It’s why they found me at the library.
He’d been trying to teach himself.
But Judy and Pete hadn’t been average foster parents. They’d genuinely invested in the kids in their care. Even now, years later, many of their foster charges stayed in touch.
It takes special people to do what they did.
Especially without ever asking a thing in return.
“How did you get through to him?” Lillian asked.
“It wasn’t easy,” Judy said as she cut into her meat. “He wouldn’t have anything to do with us for weeks.”
Those deep blue eyes turned back to him. “Shame on you,” she scolded.
“I was a teenager.”
“Still.”
“I thought I knew best.”
Her lips twitched. “Still.”
He gave in with a nod of his head. “I was a horror. My apologies.”
“There you go,” she said as she took a sip of her wine.
“Only at first,” Judy said. “It took a little time before he settled in.”
“Two years,” Pete said. “Then he got himself a scholarship and didn’t look back.”
“We tried to keep in touch,” Judy said. “But you know. Life happens.”
Lillian frowned at him.
He held up his hands for peace. “They lost touch with me,” he clarified. “I never lost touch with them.”
She rolled her eyes. “You were what, watching them from afar?”
“Exactly,” Judy said. “Never knew it until he bought this place for us.”
“So you disappeared for years and tried to solve it with money?” she asked.
He opened his mouth before closing it. She had a point. That was his usual strategy. In his defense, it worked more often than not.
It wouldn’t with Lillian.
Any more than it had with his foster family.
“He was a busy man,” Judy defended him, ever his staunch supporter.
“Family matters,” Lillian replied.
Judy smiled before nodding. “You’re right. He made a mistake.”
He groaned. “By the rules of marriage, you’re supposed to be on my side.”
“We’re not married,” she said tartly. “And you were definitely in the wrong.”
“You’re condemning me without hearing my side of the story.”
She tapped her finger to her cheek, considering, before shaking her head. “Nope, I believe Judy on this one.”
“Good girl,” Pete weighed in.
“Thanks,” he said drily.
Pete clapped him on the shoulder. “The women are always right, son. Learn it now.”
Probably sage advice.
Sighing, he stabbed a potato and stayed silent.
“Tell me more about what he was like when he was younger,” Lillian said. “I’m sure he was a handful.”
“You have no idea,” Judy said. “I once caught him teaching another one of our foster kids how to pick pockets undetected.”
“Come on, he wasn’t going to last, and he needed a skill,” he defended himself.
“What did I tell you about your illegal abilities?”
“Use them in a magic show.”
“Otherwise they aren’t for polite consumption.”
He rolled his eyes, but Lillian giggled, appearing to be enjoying herself more than he thought she would. His chest warmed.
“Who knows?” he said. “Maybe the kid used those skills for good.”
“Gareth is in jail for grand larceny,” Pete piped in.
Oops.
“I can’t tell you how many nights I spent awake thinking Julian would wind up in jail,” Judy said with a shake of her head.
“And here I am, your most successful foster.”
“Hey, now, Alexis is a corporate lawyer,” Judy said, her voice full of pride.
“And Jim started his own shelter,” Pete put in.
He rubbed his jaw to smother a smile. Some might think a billion-dollar empire would trump a soup kitchen, but not his foster parents. They were equally proud of all the kids that had lived under their roof. But of the dozens of kids who had graduated from their home, he was the one they claimed as family. Even when he’d done all but ignore them, they’d always been there cheering him on.
They loved me when I had nothing.
And they loved him just as much now.
“I take it he never landed in jail?” his companion asked.
“Not on our watch,” Judy said. “But he left as soon as he could get into school, so who knows.”
“I have dinner with the chief of police every other month,” he said.
“There you go. He’s either an upstanding citizen or planning a heist,” Pete said.
Lillian chuckled. “Let’s hope for the former.”
He eyed his partner in crime, noting her shoulders had relaxed and her smile was bright and easy. Sometimes she seemed to be holding her breath around him as if she were waiting for some shoe to drop and crush her.
But tonight, her guard was down. She was relaxed and open in a way he hadn’t seen before.
And it’s addicting.
“What was your childhood like, honey? Do you come from a big family too?” Judy asked as she ladled more peas onto Lillian’s plate without asking.
She eyed the vegetables but didn’t protest. “No,” she said. “I lost my mother young, so my sister and I basically raised ourselves.”
What?
“You had your father,” he added.
Her gaze skittered away from him. “Yes.”
“Where’s your sister now?” Judy asked.
Watching her as closely as he was, there was no missing the slight tightening around her lips. “She’s out of town at the moment. Hopefully, you’ll meet her at the wedding.”
“But you’re close?” Judy asked.
Those blue eyes returned to his with steel in them he didn’t understand. “Yes,” she said, her voice more confident that he’d ever heard her. “There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for her.”
What am I missing here?
Did she think he’d try to separate her from her family?
“I’ll look forward to meeting her, then,” Judy said, oblivious to Lillian’s odd behavior.
“I’ll introduce you,” she said, her focus returning to her food.
He opened his mouth to investigate further, but then a clap of thunder shook the house.
“What was that?” Lillian asked, dropping her spoon.
“Oh dear,” Judy replied, going to the window and peering out into the darkness. “Julian, you’re not going to like this.”
He groaned. “I checked the weather. There was only a thirty percent chance of rain.”
“I think you can up that to a hundred percent now,” Pete said as droplets pattered on the window pane.
“Should we cut dinner short?” Lillian asked. “It’s a long drive back if it’s bad weather.”
“Not a terrible idea,” he said, considering.
“Bah, you can’t head out in this,” Judy said as lightning lit the windows. “You know what the roads are like around here. No streetlamps this far into the country.”
“Did you have an appointment in the morning?” Lillian asked him.
“Not till the afternoon, but I planned to get some work done.” He rubbed his jaw, debating the safety of jumping in the car versus waiting it out. “Maybe it won’t be a long storm.”
Pete snorted. “We get some wicked summer squalls up here. Just sit tight. We have room, don’t we, Judy?”
“Of course,” she replied. “Everything’s all set.”
Alarm lit Lillian’s eyes. “Oh, I don’t think…”
“It’s got a nice queen bed, so you’ll have tons of space,” Judy said.
“Isn’t there another room?”
“Everything else is booked, I’m afraid,” Pete said.
She chewed on her lips, and her indecision made him come to a verdict of his o
wn.
The rain might be doing me a favor.
“You’re right—the safest choice is to spend the night,” he declared. “It doesn’t put us out too much, right, Lillian?”
She sighed. “No, you’re right. Safety first.”
“Then it’s settled. We’ll stay.”
And he’d do his best not to let his mind wander to all his decadent fantasies that featured his fiancée and a private room.
Chapter Thirteen
Holly played with her necklace as she stared out through the rain-spattered window. After dinner, she’d helped Judy clean up, hoping to keep her mind off of the one thing she couldn’t stop thinking about.
I have to share a bedroom with Julian.
In any other circumstances, she’d jump at the chance. All night with a yummy man she’d love to run her hands over? Sign her up. Which was what made this so complicated.
If she were Holly, she’d fall into bed with her partner without any hesitation. But as Lillian, she should be holding him at arm’s length, not tangling them all up even more.
But I want him, and he wants me.
Did she have to think about the future? Couldn’t she live in the moment for once and take what they both wanted?
What about Lillian?
Before she crossed this line, she needed to know her sister was utterly out of the picture. Fishing her cell from her pocket, she pulled up her sister’s contact info and quickly typed out a text.
You need to respond. Is there any chance at all of you marrying Julian? Because I’m about to spend a night with him in a B&B, and I really want your answer to be no. Please tell me you have no future with him.
She hit send and ran her fingers through her hair. Lillian hadn’t replied to any of her texts, no doubt to stay off the PI’s radar. Would she see the importance of this one?
I need to know. Once and for all.
Was she playing in another woman’s fairy tale?
Or was Julian available in a way she hadn’t dared to think about?
She flipped the phone from hand to hand as she paced the elegant room. It had all the B&B charm guests would expect, with lace tablecloths, a four-poster bed, and a decorative tea set in the corner. The setting was serene and peaceful, but nothing was going to calm her agitation.
What if Lillian ignored this text like all the others? Then she’d have to make a choice. It was normal for Julian to want to test out sexual compatibility before entering into a lifetime with someone.
What was she going to do?
The door opened as she paced.
“You all right?” Julian asked as he entered the room, shaking his damp hair.
“Were you outside?”
“Wanted to grab my phone charger,” he replied. “Pete’s right. The storms up here are no joke. Judy’s down in the lobby handing out towels to the guests that got caught in it.”
“Good thing we’re staying then.”
“Mm.” He walked over to the two armchairs set before the dark fireplace and dropped into one of them. “If you want to talk about sleeping arrangements, we can.”
“What do you mean?” she asked, drifting closer.
He shrugged. “I can sleep in this chair if it makes you more comfortable.”
Warmth bloomed in her chest. “Doesn’t sound fun.”
“I’d rather have a sore back than make you nervous,” he said, leaning his head on his hand. “This night isn’t exactly going as we planned.”
“That just won you major brownie points.”
He grinned. “I know how I want to cash them in.”
A cursed blush heated her cheeks. Yeah, it didn’t take a genius to figure out exactly what he was thinking, and she was more than willing to follow his lead.
This isn’t fair.
He didn’t know all the stakes here. He believed she was someone she wasn’t.
I’m doing it for the right reasons. The company is depending on me.
But right here and now, those people seemed very far away. In the light of day, her reasons made a cold kind of sense. She was prioritizing her workers over her heart.
Standing alone with him next to a bed, however, made all her reasons ring hollow. When she stripped everything else away, there was no hiding how much she wanted this man or hated what she was forced to do.
“It’s okay,” he said, and she realized her silence had stretched too long. “I really don’t mind the chair.” He pushed to his feet and crossed the distance between them. “Let me run and grab an extra blanket before we get settled in.”
Her fingers closed around his sleeve. “Don’t,” she replied. “We can share the bed, at least. I promise I’m not a cover hog.”
“Good to know. But better safe than sorry.” He dropped a quick kiss on her cheek. “I’ll be two minutes, tops.”
Her eyes drifted closed at the brief contact.
Why was it always her life that got derailed? Why was she always the runner-up? She’d finally found a man capable of pulling her out of her quiet, safe world, and she wanted to run toward him with everything in her.
How was she supposed to push him away now?
None of this is fair to any of us.
When he pulled back from her, her stomach dropped. Watching him walk to the door was the last thing she wanted to see.
In her hand, the phone vibrated.
“Wait,” she called.
Unable to believe it, she turned the cell over to see a message on her screen.
From Lillian.
No way.
A wave of dizziness swept over her. Of all the questions she’d sent, this was the one her sister chose to reply to?
Pulling up the message, she read the four words over twice.
All yours. Love you.
A shiver raced through her, followed immediately by a desire she was now free to explore.
He’s mine?
Marriage to Lillian was totally off the table? Completely?
He wasn’t tied to another woman?
Joy lit inside her. Whatever Lillian’s plan was, it must be working. Which meant she’d have a hell of an explanation to give, but maybe, just maybe, there was a way through this for Julian and her.
He might forgive me for this. If Lillian saves the company, I can tell him for the truth about why we switched places.
Where they went after that was up to him. Would the connections she offered be enough to make up for what he’d miss by not marrying Lillian?
Her heart rate kicked up in excitement. No doubt he’d be livid about her using the wrong name, but that would be the worst of her crimes. And if he cared about her the way she was starting to care about him, wouldn’t the opportunities they had together be worth more than a few letters?
I want to be with him. See where this really leads.
Not as her sister. But as herself.
Over and over, she’d tried to be someone else. Someone more than what she was. No one wanted plain old Holly.
Except Julian.
He saw her. She was sure of it.
And for the first time, she didn’t want to hide.
Her hands trembled. Was she really going to do this? Leap without looking? This could all blow up in her face so easily.
“Don’t go.” The words slipped out of her as if she was helpless to keep them inside. For better or worse, all she wanted was him.
A slow smile split his lips before he turned the old-fashioned lock on the door.
Adrenaline shot through her as he prowled closer, but with it came one more realization.
Lillian might have given her blessing, but there was still one more problem she couldn’t overcome. Not tonight.
But it wasn’t fair not to tell him the truth.
She flipped her necklace through her fingers.
How do I make this better? What can I tell him?
She didn’t want to talk him out of this, but he deserved to know not everything was as it seemed.
You could lose him wit
h this gamble.
The smart play would be to make him sleep in the chair.
Wetting her lips, she chose her words carefully. “What if I had a secret I couldn’t tell you?”
He blinked, some of the lust in his gaze banking at the unexpected question. “A secret? Sounds dramatic.” He started walking again, closing the distance between them.
“You have no idea,” she replied.
“And you can’t tell me?”
She shook her head. “Not yet.”
He stopped before her, tilting his head to the side as he examined her. “Do you want to?”
“Yes.” There was no ignoring the truth in that one simple word.
“And it’s about us.”
“Yes,” she said again.
His hands molded over her hips. “Is this secret stopping you from falling into bed with me?”
She bit back a laugh. “Yes.”
“All right, then, that’s easy.” He pulled her closer. “Keep your secrets and kiss me.”
Her fingers tightened on his shirt. “What?”
A smile ghosted over his lips. “I have years to prove I’m trustworthy. You’ll tell me eventually.”
“Just like that?” she demanded. “You trust me that way?”
He stared down at her for a long moment before simply saying, “Yes.”
Such an easy answer, and yet the most complicated one she’d ever received.
He trusts me.
A woman who was lying to him.
A woman who was falling for him.
Who am I?
Where did her loyalties lie?
His fingers threaded through her hair.
“So much thinking,” he murmured. “My poor Lillian.”
Not my name.
“I don’t care about the future,” he said. “I just want you. In or out?”
A new determination lit within her. The old Holly would have run away and hidden from a situation this intense. But meeting him had changed everything. Now she wanted to revel in every second she had with him. However long that might be.
Betraying the Billionaire (Abbott Sisters) Page 10