“I owe you one,” Julia said as she crawled off his lap and walked across the room.
She reached Ava before he’d even gotten up, and carefully lifted her out of the bouncy seat.
Damn, they make a pretty picture, he thought as Julia walked toward him.
“Here’s your daddy,” Julia said, handing Ava off to him.
All his worries were forgotten as he folded his beautiful daughter into his embrace. But when he glanced up at Julia, she was gazing at them wistfully.
Well, not all my worries.
Chapter Nine
The next day, Julia pulled into the parking lot of her dad’s pediatric practice. Parking next to his blue Mercedes, she sighed. As the only child, it had been expected that she would follow in her father’s footsteps and become a doctor or a nurse, but the mere sight of a needle made her squeamish. Much to her father’s chagrin, she’d decided to study accounting, a much neater profession without all that messy human emotion attached to it. Give her a spreadsheet full of figures, and she was happy.
After obtaining her accounting degree, Julia had reluctantly agreed to begin her career by taking over the accounting tasks at her father’s office. Call it familial duty or, more accurately, guilt. But three years later, when she’d seen the ad in the paper for an accountant at a nearby photography studio, she’d jumped at the chance.
When she’d first told her parents about wanting to quit, they’d been so disappointed that she’d offered to continue working for them on the side. But she’d made it very clear that her first priority was her job with Harper. So far, she’d been able to juggle both jobs and keep both of her employers happy.
Before she and Connor had started dating, she would have looked forward to going there, but not today. She hadn’t spoken much to her parents since the night she and Connor had had dinner with them. It was difficult knowing that her parents were disappointed in her, but she was a grown woman, and she could make her own decisions about who to date.
She suspected that their disappointment had less to do with Connor and more to do with her breakup with Alec. After all, it was her father who had set her up with Alec in the first place. As the son of one of her dad’s colleagues, their families had always been close. At first, Alec had seemed like the perfect match for her as they had a lot in common, including their Asian-American heritage.
But after dating for almost a year, they’d started discussing marriage, and it was then that their relationship had fallen apart. She still remembered the conversation very clearly…
“If we’re going to get married, we should probably discuss some of the big issues that can cause problems, don’t you think?” she’d asked him over dinner one night.
“Like what?” Alec said as he used a fork and spoon to twist some spaghetti noodles into a perfect bite-sized portion. He was nothing if not meticulous.
“You know, like money for example. Who’s going to balance the checkbook? Are we going to have a joint account or keep separate funds? That sort of thing.”
Alec swallowed his bite and dabbed the corners of his mouth with a napkin. He was the only person she knew who could eat spaghetti without getting a drop of sauce on him. Thinking of that, Julia glanced down at her blouse and discovered that yes, indeed, there was a bright orange stain right above her left breast. Dipping a napkin in her water glass, she dabbed at the stain and waited for Alec to respond.
But instead of answering her questions, he said, “That’s just going to make it worse. Why don’t you wait until you get home to treat the stain?” And then he looked around the restaurant as if to make sure that nobody was watching them.
While she usually admired his affinity for neatness, sometimes it really bugged the crap out of her—like now. Who cared if she was wiping a stain off her boob? Nobody was paying them the least bit of attention.
“You haven’t answered my questions,” she said, giving up on the stain.
“Well, I think it’s pretty obvious. You’re the one with the accounting degree, so you should balance the checkbook. And I don’t see any reason to have separate accounts. What’s mine is yours, and vice versa.” With that, he went back to his spaghetti.
“So, that’s it? Just because I’m an accountant, I have to balance the checkbook?” She wasn’t sure why that bothered her, but it did. Maybe it was because of the haughty way he’d said it, almost like he couldn’t be bothered with such a menial task.
Alec didn’t flinch. He simply swallowed his bite and then set down his fork again before answering. “Would you rather mow the lawn instead?”
“Huh?” She wasn’t sure what the correlation was, but he was about to explain.
“The way I see it, I’ll probably be the one who mows the lawn and takes care of the outside maintenance because that’s what guys do. I wouldn’t ask you to do it because it doesn’t seem like something you’d be interested in. Just like I’m not particularly interested in balancing the checkbook. See? It all works out in the end.”
But Julia wasn’t done. “What if I want to mow the lawn? Are you not going to let me?”
She must have ruffled him, because his brow quirked up a notch on the right side. It wasn’t much, but it was a sign that she’d gotten to him. Why she felt victorious over that, she had no idea.
“Do you want to mow the lawn?” he asked incredulously.
“Not particularly, but that’s beside the point. If I did want to, I should be able to.”
“Fine. If you want to mow the lawn, go ahead, but I’m still not interested in balancing the checkbook.”
Just then, the waitress came over and asked if they wanted dessert.
“Yes,” Julia said.
“No,” Alec said simultaneously.
The waitress looked between them and giggled, but neither of them joined in her laughter.
This was another glitch in their relationship. Julia loved chocolate and desserts in general; however, Alec was a strict eater who only indulged in dessert on special occasions. No amount of coaxing would get him to change his mind. She’d tried everything, including using dessert to lure him into the bedroom, but the man wouldn’t budge. She didn’t like to think about what that said about their sex life.
After a while, Julia had stopped trying, but she didn’t let that prevent her from ordering dessert. “I’ll have a hot fudge brownie with whipped cream and a cherry on top,” she said proudly.
Alec remained silent until the waitress walked away, and then he leaned across the table and said, “You know how bad all that sugar is for you, right?”
The joys of dating a doctor-in-training. Having a father who was a doctor, you’d have thought she’d be used to it, but compared to Alec, her dad was lenient. Instead of preaching abstinence (with food), he talked about maintaining a balanced diet, and that included occasional treats.
So, growing up, Julia had learned to enjoy her dessert in small quantities. Tonight, however, she planned to eat the entire hot fudge brownie just out of spite.
Ignoring the sugar comment, she said, “Let’s move on to another topic, shall we?”
“Sure. Which topic do you want to discuss next?”
“Kids,” she said without hesitation.
This time, his jaw twitched, and she wondered what it meant. Since he hadn’t said anything yet, she continued. “I’d like to have at least two or three, God willing.”
Alec picked up his water glass and took a long drink, averting his eyes the entire time.
Uh-oh. This doesn’t look promising.
“Well?” she asked when he’d finished drinking.
Clearing his throat, Alec said, “I’m not really interested in having children.”
BOOM! Julia’s jaw dropped, her eyes bugged out, and she accidentally leaned forward, right into her plate of spaghetti. And the kicker was, he’d said it as matter-of-factly as he’d said he wasn’t interested in balancing the checkbook. Hello? Two completely different things!
“You’re…not…interested?
” she stammered.
And there came the waitress, bearing a plate piled high with a mammoth brownie, vanilla ice cream, hot fudge, whipped cream, and a cherry on top. The waitress took one look at Julia’s soiled blouse and said, “Oh. I’m so sorry about your top. I should have cleared your plate earlier, but I didn’t think you were done.”
“Oh, we’re done,” Julia said, looking at Alec pointedly.
But true to his character, he didn’t dare show a flicker of emotion in front of the waitress. Had the man always been this stoic? How had she not noticed?
The waitress hurriedly cleared their plates, and then she set the dessert in front of Julia. “It’s on the house,” she said before walking away.
The dessert looked and smelled wonderful, but Julia wanted to wrap up their conversation first.
“Do you mean you’re not interested in having two or three? Because I guess we could compromise on that,” she said.
Alec shook his head. “No. That’s not what I meant. I meant that I don’t want to have any.”
“Any as in none? Zero? Zilch?”
“That’s right,” he said.
She honestly couldn’t believe it. Not just that he didn’t want kids but that they’d never discussed this before. How could they not have? She loved kids. Her dad was a pediatrician, for God’s sake. She’d known she’d wanted children since she was a child herself. How could this be happening?
“I can see that you’re upset by this,” Alec said, interrupting her thoughts. “But it doesn’t mean we can’t work something out.”
Eyebrows raised, she said, “How? You don’t want kids, and I do. How do we work that out?” She hadn’t realized how loud she was being until she noticed the lady at the table next to them staring.
Lowering his voice, Alec said, “Aren’t you going to eat that?”
Glancing down at her plate, Julia saw that her beautiful dessert was turning into a pile of mush, and it suddenly looked very unappetizing. It would be one of the very few times in her life she’d turn away dessert.
“No. I’m not interested,” she said and stood up abruptly.
“Julia. Wait. Where are you going?”
“Home.”
“You can’t leave without me. I drove,” he said, a touch of panic in his voice.
“Hand me your keys.”
“Why?”
“Hand me your keys,” she repeated, eyes narrowing at him.
This time, he must have realized that she was serious, because he fished his keys out of his pocket and placed them in her hand. She’d turned to walk away when he said, “How am I supposed to get home?”
“You’re going to be a doctor. You figure it out,” she said and stomped off to the sound of the lady clapping from the next table over.
After she and Alec had broken up, she hadn’t minded working the extra hours, but now that Connor was in the picture, and Ava too, she would have rather been with them. Them. How funny, that she was already thinking of them as a set when a week ago it had just been him. And then she realized that she hadn’t told her parents about Ava yet. If they were already displeased about her dating Connor, how would they feel once they found out he had a child?
She was so lost in thought that she forgot she was sitting in her car until another vehicle pulled up and parked in the space beside her. When she glanced over, she said, “Oh no. Not again.”
They stepped out of their cars at the same time, and Alec said, “Hey, Jules.”
“What are you doing here?” she snapped even though she already knew the answer.
“I’m meeting with Dr. Lee to go over some questions I have.”
Ugh. How was it that she’d managed to avoid him for months and now he kept showing up just like a bad penny. As if I don’t have enough to deal with.
Turning away, she started walking toward the front door, and in two long strides, Alec was right beside her.
“Are you working today?” he asked.
It was obvious he was trying to make small talk, but she really wasn’t up to it.
“Yes, but if I’d have known you would be here…”
“You wouldn’t have come. Yeah. I kind of gathered that.”
“Look, Alec. I don’t mean to be rude, but it’s a little awkward, don’t you think?”
“What is?”
“You hanging out with my dad. Us running into each other. When people break up, they’re not meant to keep in contact. That’s kind of the whole idea behind breaking up.”
Alec smiled at her, not looking the least bit offended. “I see you still have that quirky sense of humor.”
Ignoring him, she slid her key in the lock, opened the door, and stepped inside with him right on her heels. Hearing her dad’s voice, she figured he was on the phone, and she was just as glad. She wasn’t ready to face him yet, and now she had Alec to deal with too.
“I wasn’t kidding, Alec. It was kind of upsetting when you showed up at Mom and Dad’s house the night I was there with Connor.”
“Connor, huh. So, you’re still seeing him?”
“Yes,” she said as she went behind the front desk and set down her purse. She hoped Alec would take the hint that she didn’t want to talk when she turned her back and started digging through a file drawer for some papers she needed.
“How’s that working out?” he asked. Once again, she wondered how he was able to stay so cool and detached. Was he missing the part of the brain that processed emotions? Did he want to be friends now? Or was he just trying to be nice because of her dad?
“It’s going good,” she said, but she must not have sounded convincing enough.
“You sure?”
“Yes. Why do you ask?”
“I just care about you, that’s all. Even though things didn’t work out for us, I still want you to be happy.”
Setting down the file folder she’d been holding, she looked him in the eyes for the first time in a long time. She searched for a trace of insincerity, jealousy, or ulterior motives, but she came up empty. Empty. That was a good word for how she felt about Alec now. It was hard to believe that at one time, she’d wanted to marry him. It was amazing how much had changed in the course of a few months, weeks, or days (in the case of Ava’s arrival). Julia felt like a different person now, a better version of herself. And if Alec was being this civil toward her, she owed him the same courtesy.
“What about you? Are you dating anyone new?”
“No. I’m too busy with my studies to think about dating,” he said.
Just then, Dr. Lee walked up behind Alec and clapped him on the shoulder.
Her father walked so softly that she hadn’t heard him approach, and she wondered how much he’d overheard.
He shook Alec’s hand and then turned to her. “Good morning, sweetheart. I wasn’t sure if you’d be here today.”
“It’s my Sunday to work,” she replied, shooting him a tentative smile. She hated the awkwardness between them, but she wasn’t sure how to smooth things over. If her parents had reservations about Connor before, wait until they found out about Cam and Ava.
“Well, I’m glad you’re here. Maybe we can have lunch together when you’re done working, and Alec can join us.”
And just like that, she shut down again.
“Thanks for the invite, Dr. Lee, but I have plans this afternoon,” Alec said unexpectedly.
“So do I,” Julia said. Part of her hated to turn her dad down, but once he’d invited Alec along, she’d realized what was up to. Her dad was still trying to push her and Alec back together, but it wasn’t going to work, and the sooner he realized that, the better.
“Some other time, then,” Dr. Lee said, and then turning to Alec, he said, “We can talk in my office.”
Julia watched her father and Alec walk away, but right before Alec went into her dad’s office, he looked over his shoulder and gave her an apologetic look. She’d wondered if he had conspired with her parents to win her back, but now she doubted it. She shoul
d have felt relieved, but she didn’t. She still had to address the issues she had with her parents, and she still had to tell them about Ava.
Since when did my life become so complicated? Oh, right. Since I started dating Connor O’Brien.
Chapter Ten
“Good news,” Connor said when he called her the next day.
“What is?”
“Cam’s agreed to stay in Michigan.”
Julia and Harper were in the photo studio, and Harper shot her a curious glance. It was hard to label Connor’s news as “good” when it meant that his attractive ex-girlfriend, the woman who’d birthed his baby, was going to be living nearby.
“That is good news, I guess,” Julia said.
“This means that I’ll get to see Ava as often as I want, which is a helluva lot better than traveling back and forth to Colorado, don’t you think?”
We’ll see. “Yes. I’m happy for you,” she said, angling her body away from Harper’s intense stare.
“The next step is to find them someplace to live,” he said almost as if he were talking to himself.
“Harper knows a real estate agent who could help with that,” Julia suggested. Okay, how did I just go from feeling jealous to wanting to help?
Harper’s eyes were practically popping out of her head now. It was impossible to have a private conversation in the tiny studio, but they were best friends, and since Harper was already familiar with the situation, Julia didn’t feel like she had anything to hide.
“Cam can’t afford a house right now. She wants to look for an apartment, and she asked me to help her.”
“Of course she did,” Julia said. Trying to keep the ugly green monster from creeping up on her was impossible, but she vowed to try harder. It certainly wouldn’t help anything for Connor to know how jealous she was.
“She doesn’t have a lot of friends, Jules, and her parents aren’t in good health. She needs my help.”
“What about her boyfriend—the boss?”
“They’re not seeing each other anymore, at least not personally.”
The Sweetest Mistake (O'Brien Brothers #2) Page 8