After The One (The One Series Duet) (7 page)

“He lied to me and said he was meeting a colleague and he met Lucifer’s sister.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. “I get it, but there has to be a reason.”

“That bitch talked shit about my best friend and was rude to me every time I had to do her makeup. There’s no reason. If—” Koko stopped talking abruptly.

“Hello?” Concern flooded my system.

“I don’t want to talk to you.” Koko’s icy tone immediately alerted me to who had walked into the trailer. “If I send someone to tell you JJ will do your makeup, don’t come looking for me. I’m on the phone. Get away from me. Give me my phone back!”

I tucked my legs underneath my body and hugged myself.

“Hello? Zoe?” Bryce’s tired voice burst onto the phone.

“Oh…hey Bryce,” I greeted him awkwardly.

“Dude, please get Koko to listen to me. I did not go on a date with Leah. Why would I go on a date with Leah? I was meeting with Robert Brady and his guests. He called them my colleagues. What am I supposed to do? Tell the creator of the show that I need to know who his guests are before we can meet? Leah and I got there on time, but Robert was running late. I had no idea she was coming. Please make her understand I would never do anything like that to her.”

I didn’t say a word.

“Zoe?” Bryce questioned the silence.

“Is she still standing in front of you?” I asked.

“Yes.”

“Then she heard you. Is she glaring at you or is she avoiding eye contact?”

“Glaring. Definitely glaring.”

“Then she’s considering that you might be telling the truth. Tell her to call me back later and talk to her.”

“Thanks Zoe.”

“And Bryce…”

“Yeah?”

“There aren’t many people Koko and I don’t fuck with. Don’t make a habit of dining with people on that short list. Really, don’t make a habit of dining with any woman that isn’t Koko or heads will roll—particularly yours.”

He chuckled. “I know. I apologize to you both. We’ll call you back.”

Once the call was disconnected, I peeled myself off the couch and wandered upstairs. I found Julian in his office at the desk.

“How’s Koko?” Julian asked as he typed.

“She’s well. She’s excited for us.” He looked up and grinned at me.

My heart fluttered.

“That’s good,” he said, with a nod. “I’m excited for us, too.”

“But she said something that got me thinking. Are you busy? Is everything okay?”

“I’m just looking at my calendar.” He turned in his swivel chair and beckoned me over. “Come sit.” He patted his lap.

I slinked over to him and wrapped my arms around his neck as I got comfortable. He wrapped one arm around me and turned us so we could face the computer screen.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, scratching my fingernails against his scalp soothingly.

“I have my lawyers looking at the tour dates to see if I can move some dates around. It doesn’t look good though.”

I shook my head. “I don’t think you should adjust the dates. People have already committed those dates to their schedules. It would be different if it was an emergency and you had to cancel a stop or two. It’s a whole other thing to rearrange or cancel. That’s not a good look for you or the hundreds of people who are working on the tour with you.”

“But that means we’d have to get married in the next three months.”

“What do you think about a New Year’s Day wedding?” I blurted out without careful consideration.

Julian’s grey eyes held my brown ones as the question hung in the air.

“That’s soon,” he pointed out, forehead creased with uncertainty. “Is that what you want?”

“I mean…” My disappointment in his lack of enthusiasm dried my mouth. “I just thought it would be better for me since I may not be showing then. If most maternity clothes lack style and ingenuity, I can only imagine the wedding gown selection.”

“I hear you, but you look beautiful in everything.” He kissed my shoulder. “Do you think we could pull off a wedding in a month though? I just don’t want you to regret anything by rushing it. I want to give you your dream wedding.”

My heart swelled. “The wedding isn’t the dream. You are.” I kissed his soft lips and rested my forehead against his. “I love you and I want to marry you. I want to look at the pictures of our wedding and remember the moment I became your wife…in a great dress.”

The deep timber of his chuckle rumbled through his chest. “Well then go grab your laptop and look for your great dress and I’ll contact the lawyers.”

“Your lawyers?”

“They’re going to need to find a wedding planner who can work fast and be discreet.”

I nodded. “Ah, that makes sense.”

I got up and went to find my laptop. I had it when I got home from work on Friday afternoon, but I couldn’t remember the next place I’d had it.

“Fuck!” Julian roared from upstairs. “Fuck!”

I jumped, startled by his outburst. Feeling panic sweep over me, I launched myself upstairs, taking the steps two at a time. My heart thudded against my chest as I skidded into the office.

“What’s wrong? What happened?” I sputtered, looking around the room and then back at Julian. “What’s wrong?”

Julian was slumped in his chair as anger and defeat billowed off of him. He was staring straight ahead as he held the phone to his ear.

I tentatively approached him and stood silently beside his chair. My options were to sit on his desk where important papers were spread out or try to climb into his lap as he was clearly having an angry conversation. I chose to drop to my knees in front of him. I rubbed his knee supportively and gave him a small smile.

Although he intertwined his fingers with mine, he did not return the smile.

“Yeah, I get it. And there’s nothing that can be done? Can you try?” He was quiet for a minute. “I understand that, but—” He was quiet again and then he looked at me.

He barked a few more demands into the phone before concluding the call and dropping it loudly against the glass desk.

“What’s wrong?”

“I told the team we were engaged and want to get married on January first.” He let out a ragged breath.

My eyes widened.

Do they not want him marrying me or something? What could be this bad?

“Okay…?” I said slowly.

“They reminded me of my contract… which says I’m required to report my engagement to Robert Brady.”

My stomach fell as the sinking feeling consumed me. I shook my head as the memory of Robert Brady’s parting words to us came flooding back, confirming Julian’s concerns.

“If we get married when we want to get married, we have to…” His jaw tensed and tightened as his voice trailed off. It was as if it hurt him to continue the sentence.

“No no no no no.” I shook my head vehemently as my insides threatened to come to the outside.

“I’m sorry, Zoe,” Julian whispered his apology. “If we get married before the two year mark, Robert Brady owns the rights to my wedding to you.”

My eyes stung with tears even though I knew I wouldn’t let any of them fall. “I didn’t sign anything giving them access to my life. Does that matter?”

He shook his head. “I’m not sure. They’re looking into it, but it doesn’t look good. They think the only way we can get married before the baby comes is to do a…” He cleared his throat. “Wedding special.”

I sat in my parked car in the garage for a few minutes while I gathered my thoughts Tuesday evening. With my eyes closed, I sucked in a deep breath.

If I can make it through the rest of the week, I won’t have to return to work until next year.

I didn’t tell any of the partners I was pregnant. I didn’t know how to broach the subject, especially since I was looking at an almost four-week vacation.

They can find out when we announce it to people in general. I’m not hiding anything; I just don’t need to spend the next four weeks worrying about how they are trying to get away with firing me. I need to tell my family first and they will be here in two weeks. I’m getting married in three weeks. Then I’m going back to work. I’ll work my ass off and then when I start showing, they will know. I don’t need to stress over how they’re going to react. Why should I even have to deal with that? My body is a vessel and I’m creating life. This same body has walked in and out of their prestigious glass doors day in and day out, busting ass to prove myself for over a year now. They may have gotten away with pushing that one paralegal out, but they will not do that to me. I know my rights and Title VII’s pregnancy-related protections include my right to tell or not tell whoever the fuck I want—

“Zoe?” The knock against my window scared me and I gasped, recoiling from the noise.

Looking into those amused grey eyes, I breathed a sigh of relief. “Julian.” I pushed the car door open carefully as he backed up. He reached his hand out for me, helping me out of the car. “You scared me love. Thank you.”

“I saw.” He searched my face. “Everything okay? Did the partners take the news well?”

I didn’t tell them,
I answered him silently.

“Yeah, I’m okay.” I smiled at him. “I’m happy to be home though.”

“I missed you.” He kissed me softly before grabbing my workbag and laptop case. “I’m ready for this week to be over.”

My face lit up. “I was just thinking the same thing! The only thing that kept me from wallowing in how much I missed you was the fact that after Friday, for three whole weeks, it’ll just be me and you.” I wiggled my eyebrows for emphasis.

Chuckling, Julian opened the door that led into the house and I followed behind him. As we walked in, the sound of his phone violently vibrating against the counter disrupted the quiet solitude in the air. He placed my belongings on the counter and then turned around to face me as he answered the call.

“Hey Beverly. Did you—” Julian’s sentence broke off as he appeared to be listening attentively while watching me. “Yeah. We told our families last night.” He smiled and crossed his arm across his chest. “No not the date. We told them it’ll be soon, but we didn’t say when. We’re still waiting on the final word from the lawyers.” He chuckled softly. “Thank you. Yeah, I agree with you. I’m a lucky man and I won’t mess it up.”

Oh Beverly.

I grinned at Julian’s response.

Beverly Davis was not only Julian’s personal assistant; she was the first person he ever hired. As a nineteen year old musical phenomenon, he chose the no nonsense nanny who was looking to segue into working with adults. Perhaps it was her fifteen years of experience with whipping children and families into shape, but she was excellent at her job. She even took care of me, although I insisted she didn’t.

“She just got home.” His face became serious as he chewed his bottom lip. “Okay. Yeah, we’ll handle it. Thanks for calling.” He paused for a long time, presumably listening as he watched my every move. “Let me know if you hear anything else. I haven’t heard from anyone yet, but if they get wind of it, I’m sure they will be in touch with you or the lawyers.”

My eyebrows furrowed as I preheated the oven.
Handle what? Haven’t heard from who? His side of the conversation has the least amount of information!

I returned to the island, standing directly across from him, and watched him watching me.

He wore jeans low on his hips and a white t-shirt that stretched across his chest and arms deliciously. As he said his goodbyes, his smile was slow, easing across his handsome face, and the shadow darkening his jawline only made it sexier.

“So…? What’s going on?”

I stepped out of my black pumps and the cool tile welcomed my bare feet. Stripping out of my lightweight, burgundy jacket, I kept my eyes focused on him. I wanted him to see and fully appreciate the form fitting black dress that hugged my curves.

Ignoring my questions, he eyed me distractedly. “Lawyers aren’t supposed to look this sexy.” He let out a low whistle. “Turn around.”

I let out a staggering breath that gave way to a beaming smile. The unexpected compliment caught me by surprise and I could feel myself glowing. I did a slow spin as I ran my hand over the plumpness of my ass. “You like?”

“I don’t like, I love. I’d rack up a lot of billable hours if I got to stare at you all day.”

My skin heated from his words. “If you were looking at me the way that you do, I wouldn’t bill you anyway.”

“How do I look at you?” he asked huskily as he stepped forward, backing me into the island in the middle of the kitchen.

I tilted my head up to maintain eye contact as he closed the distance between us. His hands cradled my face as he gazed down at me.

My stomach flipped twice. I gripped the hem of his t-shirt and pulled him closer. “Like that,” I whispered. My heart stopped and started erratically. “Like I’m...”

My voice trailed off because I couldn’t quite explain the look that he gave me, but it was everything. With one look, he managed to make me feel incredibly weak and unbelievably strong at the same time.

Without saying a word, he leaned down and kissed me lightly. His soft, full lips only fleetingly grazed mine before he applied more pressure, cranking up the intensity. Before my tongue had a chance to caress his, the beeping of the oven interrupted our kiss.

I pulled out of our embrace and winked. “I was looking forward to where that was going.”

“Don’t worry. You won’t have to wait long,” he returned with a smirk.

“You are such a flirt.” Amusement filled my voice as I washed my hands and headed to the refrigerator. “Now that you aren’t seducing me with your eyes and that small shirt, what happened with Beverly?”

Julian threw his head back and laughed heartily. “You think my shirt is small?”

“No! I think your muscles are too big for that particular cotton shirt.”

The deep timber of his laugh flitted through the kitchen and filled me up. I was so full. I couldn’t help but imagine myself as his wife in that moment.

Julian Winters is going to be my husband and I am going to be his wife.

“I have some…news,” Julian started once his amusement had subsided.

I returned to the middle of the kitchen and left a few feet of space between us, but Julian pulled me flush against his body anyway and lifted me off of my feet.