by Jerilee Kaye
“How long were you in Italy?”
“Six years,” she replied.
“That’s why I never saw you in any of the family photos and gatherings. Like Mason.”
She giggled humorlessly. “Exactly like Mason.”
He wouldn’t know what that meant. In her mind, she was sadly reminded that she and Mason were the symbols of how her family could be vindictive… and unforgiving.
“What about you? How come I never saw you in any of the family photos?”
“I’m camera-shy,” he replied.
“You’re Jin Starck. You must be used to the limelight by now,”
“Yeah. I get tired of it,” he said. “I have been so used to these soirees, gatherings, and social circles. But I’m really uncomfortable with this stuff. I would prefer privacy any day.”
“Me too. Especially now, I have been out of the limelight most of the time. It’s nice to live quietly. Without constantly being judged.”
“You would have been miserable as Patrick McAllister’s wife,” he murmured.
She nodded. “I think so too. Imagine always being in the tabloids just for eating too much cake? Or smudging a lipstick, or not wearing a lipstick at all?”
“Yeah, at least with me, you’d only be written about in business pages.”
She blinked back at him.
What did he just say?
She raised a brow at him. “What do you mean?”
He shrugged. “If you’d have chosen me then… you would only be mentioned in business columns. Other than that, you would have had all the privacy you needed.”
She shook her head and turned away from him. She sighed as she checked the cereal boxes in front of her. “Whoever said I chose Patrick McAllister over you?” She didn’t mean that as a question.
“Didn’t you?” he asked in a challenging tone.
She took a deep breath. Then she frowned and asked, “Are we really going to argue over this now? I mean... clearly, we didn’t have a future. You said, this is our stolen moment. And I don’t really want to waste this moment talking about Patrick McAllister. If you do… let me know.”
She saw realization cross his face. He stepped towards her and put his hands on her arms, giving them a gentle rub up and down. “You’re right, you’re right. I’m sorry, ma belle. It just came out.” He leaned forward and gave her a kiss on the forehead.
She turned around and took two boxes of cereal for Jared. She was silent the whole five minutes, lost in her thoughts.
If he only knew that I would choose him over anybody, any day. The reason why I was disinherited, why Patrick McAllister wanted revenge on me was because I chose him—I chose not to stay with him to protect him from my complicated life and the dangers that went with it.
While they were lining up at the counter, she felt his hand gently massage her nape. She looked up at him and he smiled at her wistfully. He pulled her to him and kissed her temple.
“I’m sorry, love,” he whispered. “I didn’t mean it like that. I was just thinking out loud.”
“You always think out loud and not care how others will feel about it?”
He sighed. “Sometimes,” he said. “I’m sorry.”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “You also don’t say sorry that much, do you?”
He bit his lower lip. “I do… sometimes.”
She rolled her eyes and turned back towards the cashier.
“Their card machines seemed to be working just fine here,” she said to him. “Please don’t attempt to pay for my groceries.”
“We will eat some of them tonight and the following days. You will cook for me. It’s only fair that I pay for them,” he argued.
“No. You’re helping me out. The least I could do is feed you. Otherwise, we could just go now and stop all this.”
He put his hands up in surrender. “Okay, fine.”
After paying for their groceries, she stopped by an ATM to get cash. Then she handed him a stack of bills.
“I told you not to pay for them. I would rather you cook for me.”
“And I am cooking for you. But I cannot make you pay for the decorations in my house.”
He groaned. “Pay me later. In the house.”
“Jin!”
“Later,” he insisted. “Come on, I’m starving. You can cook dinner tonight. But for now, let’s go to a steakhouse. We both need to pack up a lot of energy.”
After lunch, Jin stopped by the woodshop to buy some pieces of wood.
“What are those for?”
“I’m thinking one of your walls would be nice to have a vertical garden on it. Tomorrow, we can go to a nursery for plants and flowers.”
She had to admit, it was a great idea.
Half an hour later, Jin was parking in front of her house.
Julianne organized the groceries in the fridge and the cupboards while Jin brought the rest of the items they bought inside the house.
“Where’s the master’s?” he asked.
“Upstairs, the room on the right,” she replied.
He took his bag and hers upstairs. When he came down he was wearing a plain white shirt.
She raised a brow at him. “How come you have clothes with you? You didn’t know I was going to stay here for the weekend, did you?”
“I always have a bag of spare clothes in the car. I stay at White Rock when I’m in Chicago, but that’s a long drive away from the Adams Mansion. So, I always have a couple of days’ worth of clothing in the car. Just in case.”
“I should start thinking about that. Knowing your sister, I think she’s gonna do everything to make me and Jared stay over every time we come for a visit.”
“Yep. You can definitely expect that. Maybe she’ll even ask you to keep some clothes in the mansion.”
She laughed. “Well, she won’t ask that. She’ll impose on it.”
Jin fell silent for a moment. When Julianne looked up, she found that he was staring at her thoughtfully.
“What?”
He shook his head. “You really do love my sister, don’t you?”
Julianne thought of her lowest moments and how Adrienne was always there by her side. Even when her cousins were pressuring her to tell them who knocked her up, Adrienne was there telling them to leave her alone.
She nodded. “To the moon and back.”
“You know, I had loved Adrienne way before I met her. Ever since I could remember, she had a room in our house. Mom took care of that room, decorated and cleaned it over the years, as if she was living with us. I started painting for that room when I was fifteen,” Jin said. “We didn’t know where she was, if she was still alive and if we would ever find her at all. But I do remember spending time in her room, ever since I was a boy, especially when I had misunderstandings with my parents. I always thought, that if she was with us, she would always be there to protect me, take care of me.”
“I’m sure she would,” Julianne agreed. “She’s a beautiful, old soul. I could totally understand why Justin is out-of-his-skull in love with her. Even now. After almost a decade of being together.”
“Well, he should,” Jin said. “Because I won’t hesitate to kill him with my bare hands if he hurts my sister.”
“I’m sure you wouldn’t have to. Justin may have had the reputation of a playboy before, but he’s loyal and… he genuinely has a heart.”
Jin narrowed his eyes at her. “Are you saying… he has a heart. Unlike some people you know… like me, specifically?”
She realized what she just said and immediately she regretted the last words that came out of her mouth. She shook her head. “No. That’s not what I meant. I’m sorry.”
“I can’t say I blame you or the others who say I don’t have a heart,” he murmured. “Looking back at the last six years of my life… I probably would say the same.”
She sighed sadly. She didn’t know if she was the reason for that. If Jin really did love her in the past, then she left him broken and vulnerable. And h
is way of fighting back, of protecting himself from the pain was to become guarded and untrusting… careful of feeling emotions, but careless of others’ feelings.
“Where do you want to start?” she asked, changing the subject.
“The wall. Let’s paint it before the delivery arrives,” he replied. “Let me get the plastics and the tools to cover the edges.”
For the next thirty minutes, they worked on moving the furniture away from the wall they would paint. They covered the flooring with plastic and Jin covered the corners and edges with tape. Then they started painting using roller brushes.
Julianne was surprised because Jin really looked like he knew what he was doing. She could tell from his strokes that he had done this before. In less than an hour, they were able to cover the entire wall. Julianne was pleased with the color they chose and how well it blended with the rest of the walls and the parquet flooring.
She stared up at Jin. His hair was a little disheveled, but apart from that, he still looked like he had just stepped out from the covers of a magazine.
“You didn’t even break a sweat,” she teased.
He smiled at her. “This was nothing compared to what I paint when we buy out a new property for rebuilding or renovation.”
“Don’t you have contractors doing that for you?”
“Yeah. But I’m a hands-on guy. Usually when it comes to initial painting of the walls or installation of wallpapers, I’m always there. I’m involved in the interior designs. And I’m particular with the colors.”
“And here I am thinking all you do is look good and charm women,” she joked.
“Well, I can’t really help the looking good part, can I?”
She gave him a playful jab on the stomach. “Conceited!”
He laughed. Then he pulled her towards him so she could stand in front of him. He wound his arms around her waist and kissed her temple.
“You like the color?” he asked.
She nodded, suddenly feeling her knees weaken at the touch of his skin against hers. But at the same time, a feeling of familiarity and warmth was creeping through her.
She wished things didn’t have to be complicated. And that this moment didn’t have to be stolen at all.
“It’s very nice,” she whispered.
He spun her around and cupped her butt cheeks, lifting her off her feet, making her wrap her legs around his hips.
She wound her arms around his neck.
His eyes twinkled when he said, “I remember before I left for Paris, we had some unfinished business.”
Her eyes widened. “Jin! You can’t seriously be thinking about that!”
“Oh, ma belle. I think about that every single waking hour.”
He pulled her to him and gave her a deep kiss on the lips. She kissed him back and allowed herself to drown in the sea of mixed emotions she was feeling. Then he hugged her to him and leaned his head against hers. He breathed in the scent of her.
“I want to give you something,” he said.
“What?”
He settled her down on her feet gently. Then he took something out of his pocket. It was a khaki colored pouch with an emblem on the bottom. He handed it to her. Julianne read the logo. It spelled VCA and her heart pounded wildly inside her chest.
She opened it and found a stunning Van Cleef and Arpels, ten motif gold and diamond necklace. She was raised as an heiress. She knew her diamonds and jewelry well. And she knew that this luxurious necklace retailed for more than fifty grand.
“Jin… why?”
“Because I want to,” he replied. “It will look nice on you. You can wear it when you attend soirees and parties that Justin asks you to attend.”
He must have noticed that I do not wear jewelry at all.
The last jewelry she wore to a party was a borrowed piece from Adrienne.
“This is expensive. I cannot accept this.”
He narrowed his eyes at her. “You cannot accept it because it’s expensive? Or because it’s from me?”
She shook her head. “Both. Because it’s expensive and because you have no reason to give me jewelry.”
“I’m crazy about you,” he whispered. “How’s that for a reason?”
She stepped closer to him and combed his hair back with her fingers. “We’re always going to be complicated, Jin. And I do not accept material favors, especially ones that are as expensive as this, from a guy I sleep with.” She sighed. “And besides, this is worth more than fifty grand. Everybody around me knows I only spend for Jared’s needs nowadays. Van Cleef motifs are definitely not in the list of my priority things to buy.”
“Won’t they just assume that your boyfriend gave it to you as a gift?”
“Everybody knows I don’t have a boyfriend.”
“I don’t know how long I can keep this a secret,” he said, shaking his head. “If it were up to me, I’d shout out to the world that you’re mine, Arabella.”
She paused for a moment, composing herself. Then she said, “I’m yours… only for these stolen moments. So, can we just please enjoy this weekend? And then after… we should walk away while we still can. Before we can do serious damage to each other.”
“What made you think I can still walk away from this?” he asked her evenly.
“You have to,” she countered. “You’re Jin Starck. You have an obligation to fulfill to your family. You owe it to your grandfathers.” She shook her head. “Don’t choose me, Jin. I have nothing to offer you.”
He raised a brow at her. “Why do you always undermine yourself? You’re Julianne Sanders. You’re not exactly a nobody. And even if you are, I don’t give a damn.”
“We have this weekend. Let’s just make the most of it, okay?”
He frowned for a moment. He gave her a sober look but she merely smiled at him apologetically. She bit her lower lip to fight back the tears. Her heart bloated and bled for him at the same time.
He pushed a lock of stray hair away from her face. Then he pulled her to him and enclosed her in a tight embrace. “Fine,” he said. “But just so you know, this necklace has a matching set. You can keep rejecting my gifts but I’m not going to stop. I will just keep trying until you accept them… until you accept me.”
It was tempting to accept his offer. But she knew it would come with a great price. Jin Starck was a powerful man. But with his power came responsibilities to take his company to the top. He would do everything for that dream—even if he had to marry for business advantage. And she couldn’t be the woman who hung around in the dark and waited for him to come whenever he was free to give her stolen moments. Because that’s what would happen when he made his engagement to Vanessa Bernard official. She may be disinherited or disgraced, but even she deserved better than that.
24.
Julianne spent the rest of the afternoon washing the curtains and beddings so she could dry them and use them immediately. The delivery came around three in the afternoon and Jin paid the delivery guys extra so they could assemble and install the shelves, tables and chairs.
Julianne cooked pesto pasta and baked éclair squares. Then she prepared a blend of fruit juice. She brought the tray out in the backyard for Jin.
She found him talking on the phone, with his back towards her.
“Gatwick, just get it done,” he was saying to the other person on the line. “I will give you the address and phone number by email. Tell the guy that money is not a problem. Pay him a premium. Double the price if needed. Then I want works to commence immediately after you close the deal.” He paused to listen to the other guy. Then he added. “No. Dad will not question this because I will not use Starck Corp’s resources. It’s my personal project. You know I can afford that all on my own. Comprenez-vous?”
He hung up the phone and turned around to face her.
“That sounded intense,” she commented. “You could use a break.”
She placed the tray on the table.
“You cooked?”
“No. I
just waived my hands in the air and chanted, ‘Abracadabra!’” she said in a teasing tone.
“Ha-ha,” he chuckled and pinched her nose playfully.
She handed him a plate of pasta with toasted garlic bread. Then she poured him a glass of juice.
He took a bite of his pasta. Then he stared back at her and smiled.
“What?”
“This is really good! I haven’t had pesto as good as this.” And he attacked his pasta like he hadn’t eaten in days.
Julianne smiled to herself. Her chicken pesto spaghetti was Jared’s favorite too.
Like father, like son.
He drank his juice. “What’s in this thing?”
“Cucumber, mint and melon,” she replied.
“Very nice,” he said.
When he took a bite of the eclairs, he was smiling like a little kid.
“What?”
He shook his head. He finished his éclair and then pulled her to him.
“What are you grinning about?”
He hugged her and then he whispered in her ear, “Damn, my woman can cook.”
“Well, I was afraid I was a bit out of practice,” she said, pulling away. “I used to have my own kitchen in my father’s house. When I lived in Italy, I invaded Abi’s kitchen most of the time. She was always busy anyway. But when I arrived at the Adams Mansion, they had plenty of help around, they did not allow me much in the kitchen.”
“So, you’re really happy you have your own kitchen now.”
She beamed. “Hell yeah! I’m gonna buy a lot of kitchenware, after I settle everything here.”
“You deserve a bigger kitchen.”
“Well, right now, that’s all I could afford and it’s more than enough. Maybe someday, when I have my own brownstone house, I will make space for a bigger kitchen.”
“You should do that,” he said.
She looked at what Jin had done on the backyard. He had cut some wood and nailed them to make frames for a vertical garden.
“Wow! I didn’t know you have some skill on carpentry.”
“Carpentry. Landscaping,” he said. “Contrary to everyone’s perception, Starck Corp. was created not just inside the boardrooms. A lot of it was built on sweat and hard labor.”