The only thing anchoring Ben to Earth right now was the comfort of Julie’s arms around him. He was so angry his head was spinning. The Reinhards had lied. Deliberately. And he knew why, too. Because they’d wanted Julie to stay with their daughter, not come back to Ben.

He was furious with the attacker, too, the man who had scared Julie away. And a little bit—maybe just a little—he was angry with Julie. Why had she believed for one second that he would stand her up on her birthday? Why hadn’t she found another way to reach him?

He held on to her more tightly. The girl Julie had been slim, almost a tomboy, someone who’d loved climbing trees and swimming in the ocean. The woman Julie was stronger, curvier, with the body of someone who did physical work for a living. But certain things hadn’t changed. Her hair still smelled like apples and felt like silk against his cheek.

“We need to go see the Reinhards.” The more he thought about it, the angrier he got. “I know what they were up to. They wanted to make sure their precious little girl was taken care of. They didn’t care about us.”

She licked her lips, a nervous gesture he remembered well. It used to turn him on, until he realized it meant she was anxious about something. “They know how to get what they want. They always have. I’ll talk to them.”

“Not without me,” he said firmly.

“I don’t think—”

“They lied to me. To my face. Come on, Julie. They can’t be trusted. You know what I’d like to do? Get them up in the Cessna and do Dutch rolls until they promise to tell the fucking truth.”

She gave him a skeptical frown. “Does your plane do that kind of thing?”

“Nope. That’s how pissed off I am. Twelve years, Julie. Twelve years they’ve had a chance to correct the record. Not a word.”

“You were gone,” she pointed out. “And they’ve had other things to deal with. Savannah had such a tough time after she had Felix. She had severe depression. She checked herself into the hospital a couple times. And then Felix got his diagnosis. It was one thing after another.”

“Are you making excuses for them? Why aren’t you angrier?”

“I am angry. Actually, I think I’m more numb than angry.” She took his hand in hers and interlaced their fingers. “The thing is, you’re here and I’m here, and I’m just so glad we’re speaking again. I don’t want to think about anything else.”

Speaking. He wanted to do a lot more than speaking. He pulled her against his chest and tangled his fingers in her silky hair. Emotion surged through his heart. She was right—everything else paled compared to the joy of being with her again.

Except…wrong was wrong. The Reinhards had to answer for what they’d done. “Are you saying you want to just let this go?”

She drew back, still within the circle of his arms. “No. They owe us a huge apology. But they’ve always been like this. They go after what they want. But I can see why they did it, because they were worried about Savannah and Felix.”

“That justifies ruining our lives?”

“No, of course not, but Ben…” She rested one hand on his heart. “You weren’t there. Felix needed me, more than you know. Savannah was in over her head, and I was too. It took both of us to take care of Felix.”

“How did that even work? Did you live with them?”

“At first I did, but then I got my own place in the same apartment complex. But I was still close enough so I could help out, especially after Savannah got cast in her first movie. All of a sudden, she had to go on location and so forth. She tried taking Felix but he couldn't handle the travel. If I hadn’t been there, I honestly don’t know what would have happened to Felix. He doesn’t like change, and he doesn’t like strangers.”

Ben absently rubbed his thumbs across the rise of her shoulder blades. He got it, he really did. A child had needed her, and Julie would always answer the call. That was who she was. But damn those Reinhards! Just thinking about their lie made his blood pressure rise.

The drone of an engine overhead caught their attention. He squinted up at the sleek craft gliding across the sky.

“Tobias in the Piper Matrix. I think he’s taking Starly and Hunter back to LA.”

“It’s so pretty and silver.”

He shaded his eyes from the sun as he watched it. He rarely got to see Knight and Day in action like this, a plane randomly spotted in the wild. Pride filled him as he traced its smooth path across the sky. He’d done that. He’d purchased that plane, formed that business, created the chance to give people the unforgettable experience of flying in a small craft.

Would any of that have happened if he hadn’t joined the Air Force? Would he have served his country, taken pride in that, if Julie hadn’t left?

The truth was, if he’d known about Savannah and Felix, he would have told her to go, to do what she had to do.

But that was the problem. He hadn’t known. Thanks to the Reinhards.

“Okay, back to the villains. It’s not just about their lies. What about you? What about all the things you used to talk about? Singing? Songwriting? College, for chrissake? What about your future? Are you always going to be catering to the Reinhards? All the generations?”

She shook his hand away from her and stepped back. “Are you talking about Felix? Don’t call him that.”

“Don’t call him a Reinhard?”

“He’s Felix. He’s his own person, and I’m his godmother. I’m not catering to him, or to Savannah. We’re friends. She gave me tons of support when I tried the songwriting thing. She paid for lessons, she set up a showcase for me. She’s my best friend.”

“Sorry,” he muttered, though it went against the grain. “I guess it’s the rest of the family I can’t stand. I never liked how they treated you. You’re a strong person, Julie, you always have been. Why don’t you stand up to them?”

“Well…” She traced a circle in the road with her boot, sending up a little plume of dust. “I did stand up to them, once.”

Ben lifted his eyebrows at her. This was news to him. “Before my time?”

“When we first moved into their guesthouse. I was ten, and they told me I couldn’t play in the woods. I threw such an epic tantrum that my mother actually gave her notice. They didn’t want her to leave so they gave in. But Mom was so mad at me, I never did it again.”

He grinned widely, loving the thought of Julie showing her fiery side to the Reinhards. “That’s what I like to hear. Epic tantrums. You should do more of that kind of thing.”

She swatted his chest lightly. “Easy for you to say, with all your brothers behind you. I was an only child of a single parent. And they were the all-powerful Reinhards. Who was going to have my back?”

“Me, which is probably why they didn’t like me.”

Smiling, she pulled away from him and hoisted herself back onto the passenger seat of his truck. “Well, maybe, but you have to admit that you’ve been glaring at me since I got back.”

“Glaring? No, I haven’t.” He strode to the driver’s side of the truck and slid back behind the wheel.

“Yes, you have. Glaring and flaunting.”

“Flaunting?”

“Yes. How many women have I seen you with since I got back? All the girls who’ve been flirting with you? The blond at the 7-Eleven. The jogging girl at your apartment. The girl at the hardware store. The girl at the pizza place—”

“What girl at the pizza place?” Ben started the truck. He was still steamed at the Reinhards, but this line of conversation was a lot more entertaining.

“Dark hair. Purple sweater.”

“The girl who asked for the crushed red pepper from our table? She wasn’t flirting with me.”

“Whatever.” She folded her arms across her chest.

A sense of triumph filled him. Julie had been keeping close track of his friendships with other women. There could be only one explanation for that. “You’re sounding a little jealous. I didn’t even know you were at the hardware store. Why didn’t you say hi?”

“So you could glare at me? I think not.”

“Oh, so I would have simultaneously glared and flaunted?” This was the most fun he’d had in about…hmmm…two months. Since the day Julie had first shown up.

“Yes. Glared, flaunted, and annoyed.” She laughed, finally catching on to the ridiculousness of the conversation. “Seriously, how do you get any work done with so many women flirting with you?”

“That’s a trick question and I refuse to answer it. But it does bring up a very important question.”

“Exactly when you turned into such a ladies’ man?”

“No. The question is, where does all this leave us? You and me?”

She looked over at him cautiously. “In what sense?”

“I mean, here we are. We’re both back in Jupiter Point, at least for now. We’ve both been through all kinds of shit. We’ve both been thinking bad things about each other for twelve years. So now what? What happens next in the saga of Ben and Julie?”