Chapter 18

Julie

Julie barely slept at all that night. Between the email that had come through just as she'd walked out the door and into Cody, thoughts of asking him to go with her, their kiss by his car, and what was going to happen when she showed up at her parents' house with him, she was a mess.

She hadn't planned to invite Cody, but seeing him bring dinner unexpectedly and also his reaction when she'd said she was leaving, had her unable to stop the words from flying out of her mouth. Then it got complicated, and Jessie didn't help the situation one bit. It seemed like Cody was going to turn her down, but by the time the conversation was over, he was going, and Julie felt like she no longer had a choice in the matter.

When she walked him out, which she did often, he kissed her like he never had before, and she felt things she didn't know were possible. A warm feeling ran through her body, but there was more than that there too, so much more. It took all she had not to jump up and wrap her legs around him. When he thrust his hips forward and she felt his hardness beneath his jeans, she wanted to touch him. She wanted to feel his skin against hers. Then he pulled back to leave. He'd rejected her.

Julie walked up the walk, embarrassed by the thoughts that had been running through her mind and sad knowing that he didn't want her. She didn't look back. There was no way she could. When the first tear fell from her eye, she told herself she was being ridiculous. They weren't a couple. They'd never said they were. For the first time in her life, she wanted more, and it was biting her in the ass.

She wiped the tears from her eyes as she headed for her room, but Jessie stopped her.

“What's wrong?” Jessie asked.

“He doesn't want me,” Julie said, as she reached for the knob on her door.

Jessie put her hand over her sister's, and she quickly leaned down to look up into her eyes.

“Oh, he does,” Jessie said.

“No,” Julie said, as she shook her head.

“That's bullshit,” Jessie snapped. “That man wants you just as much as you want him.”

Julie shook her head again, and Jessie laughed.

“Did you see his face when I mentioned Jason?” Jessie asked. “Shit! Did you hear the noise that came from deep inside of him. He was about to go caveman on your ass. That man was jealous.”

“No,” Julie said. “You misunderstood.”

“The hell I did,” Jessie said. “That man has it bad for you. Are you going to try and tell me you don't have it bad for him too.”

“I'm not,” Julie said. “When he kissed me out there, I honestly wanted to beg him not to let me go.”

“Then why are you fighting it?” Jessie asked.

“Because of dad,” Julie answered honestly.

“Fuck dad,” Jessie snapped.

“Jessie,” Julie snapped back, as she pulled her hand from under her sister's and shoved her door open.

“Do not Jessie me,” Jessie said sternly, as she followed Julie into her room. “You will not let him run your life. Do you hear me? You practically begged to be part of his company, and he picked Gavin. That sucks. I know it does. You know what? That's on him. You have a job you enjoy. I see it every single time you talk about it. You have a man that you really like, maybe love.”

“I don't love him,” Julie said, as she turned toward her sister.

“Whatever,” Jessie said. “You can't help it that he's our father's biggest competition. He's into the same thing you are. There is nothing wrong with that. You will not push him away because of dad. I won't let you, Julie. You have to go for it.”

“You're just saying that because you won't be there when dad finds out,” Julie said.

“I don't give a shit,” Jessie said. “You will give this a chance, Julie. You owe it to yourself, and you owe it to Cody. Do not let dad ruin this for you.”

“What made you team Cody all of a sudden?” Julie asked.

“He's a nice guy, Julie,” Jessie answered. “Don't waste your time with him worrying about dad. Before you know it, that time will be gone, and you'll be alone, unable to go back and reclaim what you lost. I am begging you to give this thing a chance.”

“Whatever,” Julie said. “I've got to get to bed.”

“You'll give it a chance?” Jessie asked. “A real shot.”

“I guess,” Julie said.

“Promise me,” Jessie said, with sadness in her words.

“I promise,” Julie said. “If this blows up in my face.”

“I'll kick his ass,” Jessie said, cutting off her sister's words.

Even though Julie barely slept thinking about it and knew it was a bad idea, she was going to follow her sister's advice. She was going to give things a chance.

As soon as her last class was over the next day, she hurried home and threw the last few things she'd need into her bag.

Cody showed up on time, and he insisted on driving. Give him a chance, she thought to herself, as she got into his car, feeling more nervous than she ever had in her life.

They were only on the road a few minutes, and she could already feel the tension in the air.

“Is everything okay?” she asked.

“Fine,” he answered.

She couldn't do it. Her sister was wrong.

“Stop,” she snapped out.

“What?” he asked, in a surprised tone.

“Take me back home,” she said.

“No,” he said. “I'm going with you.”

“No, you're not,” she said. “I'm going alone.”

“The fuck you are,” he snapped.

“Really?” she hissed.

“Sorry,” he said, with true apology in his tone.

“It's obvious that you're not feeling it,” she said.

“Not feeling it?” he asked.

“Yeah, not feeling it,” she said. “You should have just said no in the first place.”

“Oh, I'm going with you,” he said. “Not a damn thing could stop me.”

“Why?” she asked.

“Why?” he snapped out. “Because I want to be there. Your father is not going to give you shit for not being there, and I know damn well he will. And Jason.”

“Jason,” she snapped back. “What does Jason have to do with anything?”

“A lot,” Cody growled.

“So you want to go?” Julie asked.

“Yes,” he answered. “I want to go.”

“Then what's with the pissy mood?” she asked.

“Shit!” Cody hissed, as he shook his head. “I'm sorry, Julie. It's not you. It's me.”

“Seriously!” she said, with a laugh.

“I didn't mean it like that,” he said. “It's work.”

“Really?” she asked. “Does work make you like this often?”

“Not usually,” he said. “Just when I get outbid on a job I know damn well I have in the bag. I don't get it. It's never happened before. The job was huge too. I can't figure this shit out. I know how my competition bids. I know what I'm doing.”

“Oh yeah,” Julie said, hoping that by some chance he wasn't talking about the same job she'd bid on and gotten the email that her bid had been the one they'd accepted the night before, just before he'd shown up unexpectedly. “What company?”

When Cody said the company name, Julie's whole body tensed. Shit! Were they going to be over before she even had a chance to give them a real shot? He was pissed. Was it her he was pissed at?

“So you're pissed at the person that outbid you?” she asked.

“Not at all,” he answered. “I'm pissed at myself.”

“I'm sorry,” Julie said.

Cody reached over and took her hand in his.

“It's not your fault,” he said. “I'm the one that's sorry.”

They drove the rest of the way in silence, and all Julie could think about was just how much it was her fault. She felt guilty for not telling Cody, but she didn't want to tell anyone until she'd gotten the job. There was no way she wanted everyone to know, only to find out that she hadn't gotten it after all. That would have been embarrassing. Even though she'd gotten the email the night before, she still hadn't told him. She wasn't ready yet, and she wouldn't be, not until she knew for sure that she could pull it off.

When they pulled up the drive of her parents' house, Julie let out a loud breath.

“You okay?” Cody asked.

“Just nervous,” she answered.

“Because of me?” he asked.

“Not totally,” she answered. “But that is part of it.”

“I'm not a bad guy, Julie,” he said, as he looked over at her. “I'll be on my best behavior.”

“I know you're not,” she said. “It's not your behavior I'm worried about.”

Cody reached over, took her chin in his hand, and nudged her face toward his.

“It will be okay,” he said. “I'll make sure of it.”

“Should that make me even more nervous?” she asked, with a smile.

“Not at all,” he answered. “Come on.”

He hurried around to her side of the car and opened the door. Julie got out, and before she could walk away, Cody wrapped his arms around her and took her mouth with his. When he pulled away, she quickly caught her breath.

“It will be okay,” he said. “Try to relax. What goes on at work is business, Julie. We're not at work.”

“Tell that to my father and uncle,” she said.

Julie stood on the front porch, so damn afraid to turn the knob on the door in front of her. She couldn't stop wondering if she'd made the right decision bringing Cody with her. She knew both her father and her uncle would be pissed the moment they saw him. If they just gave him a chance, she knew they'd like him as much as she did, but she also knew they wouldn't, they'd never give him a chance. Was she sabotaging her relationship with Cody before they even had a chance to start one? Did she want to ruin it? What did she honestly think would come of bringing him to her parents' house? She knew she'd have one thing on her side, the crew. There were more of them than there were parents, and no matter what they thought of Cody, they'd stand behind her. They always did. At least she had them. Maybe they would be enough. Shit! What was she thinking?

Cody's hand covered hers on the knob, and he began to turn them.

“We'll do this together,” he said.

“Together?” she asked.

“Yes, Julie,” he answered. “Together.”

Julie looked over at Cody with a smile on her face, hoping he would still be saying that in a few hours, as they turned the knob together. She hadn't even had the chance to push the door forward when it swung open wide and two huge arms wrapped around her.

“There's my girl,” she heard Jason say, as he lifted her off of her feet.

“Get your hands off my sister,” Julie heard her brother yell from the other room, as she laughed while Jason swung her around in a circle.

“I've missed you so damn much,” Jason said, with a huge smile planted on his face.

Julie didn't miss the growl that came from behind her when Jason set her back down on her feet, and she knew Jason hadn't missed it either.

“Who the fuck is that?” Jason asked sternly, as he looked toward Cody.

“Jason,” Julie heard Jason's dad snap out from the other room.

Julie linked her arm through Cody's. Then she took a deep breath, stepped over, and walked right by Jason, pulling Cody along with her. When she got to the living room doorway, she stopped. When her eyes met her uncles, she knew he was pissed. Without taking any time to think about it, she looked over at her dad. Pissed wasn't the word for what she saw in his eyes. The man was about to lose his shit. He seriously looked like his head was about to explode. Then she heard her brother take a huge breath, and she looked over at him, silently trying to keep herself together. When her eyes landed on his, she knew he'd recognized Cody. Then she saw movement from below his face and her eyes went just as wide as his. Gracie, who was snuggled in Gavin's lap, pulled him down and began whispering in his ear. Julie couldn't help the warm, loving feeling that moved through her seeing the two of them, and for just one moment, she'd totally forgotten what she'd just walked into.

“Sorry I'm late,” she said, trying her best to sound confident in her decision to walk through the front door with her dad's biggest competition next to her. “What's this? Are you two together?”

“We are,” Gavin said, in a rough tone, as he stared at Julie with a “What the fuck are you doing?” look on his face.

Julie looked down at the giddy look on Gracie's face, and she couldn't help but smile too.

“I'm so happy for you,” Julie said, as she pulled her arm from Cody's, stepped forward, and leaned down to hug Gracie.

Gracie hugged her so damn tight and whispered in her ear.

“I've got your back.”

Julie nodded, as she stood up, stepped back, and linked her fingers with Cody's. He squeezed her hand, and she felt her body relax a bit.

“I wanted to introduce you to,” she began.

“We know who he is,” her uncle snapped, cutting off her words, as he stood up.

“Yes we do,” Julie's dad growled, as he got to his feet.

“Shit!” Kyle blurted out from where he was sitting.

Kyle was the one doing most of the work at Julie's uncle's company. He was also family.

“I have no interest in it, and even I know who he is,” Julie heard her brother say. “His name is Cody.”

Julie watched Gracie pull Gavin down and begin whispering again. Then Gracie's hand flew up and covered her mouth. Her eyes connected with Julie's, as Gavin continued whispering in her ear.

“He's my boyfriend,” Julie said, as she pulled her eyes away from Gracie's and looked over at the gorgeous man looking back at her.

In that moment, Julie didn't care that she had the biggest smile on her face.

“The fuck he is,” Julie's dad snapped out, as he took a step forward.

Julie's mom was on her feet, with her arm wrapped around her man's, in seconds. At the same time, Cody pulled Julie in close and stepped in front of her. Gavin had Gracie off his lap and was on the other side of Julie just as quickly.

“Dad,” Gavin hissed, with warning in his tone.

“You think you're going to step between me and my daughter?” Julie's dad growled out at Cody.

“If you're going to speak to her like that, most definitely,” Cody replied sternly, keeping his hand on Julie but also keeping her behind him.

“Where the fuck did you meet him?” Julie's dad snapped, completely ignoring the words Cody had just said. “Did you go looking for him? Is this your way of getting back at me? What did I do that was so bad?”

“Gavin,” Julie's mom hissed out at her dad. “Calm your ass down right now.”

“Wait! Did he come looking for you?” Julie's dad growled out. “Is this his way of?”

Before her dad could get one more nasty word out of his mouth, she yelled out at him.

“Neither of us went looking for the other. He spoke in one of my classes.”

“Shit!” her dad yelled, as he took a step back. “I knew I should have done it.”

“You should have,” Julie snapped out at him, “but you didn't. Why not? Were you too busy? Was getting Gavin at your company more important? Maybe you're just embarrassed of me.”

“Julie,” her dad said, in a rough tone.

Julie felt Cody's grip on her hand tighten.

“No,” she said. “Don't Julie me. Jessie was right. You'll never understand. Instead of taking two seconds to even say hello to him, you attacked him. I should have known, but I didn't. I gave you too much credit. You too, Uncle Ethan. I should have listened to her.”

“Julie,” her dad said, in a slightly softer tone than before. “Did you honestly expect me to welcome him into my home? How could you ask that of me? He's my biggest competition, and he'll do anything he can to put me under. Look at yesterday. He took a job from me that was mine. I underbid him. I made damn sure of it. So, how did he do it? What shady shit did he pull? Why don't you ask him?”

“Dad,” Julie snapped, as she stepped around Cody and her brother. “Do not talk about him like that. All those times you said things about him, I heard you. I did. I heard every single nasty thing you said, but you were wrong. He's not who you say he is. Do you hear me? You're wrong.”

“You don't know the things I do,” her dad said.

“Oh really?” she asked, and he nodded. “Do you know him like you do me?”

“What?” he asked, in an aggravated yet confused tone.

“Nothing,” she said, as she looked over at Jack's parents. “I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to ruin Jack's weekend. We shouldn't have come. I honestly thought things would be different. I thought they could put their business bullshit aside, but I guess a few of them can't. I really am sorry. I loved Jack very much, and I miss him every single day.”

Julie turned to Gavin and Gracie.

“I am so happy for you two,” she said. “I think Jack would be too. I am also so damn proud of you, brother. You're doing what you love, and that's exactly what you should be doing. Don't ever let anyone tell you different. I love you both.”

Then Julie turned to her dad.

“And you,” Julie snapped, but then she stopped.

Her dad sat down and covered his face with his hands, so she took another step toward him, but she could feel Cody's eyes on her the whole time. He was watching her, but he was also letting her be who she needed to be, and that felt so damn good.

“He never wanted it,” she began again, in a much softer tone than before. “Gavin never wanted a damn thing to do with the business, but I did. I worked hard every single day so you would notice me and the things I was learning, but you couldn't be bothered. It was Gavin you wanted. He was the one. You were convinced. Well, guess what? You were wrong. I don't know how you didn't see it. Every single person here saw it. You pressured him every chance you got. I was the one that loved the company. I was the one that wanted to be right there by your side. I was the one that wanted to take it over from you, but you couldn't see what was right there in front of you. When Gavin left, I thought you'd finally see it, but you didn't. You never did, and I now know that you never will. I wanted to be the one to work with you. Me! Did you want that? Not at all. Instead, you wanted me to work for you.”

“Julie,” her dad whispered, as he looked up from his hands.

“No,” she said. “I don't want to hear it. I'm okay with it now. I really am. I don't want to work with you anymore. When they offered me the teaching job, I took it, hoping that me not running home would help you see it, but you didn't. Now, I love it. Teaching my students, knowing they're leaving my class with more knowledge than they walked in with, is amazing. You want to know something else? I've also learned that I don't want to work for anyone but myself. Thank you for helping me realize that.”

Julie watched her dad's shoulders drop, and she took the final step toward him. Then she leaned down close and whispered so only he could hear.

“You know that job you were outbid on yesterday? That wasn't Cody.”

Julie stepped back, and when she looked down, she saw her dad's eyes wider than she'd ever seen them before.

“I love you, but I thought this would be different,” she said, before looking over at Jack's parents. “I'm so sorry.”

Julie turned around, and Cody wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. She hugged him hard before grabbing his hand and walking toward the front door.

“Julie,” her mom called out, but she just shook her head and kept walking.

Just as they got to the door, Jason came up behind Julie and stepped around her.

“I've waited months to see you,” he said. “I miss you so damn much.”

“I've missed you too,” she said.

“Why haven't I heard about him before?” he asked, pointing over at Cody.

Cody narrowed his eyes and pulled Julie closer, but he didn't speak.

“I didn't want to tell anyone until I was sure,” she answered.

“And you're sure now?” Jason asked.

“I am,” she said, as she looked over at Cody.

“You like my girl?” Jason asked.

The second the words my girl came out of Jason's mouth, Julie felt Cody's hold on her tighten.

“Your girl?” Cody snapped.

“Has been since I met her,” Jason said, standing his ground. “Do you like her?”

“I do,” Cody answered, never taking his eyes off of Jason.

“If you hurt her,” Jason began, “I will run your ass over with a car. Then I will backup over your lifeless body. Do you hear me?”

Cody smirked and rolled his eyes, but he didn't look away from Jason.

“Yeah, I hear ya,” Cody said, with humor filling his words.

“You okay?” Jason asked, turning his attention back to Julie.

“I am,” she said.

“Call me if you need anything,” he said. “My ass will be there in a second. Do you hear me?”

“Yes,” she said, as she pulled away from Cody and wrapped her arms around the man that had been her best friend for as long as she could remember, but it didn't feel the same anymore.

“I love you, Jewels,” he said. “I mean it. I'm there if you need me.”

“Love you too, Jay,” she said, “but I'll be fine. Cody will be there.”

Then Julie pulled out of Jason's arms and turned to Cody.

“I'm ready,” she said.

“You sure?” he asked.

“More sure than I've ever been before,” she said, as she reached forward, pulled the door open, and walked out with the only man whose arms made her feel safe.