So, why the hell was he now standing in front of Julia’s door? He wasn’t even sure how he’d gotten there. But he was here. He couldn’t hear her through the solid wood door, but he could feel her presence.
The door opened suddenly and there she was, beautiful as always, but with tear-stained eyes, the edges rimmed with red and streaks of mascara smeared across her cheeks. Opie and TJ were standing behind her, not making a sound. It was as if the canines knew that their mistress was hurting and didn’t want to add to her pain.
“Julia,” he sighed and pulled her into his arms, despite the sweat that caused his clothes to stick to his body. She didn’t seem to mind either, burying her face against his neck. He picked her up and carried her to the sofa, kicking her door closed on the way. TJ came over and nudged his knee and Tony scratched behind his ear, but then focused his attention on Julia.
He didn’t say a word, just held her while she sobbed and pounded on his chest. He didn’t mind. She needed to release the tension just as much as he’d had to.
When that didn’t seem to help, she stood up and paced, but she was too angry to even scream at him. OB and TJ paced with her a few times, but when she didn’t seem to be taking them out for a walk or to get one of their toys, they gave in and jumped up onto the couch next to Tony, staring as she paced.
It suddenly occurred to him what had just happened. She’d been furious with him, so angry that she’d been punching his chest, but not with any real force. Julia wouldn’t hurt anyone any more than…damn, she couldn’t hurt anyone any more than he could!
The thought hit him like a truck and he stared at her. She was mumbling something about stupid men and their stupid blah blah blah, but he wasn’t angry with her. She was angry with him, but hadn’t hurt him. He’d been angry with her but…in fact, there had been many times over the past several years when he’d become irritated with her. Like that time she’d nagged at him to let her change up the bar offerings. Or offering appetizers outside of the restaurant for the waiting patrons. He’d been opposed to so many ideas over the years, but Julia had always been right and had argued with him until he’d relented and let her have her way.
Many times, he’d been angry with her.
But, he’d never hit her. In fact, it had never even occurred to him to hit her! Damn, what the hell?! Had he been so obtuse, so consumed with his own fears that he couldn’t recognize himself? Had he truly allowed the image of his father’s furious face as he’d slapped and pounded on his mother instead of himself?
Standing up, he stopped Julia’s furious pacing by gripping her arms. She stared at him but he couldn’t find the words. He felt like such a fool. Again, Julia was right. She was so damn right, he could barely breathe!
“I’m so sorry!” he blurted, then swung her up into his arms and carried her into the bedroom. He made love to her with his hands and his mouth until she was screaming out his name. Then he did it all over again. He wouldn’t relent until she begged him, exhaustion muffling her words, to sleep. Only then did he pull the covers up over her and let her sleep.
Tony turned on the shower, but he didn’t have anything else to wear. He shut off the water without showering and pulled his jogging clothes back on, bent down to pet OB and TJ, reassuring them that everything was okay, then slipped out of her apartment, jogging home. This was an easier run because Tony felt so good. He felt incredible! He still had an erection that wouldn’t die because the image of Julia screaming out his name wouldn’t leave his head, but he didn’t care.
Once he was home, he stepped into his shower and got rid of the stench, then changed into slacks and a shirt. He made a few phone calls, then jumped into his car, heading towards Louisville. He got what he needed, then headed back to Julia.
Chapter 13
Julia woke with a start, looking around in search of Tony. He wasn’t here. He’d made love to her so many times…no, that wasn’t quite right. He’d brought her to a climax over and over again, but he hadn’t made love to her.
And now he was gone.
She looked at the clock and realized it was barely even ten o’clock. She had no concept of night or day, her body’s clock all messed up. She’d been crying for hours before Tony had shown up on her doorstep, but she wasn’t sure what time that had been. And now he was gone.
She was so angry with him, she thought of all the different ways she could get back at him. But in the end, she knew that she couldn’t do any of them.
But she could get a new job. Taking OB and TJ out, she jogged the streets of LowPoint, enjoying the night air and feeling the stress slowly drain from her body as her feet pounded against the pavement. Up and down the streets, she jogged slowly, not pushing herself too hard. The dogs loved the slower pace, playing a bit, dancing in front of or beside her, biting their leash and nipping at each other. She smiled at their antics, but no answers came to her.
Back at her apartment, she released the dogs and got them fresh water and food, scratched their bellies and tossed each of them a toy. When they were settled, she still didn’t have any answers.
Stepping into the shower, she scrubbed her body clean, trying to banish the smell of Tony. But his scent wasn’t on her skin, it was in her mind. Julia wasn’t sure if she would ever stop smelling him. It was in her apartment, in the air. She pulled the sheets off the bed and tossed them into the washing machine, not that it would help.
Pouring herself some herbal tea, she sat down at her computer and powered it up. Time to get on with her life. Tony vowed that he couldn’t risk hurting her, but she wouldn’t put her life on hold in the hopes that he might realize that he wasn’t that kind of a man. She wanted a husband and kids. She wanted TJ and OB to have kids to play with. Maybe a cat and some fish.
Okay, not the fish. They pooped in the water they swam in, which kind of creeped her out. But the cats, yeah, she wanted that. She wanted that very badly. She wanted Tony and Tony’s children. She wanted to wake up on Saturday morning and watch Tony teach their children to cook his famous French toast. She wanted to laugh when he snuck bacon to the dogs who were sitting patiently by the stove. She wanted….
“Damn it!” she whispered, wiping the tears away again.
Flipping through her e-mail, she found the messages she was looking for. Several of them, actually. She pulled up the websites for each of the restaurants. She’d been offered jobs at each of them, but hadn’t wanted to leave Tony, so she’d politely declined all of the job offers.
Now however, perhaps it was better if she moved on, found another job so that she and Tony could heal. They could move on and he could…no! She wouldn’t think about Tony with another woman. That hurt too much so she’d just…she wouldn’t think of him…
The knock on the door startled her and she looked over at it, wondering who would be showing up at this time of the night. OB and TJ jumped up, barking once but as soon as they hurried over to the door, sniffing the edges, their tails began wagging. Could it be…? Was he…?!
Her heart accelerated, thinking that it might be Tony. But why would he show up now? Why was he here? He’d left her after giving her mind-blowing orgasms. He’d walked out. No note. No explanation. No text telling her that he’d be back or that they were done. Nothing.
The dogs barked again, looking over at her, wondering why she wasn’t opening the door.
“Julia, let me in.”
Tony?
Rushing to the door, she stood there for a long moment, debating.
“Honey, let me in.”
She leaned her forehead against the door. “I don’t think I should.”
He laughed. Actually laughed! “Yeah, that’s probably a good point. But do it anyway.”
Julia’s heart lightened slightly with his words. They were so much like the old Tony. The man from last week who was sweet and funny and made her whole body tingle with his presence.
“Tony…”
“Just open the door, love,” he soothed.
She debated for an
other moment, but in the end, she could never deny Tony anything. Turning the locks, she slowly opened the door. Both dogs nosed their way towards him first, their tails wagging so hard that their butts moved back and forth. Tony reached down to pet them, then looked back up at her when she continued to stand in the doorway.
“You’re not coming in if you’re going to do that to me again.”
He put a hand on the door and pressed, pushing it open wider. “I promise, I’ll be good.”
She wasn’t sure if she believed him, but she still allowed him inside. TJ jumped up, begging for more attention while OB pranced in a circle around him. Tony was good, he reached down and scratched behind their ears, giving them the attention and reassurance that they needed before moving into her apartment.
He stepped over to the sofa and looked down, ready to apologize. But that’s when he saw the laptop screen and his temper flared to life. “What the hell?!”
Julia walked over and slapped the top down. “It’s nothing,” she lied.
He put his hands on his fists. “It’s not ‘nothing’, Julia! Why the hell are you looking at other restaurants?” But he knew! “Julia, what are you thinking?”
She put the laptop down on the counter, then turned to face him again. “Tony, what are you doing here?”
He glared at her. “You’re not leaving me, Julia,” he told her.
Her heart ached with his command. One that she desperately wanted to follow, but she loved him too much. She needed him, loved him, but he was too afraid to love her back. It actually hurt when she said, “That’s not your decision.”
He shook his head, running a hand through his dark locks and messing them up. She wanted to reach up and fix them, but tucked her hands behind her back to keep herself from making a fool of herself. The dogs understood that there was tension and pulled back, settling on their doggie pillows. Their eyes moved back and forth between their humans and Julia wanted to reassure them that everything would be okay. But would it? She wasn’t sure herself.
Tony paced back and forth, shaking his head. “Julia, after all we’ve been through, I can’t believe you are even thinking about going over to the damn competition.” He paced again, but OB jumped up and brushed against him. Tony reached down to hand OB a toy. “And Max’s place? The guy’s a complete fraud!” Tony spat, referring to Tony’s main competition.
Julia’s arms crossed over her chest. Tony was right, not that she was going to admit it. She wasn’t a huge fan of Max’s, preferring Tony’s more robust flavors. But since he wasn’t conceding that he wouldn’t hurt her, she wasn’t conceding that Tony was a better chef than Max. “He’s a brilliant chef, Tony.”
“No!”
That only stirred her temper as well. Her arms dropped to her sides as she glared up at him. “No? You can’t just tell me no. I’ll do whatever I want, Tony.”
“You’re not working for Max, Julia! I won’t let you.”
“Like I said, it’s not your decision!” She watched him for a long moment, both of them in a standoff as they glared at each other.
But Tony was hurting, offended that she’d dared to contemplate working for his competition. In the end, she knew that she couldn’t do it either. She not only loved Tony with all her heart, she respected him. She couldn’t go over to Max’s restaurant and work for the man that was Tony’s nemesis.
Her shoulders sagged as the fight left her. Wearily, she sank down onto the sofa, exhaustion hitting her as the reality of their situation sank into her muddled mind. “Tony, we always knew that we couldn’t be together forever. This is just…”
“So you’re going to give up on me? On us? And going to work for Max?!”
Julia shrugged. “I can’t work for you.”
“Why the hell not?”
“Because I’m in love with you! And you’re in love with me and…well, you won’t be with me and staying around, working for you…it just wouldn’t work out!”
“So you’re going to work for a hack like Max?”
“Maybe!” she came back, her anger firing up again. “You have no say in what I do!”
He glared at her. “Think so?”
“Yeah. I’m pretty sure!”
“Then yes!” he growled. He pulled out a huge diamond ring, grabbed her hand and slid it onto her finger. “There! Now we’re engaged and yeah, I have a say in what you do! Married couples don’t just go off and do things alone!” he told her firmly. “We talk about things! We work things out! We discuss them until we come to a compromise. We don’t just…go off and do things. Especially with an ass like Max!”
While Tony ranted, Julia stared at the ring on her finger. She barely heard the angry bluster Tony was throwing at her, too stunned by his “yes” and the engagement ring.
Staring up at him, she realized that he was glaring at her, which was actually his way of hiding his terror. She recognized the signs. “Yes?” she asked softly, laying her hand on his chest. “Just yes?”
He shrugged, stuffing his hands into his pockets. “Well, yes and…I love you. And I don’t want you to leave me.”
More tears and she blinked, trying to see his expression. “I love you too, but just hours ago, you were sure that we couldn’t have a relationship because you would hurt me. Now…”
He shrugged one massive shoulder, his eyes clear as he looked down at her. “You slapped me earlier. And punched me.”
She felt horrible about that. “I’m sorry. I hated doing it but I was trying to prove a point.”
His anger vanished with those words. He pulled her closer, burying his face in her soft hair. “I’m not sorry you did it.”
She laughed as her arms wrapped around his neck. “You’re not?”
He shook his head. “No. That was the proof I needed. I didn’t get angry, Julia. I didn’t even think about hitting you or smacking you across the room.” She shuddered and his arms tightened around her. “I won’t hurt you. I promise, I’ll never hurt you.”
“But you’ll get angry with me.”
He breathed in her sweet scent, filling his head with it. “We’ve always argued. You think you’re right,”
“I know I’m right,” she corrected, smiling against his chest.
He reached down and swatted her bottom, causing her to laugh. “What was that about never hitting me?”
He growled, pulling her in close again. “You have a very spankable butt. Be prepared for more of that.”
Julia thought she might really like that. “I wouldn’t ever work for Max,” she promised.
He took her hands and brought her over to the sofa. “Why were you even looking at his restaurant?”
She sighed as she curled up on his lap. “Because I wasn’t sure you’d ever come around and accept my proposal. I was worried you’d continue to live in a world where you were afraid of your father’s temper.”
“And?”
“And I love you, Tony. I love you so much that it hurts sometimes. So I knew I couldn’t continue to be around you and know that you wouldn’t trust yourself. It wasn’t right.”
“So you were going to leave me and work for Max?” He swatted her bottom again.
“Hey! You’re the one that was being stubborn!” she teased.
He spun her around slightly, causing her to lean into him once again. “You keep on telling yourself that, honey,” he said. “But in this case, I appreciate your stubbornness.”
She grinned, a mischievous sparkle coming into her eyes. “So, if we’re getting married, I guess I should hire Max to cook our wedding reception meal, right?”
Tony stared at her for a long moment, stunned that she would even suggest something so outrageous. When he realized she was just teasing him, he growled and stood up, tossing her over his shoulder. “Oh, you’re going to pay for that,” he warned, then tossed her into the center of her bed.
Epilogue
“Daddy!” Four year old Maddy called, her bare feet padding across the wood floors. “Daddy!”
&
nbsp; A moment later, the four year old burst through the door. His oldest rarely did anything slowly and entering a room was no exception.
Rolling over, he peered over the side of his bed. All he saw were soft, brown curls covering her hazel eyes and rosebud lips. Pudgy hands reached up and pushed her curls out of her eyes. “Daddy!” she whispered this time.
“What’s up, munchkin?” he teased, lifting her into the bed and tucking her next to him. He’d been up late the previous night at the restaurant, but it was Christmas morning and he knew that Maddy didn’t have the patience to wait until noon when he’d prefer to wake up.
“Santa came last night!” she whispered, her hands running over the scruff of his beard. “You were kissing Momma this morning.”
He chuckled even as he thought back to his early morning romp with Julia. “Why do you say that?”
“Because her cheeks are all red. When you kiss her with your scratchy face, it makes her skin red.”
Tony chuckled, thinking that his wife was probably red in several other places besides her face. “Yeah, well she really kissed me.”
Maddy giggled, but it was the truth. “Did you hear me before? Santa came last night! And there’s a big present, just for me! And Momma says you’re gonna teach me to make something with eggs and milk, and she said a big word but I don’t know what it is, but I wanna make French toast like you made last year but Momma says that it was too sweet but it wasn’t too sweet. But….”
Tony cut her off with a tickle, knowing she would continue talking until she ran out of breath. “Egg casserole,” he announced, slipping out of bed and quickly grabbing a pair of jeans. He’d learned to wear boxers as soon as Maddy learned to walk. She loved to race into their bedroom and “surprise” both of them, but Maddy was too exuberant for any kind of stealth. She sounded like a little elephant when she raced through the house.
Seduced (The Lottery Winners Book 8) Page 12