CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
SCOTT
I should have predicted that my declaration would make everyone react in different ways.
Jack was angry—very, very angry, looking at me from head to foot before biting off that he couldn’t talk to me right now, but would be expecting me outside the race track at the end of the competition. Pretty considerate, but all the same a handful to handle, which I was pretty sure I could.
But Julie was a different story.
Doug slinked off as quietly as he could, looking at the two of us in shock. Julie waited until he and Jack were gone before staring daggers at me.
Then she was dragging me into a more private place, and I couldn’t exactly blame her—not when everyone in the garage had gone dead quiet, including my crew, and staring at us in shock.
The only private place we could find at an event like this was in the closet in one of the towers. I tried my best not to think about what we’d been doing the last time we were here, and concentrated on studying her.
She looked better than I’d seen her last week, which was a relief. In fact, she was somewhat glowing, her cheeks flushed and her mouth a very rosy pink. Those hazel eyes spit sparks almost angrily, her body all but vibrating with it.
Christ. She was beautiful.
“Why did you tell my dad that we’re getting married?” she hissed. “You know I don’t want to marry you.”
“I don’t want to marry you, either,” I said readily, already anticipating it. She looked taken aback by my answer, turning speechless, and I took advantage. “But it will happen. This is a scandal in waiting, Jules, and I know you don’t want that for us…or for the baby.”
Her mouth dropped open. She took a deep, shaky breath. “But…we don’t love each other…”
“We don’t,” I agreed. “But we don’t hate each other, either. We’re friends, and shouldn’t friends support each other at a time like this?”
She looked unconvinced. “But shouldn’t…God, McCall. What kind of marriage are you suggesting?”
“An arranged one. If it doesn’t work out in the few months until the baby is born, we divorce. Simple as that. By that time I’m sure everyone would have already moved on.”
“So a fake marriage.”
“A fake one, yes.”
“God, that’s crazy.”
“So are you if you think I’m going to leave you alone to deal with this, Jules,” I shot back. I ran a hand through my hair, frustration swirling inside me. “That’s my baby, too, and I swear to you I will take care of it and love it. I care about you too, and I don’t want you doing this alone.”
She stayed quiet for a long time after that, and I didn’t say anything as I watched her lean against the desk—the same desk we’d made love on—and closed her eyes. Something sparked inside my stomach, something that was all too familiar. I wasn’t an idiot, and I acknowledged it because there was no use denying.
I didn’t just care about her.
I also still wanted her.
It wasn’t love, I was sure of that. But it was a lust so deep that I didn’t think our time together was enough. I wanted to touch her over and over until the lust dissipated—until this need that was growing inside me was satiated and gone for good.
And yes, I wasn’t an idiot, because I knew the feeling wasn’t one-sided. I could see the same longing and desire in her eyes despite her misery and shock, and I was prepared to give her the pleasure she wanted.
But I also needed to appease the important people in her life.
Finally, Julie opened her eyes and looked at me.
“It’s crazy,” she repeated.
I nodded my head.
“It’s the craziest scheme that we have to live up to for a few months.”
“It will get your father off our backs. And my mom, who already knows I got someone pregnant. And the media. And everyone.”
“Yeah,” she murmured. “It will also be very, very complicated.”
“We’ll work it out. We’ll set down rules and all. I’m your friend, Jules. You can trust me.”
“I don’t know what to say, Scott.”
“Say yes.”
More silence.
Then Julie finally, slowly nodded.
“Fine. Yes.”
Her glow disappeared, to be replaced by a sadness that I wanted to fix. Despite said sadness, she was still prettier than her usual pretty self.
And I wasn’t ready to let go yet.