’t become fearful in a day, and expecting him to trust them that quickly was unrealistic.
Her father had taken a bowl of food and put it on the porch. Before he opened the door to let the dog out, he’d bent and looked into the dog’s eyes and said calmly, “You’re a good dog, and this can be your home if you want it.”
She and her mother had expected the dog to run off into the snow.
Julia smiled as she remembered how her mother had gently teased her husband by asking, “Did he answer you?”
Her gentle giant of a father had merely shrugged and said, “His actions will be his answer.”
Rodin, as they’d come to call him, became her father’s loyal shadow. He never did sleep in the house, but he met her father on the porch each morning and went with him to his furniture factory. For her father, he’d allowed the vet to give him annual shots as long as the vet came to the house. When he died, the family had buried Rodin in a plot behind the factory, beneath the tree where he’d always spent the day waiting for her father to finish work so he could walk him home.
Julia wondered what Gio would think of the comparison. The more she got to know him, the more she sensed that he needed shelter from his own storm.
Just as much as he needed someone to believe in him.
He might pretend he didn’t care what she thought of him, but she wasn’t fooled. He’ll do the right thing. Julia went up onto her tiptoes and gave him a quick kiss before heading toward the door. She left him standing in the middle of his office shaking his head.
* * *
Gio dropped back into his office chair with a groan. As he always felt after Julia left, Gio felt off balance.
He called his friend Kane and told him that it was time for him to repay him for all the years that Rena had worked for him. He gave Kane Paul’s name and information and asked him to hire him. He also explained that Paul might come as a package deal with another man. Both had good work histories with his company, but for personal reasons he preferred they work elsewhere. He called down to Tom and explained the offer to him. Although he refused to hire Paul back, he wanted Julia to be happy.
One woman’s opinion shouldn’t matter so much to him.
But there was no denying that it did.
His cell phone rang. He checked caller ID and his mood soured more. “Mother,” he said coolly.
“George, tell me you’re not attending the Andrade wedding on Isola Santos. I’m surprised your uncles have the nerve to invite anyone there.” Her dislike of the possibility was clear in her tone.
He almost reassured her he wasn’t. Having Julia in his life had brought him a sense of contentment he had decided not to let ancient history threaten. Why look for answers in the past when he had everything he needed right there beside him every night?
Some doors were better left closed.
His mother hadn’t hidden her concern when she’d heard he and his brothers had attended a function with the family over the summer, but she’d settled down when nothing came from it.
Patrice Andrade, or, as she was once again known, Patrice Stanfield, daughter of one of the wealthiest oil families in the United States, wasn’t known for being an emotional woman. She had even less tolerance for dramatics in others.
Which made her escalating agitation over the wedding difficult to dismiss. It begged the question: Why?
Is it the island she hates, or the idea that we may reconcile with our father’s family?
He answered vaguely, “I told them I would.”
“How could you, Gio? With everything you know?”
“It’s a wedding. Nothing more.”
“But why are you going? They’ve invited you to weddings before. You’ve never gone. Are you hoping things will be different? They won’t be. Remember what they’ve taken from you.”
She’d voiced that sentiment a hundred times before. He’d thought himself immune to it, but this time it brought back anger he hadn’t known was still within him. “How could I forget with you around to remind me?”
His mother’s voice softened. “You’re better than them, George. They did you a favor when they showed you how they really felt. You don’t need them.”
Gio let out a relieved breath. “Is this the only topic you called to discuss? Because I have a meeting waiting for me.” Which was partially true. Somewhere in the world some executive was waiting for him to return his call.
“I saw you in the papers chasing after some woman. Making a fool of yourself in public undermines the company’s image.”
“Good-bye, Mother.”
Just before he hung up, she said, “Watch your brothers on the island, George. Don’t let your uncles manipulate them. They lie as easily as they breathe.”
How many times had they had this very conversation? Looking up at the ceiling in frustration, Gio said, “We’re not little boys anymore. You don’t have to protect us from them.”
“You’re wrong, George. I just hope you realize that before they tear our family apart in a way that even you can’t fix.”
She hung up.
Tear us apart?
I’d say that happened a long time ago.
Her call had changed his mind about seeing his father’s family again, and not in the way his mother had hoped. He was certain now he had to go. He needed to know what awaited him that his mother feared.
But unlike the first time he’d decided to attend the wedding, he didn’t want to bring Julia with him. If the situation got ugly, he wanted her far away from it.
* * *
Rena’s Queen Anne townhouse in Henderson Place had surprised Julia. Even to someone as new to New York as Julia was, the rare cul-de-sac neighborhood implied expensive and exclusive. And if Rena’s designer wardrobe was any indication, the area’s high price hadn’t affected her ability to shop.
Which should have made Julia feel uncomfortable, but Rena had a down-to-earth personality. As she encouraged her to try on dress after dress, Julia felt like she was with her friends back in Rhode Island preparing for prom. They laughed their way through good and bad fits.
While standing before the mirror in a navy strapless Gucci gown that fit her perfectly, Julia met Rena’s eyes in the mirror and asked, “How long have you known Gio?”
Rena smiled and looked up at the ceiling as if counting the years in her head. “I was still in braces when we first met. My brother, Kane, has been his best friend since middle school.”
A sliver of uncertainty crept into Julia. “Gio hasn’t mentioned him to me, but there is a lot he doesn’t tell me.”
Rena came to stand beside Julia in front of the mirror. Simply for the fun of it, she was dressed in a whimsical ultrafitted nude gown that boasted not only a bustier but also a long skirt covered in a layer of feathers. She said she’d fallen in love with it when she’d seen it on a runway in London but hadn’t yet found an event to wear it to. “Give him time. Gio doesn’t trust people easily. He’s had good reason not to.”
Julia couldn’t contain her question. “What happened?”
Rena smiled regretfully. “I wish I could tell you. I’m not supposed to know. He’d kill Kane for telling me.”
Changing the subject, Julia looked down at her own dress and said, “Will I need this dress? He said we’re not going to the wedding anymore.”
“He’ll go. He may say he doesn’t care about his cousins, but he does. He always has.” She took one of Julia’s hands in hers. “Take the dress, and don’t give up on him. He needs someone like you.”
Julia met her own eyes in the mirror.
I want to believe that.
I desperately want to believe that.
Several hours later, Julia followed Gio’s driver as he carried the bags of dresses and shoes Rena had loaned her. Although it was still strange having someone always at her side anticipating her needs, she had to admit it was nice.
It still feels like a dream.
Gio opened the door of his apartment and Julia’s heart pounded wildly in her chest. His eyes were dark and burning with need for her. If this is a dream, wake me tomorrow.
She flew into his arms and met his kiss eagerly. He picked her up and carried her to the bedroom. He sat on the edge of his bed and simply held her for a moment, breathing in the scent of her hair like he’d waited all day to do just that.
She pulled her head back and looked up at him. There was sadness in his eyes that made her want to throw her arms around him and comfort him. “What’s wrong?”
“I’ve decided to attend the wedding this weekend. I leave on Friday morning.”
“You leave?”
He put a hand beneath her chin and raised her face up so she would meet his eyes. “You’re not coming with me.”
Julia clasped her suddenly cold hands in front of her. “Why?” Because it’s over? This can’t be how it ends. We haven’t even fought. “You wanted me to go. What’s changed?”
He slid her off him and stood. “I no longer want you there.”
Confused, Julia stood straight and tall in front of him. “I don’t believe you.”
“I don’t know how to be clearer.”
She stepped closer and studied his expression. Questions clamored within her. Insecurities circled like vultures waiting to swoop in. Rena’s words came back to her, bolstering her resolve. Don’t give up on him. “How about just being honest?”
He lashed out verbally. “Dammit, Julia. I’m not taking you to the wedding. I refuse to involve you in this.”
Tears clouded Julia’s eyes as she saw what was behind his anger. He wanted to protect her. “Okay.”
He frowned down at her. “Why aren’t you upset?”
Julia’s throat clogged with emotion. “Because I’m listening with my heart and not my ears. My father taught me that. It’s how he said you see the soul of something. You close out all distractions and you let yourself feel the essence of it.” She took him by the hand and led him out of the bedroom to one of the couches in the living room. She sat down even when he continued to stand and glower down at her. “You’re angry, but not at me. Let’s start over. Yell and rant as much as you want. Let it out. Then we’ll talk.”
Gio shook his head in bewilderment. “What?”
“Throw something if it makes you feel better. Sometimes I do that. Bottling it up only makes it worse.”
“I don’t yell.”
“Everyone yells.”
He shook his head again.
“Then I’ll do it for you.” She let out a high-pitched angry scream.
He sat beside her. “What are you doing? Stop.”
She screamed again.
He covered her mouth. “Someone is going to call the police.”
She smiled beneath his hand. He removed it and she said, “I just released all the anger I felt when you told me I couldn’t go to the wedding. Now you do it. You’ll feel better.”
He cocked his head to one side, then started to laugh. He laughed so hard his eyes misted over. And while he did he pulled her into his arms and hugged her.
She nodded with approval. “Laughter works, too. How do you feel?”
He cupped her face between both of his hands and looked down at her, his expression sobering. “Better than I have in a long, long time.”
“Do you want to talk now?
“Hell no.”
Even though she was disappointed, she was relieved to see him smiling. He swung her up and over one of his shoulders. “I just thought of another way to relieve some of my stress.”
She playfully swatted his back. “Don’t think this lets you off the hook. I want to know why you don’t want to take me to the wedding.”
He growled and rolled onto the bed with her. “What’s it going to take for you to stop talking?”
Julia smiled up at him impishly. “Do I really need to tell you?”
She didn’t.
The next hour left her pleasantly unable to speak or even form a coherent thought.