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AS THE LAWYERS LOOMED over our shoulders, I tapped the pen in discomfort  against the table. That morning I had taken a chance and signed the paperwork for an apartment. Now I was signing away Tyler’s bloodline.

“And here,” the lawyer said as he pointed to another line. Jonathan stood at the window with his back to me as I scrawled my name across the blank space. “Okay. You’re all finished, Ms. Dennings. If you break any of the terms in this contract, Jonathan will be able to go after you with the full weight of the court behind him. I’ll go make a copy for your files.”

He left, and I stared at my ex. Jonathan hadn’t said much during the entire meeting. “Not that I’m complaining, but why are you backing down so easily?”

“Like you don’t know,” he muttered as he turned to face me.

“I don’t.” Three days and not a word had passed before Jonathan called me that morning and asked me to meet him at his hotel room. I was unsure at first, but I knew that nothing would be able to take Tyler from the Porter Mansion, so what was the harm in meeting him?

It turned out that he needed me to sign an agreement. I would go to the press and tell them that Tyler was not Jonathan’s son, and I would never publicly recant that claim. I was also giving up the right to monetary support and the use of his last name. In return, he would never attempt to take Tyler away from me.

“I guess this time you really did choose the wealthier man,” Jonathan said bitterly.

“Graham? What does he have to do with this?”

For a moment, he searched my face. “You really don’t know,” he muttered. “Graham came to me yesterday and told me that if I tried to file for custody of Tyler, he’d marry you and adopt our boy himself. I wouldn’t be able to touch him.”

Graham said what? For the past three days, I thought that Graham was waiting for it to all be over so he could kick Tyler and me out, but here he was, helping us.

Telling Jonathan that he’d marry me.

“You love him,” Jonathan observed coldly.

I immediately tried to change my expression. My feelings for Graham were none of Jonathan’s business. “Does your father know that you’re making this deal with me?”

He rubbed a hand over his face. “No. Believe it or not, I think all he wants is to meet his grandson.”

“Even if it came from me?” I snorted.

Jonathan hesitated. “I’m not cut out to be a father. Or a husband. I guess you already know that, although I’ll have to eventually marry and have kids. I need that family image.”

God have mercy on that poor woman and his children.

He continued. “I don’t want to meet Tyler. I guess I just wanted to know what kind of kid he is.”

I was surprised. It hadn’t occurred to me that Jonathan might actually be curious about Tyler. “He’s quiet and contemplative. Smart as a whip and way too mature for someone his own age. He’s a good kid.”

“The pregnancy?”

“Fairly easy considering that he was my first. I should have known then that Tyler would never complain about anything. I saw a doctor at the free clinic, and I pawned the jewels that you gave me to pay as much of hospital bill as I could.”

He looked at me with tired eyes. “Don’t tell me any more. I guess I really didn’t want to know. For what it’s worth, I am sorry, Julie. There was a time when I thought that I was in love with you.”

The lawyer returned with my copy of the contract, but there was nothing that I could say to Jonathan that would ease his pain. I couldn’t tell him that it was all right. I couldn’t even tell him that I forgave him. All I could do was stand and shake my head. “Goodbye, Jonathan,” I said softly.

I drove straight to the mansion. I wanted to pick Tyler up and take him out for ice cream. I wanted to tell him that Jonathan wasn’t going to take him away, and I wanted to tell him about the apartment. We couldn’t move in until the weekend, but what were a few more days at the motel?

I also needed to see Graham. I needed to know if I still had a job. I needed to know if his offer to marry me had come from a place of love.

Tyler and Crystal were swimming in the pool. I found Graham holed up in his office. Even though I knew it was off-limits, I knocked on the door. “It’s me,” I said softly.

For a moment, I thought he wasn’t going to answer. “Come in.”

Opening the door, I stepped inside. After not seeing him for three days, he looked good. I knew that I looked a wreck, but you would never know that there was any type of upheaval in his life. His shirt was neatly pressed, and he looked calm. “I’m sorry that I haven’t been down to check on you. Things have been busy.”

I didn’t bother pointing out that we were in the same house. All he had to do was walk downstairs or even hit the button on his beloved tablet on the wall. “That’s all right. I wanted to thank you for letting us stay here. We’ll be leaving this afternoon.”

A frown crossed his face. “Jonathan has left?”

“Not yet, but I’m sure he won’t be sticking around for too much longer. I just wasn’t sure if you still wanted to employ me after all of this. I’d understand if I’ve brought too much drama down on your head.”

He looked around the room uncomfortably, and my heart dropped. Of course he wasn’t going to keep me on after all of this. What daydream had I been living in? “It’s okay. You don’t have to explain yourself.”

“You’re excellent at your job, and I’d be happy to give you a glowing reference. It’s just that after everything that has happened, I know there will be speculation if you continue to work for me. Plus, I can’t have you working here and living here too.”

Living here? My heart pounded in my chest as I stared at him. Maybe I was wrong about him. After all, he did tell Jonathan that he’d marry me. “You want us to live here?” I whispered. “Graham, you have no idea what that means to me. I can’t accept your offer, of course, but this is a huge step for us. I think that maybe we need to take things slow.”

“Take things slow?”

“Don’t worry. I do love you, but I know that this is new territory for you.”

My admission wasn’t just met with silence. Graham’s face went slack, and I realized that I’d made a grave error. “You weren’t asking me to move in because you love me,” I said slowly. “I don’t understand.”

“Julie, listen to me,” he said calmly. “With everything that happened with Jonathan, I just thought you’d feel safer here. I’m getting used to having a kid around, and I’m definitely used to having you in my bed.”

In his bed? I blanched. He just wanted to keep me around for sex. Horrified, I slowly backed up. “I can’t,” I said hoarsely. I felt like the walls were closing in around me as I stumbled from the office into the hall.

He called my name, but he didn’t go after me. Instead, I hurried to Tyler’s room and blindly gathered his things. He and Crystal were already out of the pool when I reached them. “Time to go,” I said with a false brightness in my voice. “I’ve got some great news to tell you!”

“Jonathan is gone?” Crystal breathed.

“It’s over,” I said as I gathered Tyler up in my arms.

It was over.

*****

“WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU doing?”

At the sound of Graham’s voice, I turned. The luggage was splayed out on the bed at the motel, and my shirt was half-folded in my hands. “I’m packing?”

“I can see that.” There was an angry storm in his eyes as he stalked forward. “Tell me that you’re not fucking leaving.”

“Language,” I hissed. “Tyler is next door with Crystal, and these walls are thin.”

“You’re running back to him?” His face was contorted in anger. “Why? All because he wants to put a shimmery diamond on his finger? I told you that you and Tyler could move into the mansion with me, and you’re running off with him?”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“Language,” he mocked. “I thought that you were different, but you’re just another gold-digging whore. Let me see if I’ve got this straight. You latched on to me because I’ve got more wealth, but when it became apparent that I wasn’t ever going to marry you, you go back to the next best thing.”

Stunned, I just stared at him. Pain sliced through my chest, and it hurt to breathe. “I told you that I loved you, and you told me that I could be your fuck buddy. And now you want to charge in here and judge me?”

He folded his arms over his chest. “I’m just calling it like I see it, sweetheart.”

“Momma?”

I reigned in my temper and looked past Graham to see Tyler and Crystal standing in the door. My son’s eyes lit up when he saw Graham.

“Hi, baby,” I said as I forced a smile. “I thought I told you that I’d come get you when I was finished.”

Tyler held out a book. “I know, but Crystal gave me this as a going-away present, and I didn’t want you to forget to pack it.”

Crystal’s gaze darted between Graham and I. “Julie, is everything okay?”

“Everything is fine.” I walked past him to take the book. “I’ll make sure to pack this, baby, okay? Can you go back with Crystal for just a little while longer?”

“Sure. Is Graham going to visit us at our new place?” He turned to Graham and grinned. “Momma got us a perm place in the city.”

“A permanent place,” Crystal said softly.

“A permanent place,” Tyler repeated slowly. “An apartment. Did I say it right?”

“You did great, baby,” I said as Graham stared at me. “Now go on, or you’ll be sleeping here again tonight.”

His eyes widened in horror, and he grabbed Crystal’s hand and dragged her from the room as he said a hasty goodbye to Graham.

“Julie,” he whispered.

“Go away, Graham,” I said tiredly. “I really don’t think there’s anything left for us to say. You feel bad, and you want to apologize, but it doesn’t matter. You’ve always expected me to just want you for your money, and I don’t think you’re ever going to let go of that idea. You have no idea what it’s like to love someone or be loved, and I won’t let you hurt Tyler. We both agreed that it would be nothing more than sex, and I took it too far. That’s on me. Now if you’ll please leave, I need to finish packing.”

“Where’s Jonathan?”

I threw another shirt in the luggage. At this point, I didn’t even care about folding it. “Tyler’s father went home with his tail tucked between his legs. Your little threat to marry me worked. He signed away his parental rights, and I signed a piece of paper saying that I’d never tell anyone the truth.”

“So you know?” His voice was dull, and I couldn’t even turn to face him.

“Yes, I do. Although, I thought you were volunteering to marry me because you had feelings for me. I guess it was just a measuring contest.” I threw another shirt in and slammed the top shut. I zipped it shut and waited, but there was only silence.

Graham left without another word, and it was the last crack that my shell could take. With no one there to witness it, I sank to my knees and burst into tears.