Sommersgate House (50 page)

Douglas
gritted his teeth and did his best to control the rampaging
jealousy he was experiencing as he exited the car and stalked
toward them.

Tony was one
of those bald men who actually looked good bald, he was expensively
dressed and exceptionally groomed.

None of this
benefited Douglas’s mood.

Julia noticed
Douglas approach and, to his shock, her face lit up in a smile.

“Douglas!
Yay!” she shouted and pulled away long enough to clap her hands
several times, claps that were muted by the wool mittens she wore.
Then she stopped abruptly and half-stumbled, half-collapsed into
her friend.

Douglas
ignored her bizarre behaviour, figuring she was going to try to
score a point by rubbing his face in her relationship with this
Tony. But as he finally arrived at the couple, she surprised him by
immediately disengaging from Tony and linking her arm through
Douglas’s. She then leaned into him and he had to brace himself as
he took on most of her weight.

“Tony, now you
get to meet Douglas!” she announced happily as if this was her most
fervent wish and then she swung her face to his, her green eyes
sparkling. “I’ve been talking about you.”

Douglas
didn’t know what to say because he had no clue what
she
said.

He regarded
the pair warily, uncertain of her mood.

She gestured
vaguely between the two men. “Tony, Douglas,” then she paused and
said, “Douglas, Tony.” And then she giggled as if this was
tremendously funny.

Tony was
smiling indulgently at her and came forward to give Douglas a warm
handshake.

“Mojitos,” he
said in an effort to explain Julia’s strange behaviour.

“Ah,” was the
only way Douglas could reply.

“
If
you’re trying to say I’m drunk, Tony Harrison, then… well, you’d be
right!” Julia cried, turned to Douglas, pressed her breasts against
his arm and lifted happy eyes to his. “I
love
mojitos.”

“I’ll have to
remember that,” Douglas murmured, trying to ignore her soft body
and failing miserably.

His comment
made Julia giggle which made Tony’s grin widen.

“You better
get her home, I’ll be seeing you,” Tony said and Julia jerked
awkwardly away from Douglas and lurched back into Tony’s arms,
hugging him tightly with her arms around his neck.

“I miss you,
Tony.” Douglas could hear the catch in her voice and, for some
reason, it made his chest tighten.

“I miss you
too, babe,” Tony gave her a firm squeeze and then let her go,
guiding her carefully back to Douglas who again felt her clamp onto
his arm and lean into him heavily. “You bring her back to Indiana
sometime soon, would you?”

Douglas found
it somewhat odd, and pleasingly telling, that this man was
expecting him to be able to do anything with Julia. He nodded, said
his good-byes and started to lead her away.

“Oh, and
Douglas,” Tony called and Douglas turned back to Tony who was
grinning madly at him. “Good call with that kitten,” he finished
then he tipped up his chin sharply.

For the first
time in his life, Douglas found himself in an exchange of
meaningful masculine nods with another man. And after this, his
earlier bad mood evaporated completely and he felt at peace with
the world.

Julia,
cheerfully ignoring all this, waved gaily at Tony and hummed
happily to herself as she walked somewhat unsteadily to the car and
he helped her in. By the time he’d joined her, she was strapped in
and babbling enthusiastically.

“
I
just
love
that place.
I’m
so
glad you
introduced me to it. You’ll take me again soon?” Before he could
answer that startling request she cried out, “Oh!” And again,
before he could react she asked, apropos of nothing, “Do you know
any gay men?”

“Um… no,”
Douglas replied cautiously, uncertain where she was going with this
new topic of conversation and mentally reminding himself to make
certain Mrs. K stocked the ingredients for mojitos in the house. He
started the car and pulled away, heading toward home.

“I’ve just had
an idea!” she exclaimed brightly. “Tony said he might be here for
business once or twice a year, isn’t that fabulous?” Again, she
gave him no time to respond and carried on. “So, we find him an
Englishman and then maybe he’ll stay here forever and we can all
have barbeques again and Super Bowl parties.” He glanced at her
only to see her face fall. “You don’t have the Super Bowl here, do
you?”

He didn’t
answer, he didn’t need to, she reversed her displeasure and happily
babbled all the way back to Sommersgate planning Fourth of July
outings, fondue parties and what she called “Oscar Nights”.

For his part,
he was pleased – no, thrilled – to learn that Tony was gay.

When he parked
the car in the drive, she got out and did not hurry to the door but
waited for him. Further, when he took her hand, thinking she still
might need steadying (and because he damned well wanted to), she
didn’t resist but walked with him, hand-in-hand to the house.

“I’m so glad
you came to get me, I hate calling on Carter,” she admitted and he
found himself slowing their pace, making the walk longer so he
could draw out this moment. She would come to her senses soon, her
mind would kick in, the walls would come up and he found he was
enjoying this too much to let it go.

“Why?” he
asked as he pushed the door open and they walked through it
together.

“Because it
seems so, you know, servant-y.”

Douglas
laughed quietly, closing the door behind them. “Darling,
essentially he
is
a
servant.”

She gave a
faux shudder. “I can’t get used to it. To me, we’re all just
family.”

At her words,
something inside him shifted and along with it the ache for her
intensified, turning into need. This need was so consuming, it
blurred his vision, it wiped his thoughts, all that existed in the
universe was her scent, her hand holding his and the sound of her
voice saying those words that still hung in the air.

Her hand
tightened in his as she tugged it gently, pulling him to a
halt.

As he looked
at her upturned face, he was experiencing something he’d never felt
in his life.

He
was
dazed
.

Her happy face
turned concerned.

“Are you
okay?”

“Fine,” he
answered distractedly.

“Douglas?”

“
Hmm?”

She laughed,
that sexy laugh she had, low in her throat and he focused on
her.

“
Why do
I have the impression you’re looking at me but you aren’t
seeing
me?” she teased.

She actually
teased.

He felt his
body tighten as the yearning intensified.

“
I see
you,” was all he said but what he meant was he saw her everywhere,
in his thoughts, in his dreams, in his home, in his car, in his
bed,
everywhere
.

She
interrupted his preoccupation. “I never properly thanked you for
Fred.”

“Fred?” He was
losing it, losing the thread of the conversation, losing everything
with the overwhelming desire to lift her in his arms, shackle her
to his bed and do things to her that would force her to agree to
bind herself to him legally and in the eyes of the children, her
family, her friends and God.

She broke into
his thoughts. “The kitten, he finally has a name.”

That got his
attention.

“
You
named him
Fred?
”

She giggled.
“I didn’t name him Fred, Willie did. He and I traded, since I
couldn’t pick a name, I let Willie name my cat and I get to name
his dog when he gets one.” She tilted her head adorably. “I’m
thinking ‘Babykins’ is a sweet name for a dog, what do you
think?”

“I am not
addressing a dog as ‘Babykins’,” Douglas replied gruffly.

“Babykins it
is!” Julia chortled and then, shocking him to his core, she leaned
into him, kissed his cheek just like she had her first night at
Sommersgate, tugged her hand gently free and headed to her room,
humming the whole way.

Leaving him
watching her go and knowing that he was quite emphatically done
with sweet anticipation.

It was time
for victory.

Julia
Decides

Julia had
lost.

She spent the
entire day after her lovely evening catching up with Tony avoiding
Douglas at the same time thinking about him nonstop. She’d even not
gone to dinner, feigning a headache (not exactly the most original
excuse in the world but she couldn’t think of anything better that
wouldn’t worry the children).

While she was
thinking, she realised she knew she’d lost, probably known it for
ages but was too stubborn to admit it.

She loved
Douglas, loved him as long as she knew him, regardless of how cold,
proud and haughty he was (or maybe because of it) and had been
fooling herself for fifteen years.

Charlie
was right, even if he would never love her,
couldn’t
love her and even though she knew one day
she’d lose him, the time she had with him would be better than
anything she could get from anyone else. She needed to take that
risk, even if her happiness was short-lived, at least she’d have it
for awhile. Tamsin and Gav hadn’t known their joyous lives would be
cut so short and they still lived every moment like it was
precious.

Julia needed
to learn that lesson.

Douglas wasn’t
just gorgeous, dangerous, mysterious, sexy and rich as Croesus. His
voice made her tremble, his hands made her shudder and his mouth
made her wild. When he looked at her, she felt the most beautiful
woman, not just in the room, not in the world, but in history.
Though she knew it wouldn’t last, now she felt safe with him, she
believed to the depths of her heart that he would always do the
best for the children and no matter how it ended; he’d never be
deliberately cruel to her.

So she was
going to marry him.

And tonight,
she was going to tell him.

Her
consultancy was done. They were ready to hire an Executive Director
and begin to put her and Douglas’s business plan in motion. Even
though they wanted Julia to apply for the job, she still had no
leave to work in the United Kingdom and she didn’t think she could
take full-time employment for the sake of the children. One of the
Trustees offered her another consultancy with another charity he
supported, an even smaller organisation. Julia took the job, it
would last less than a month but it was something to do.

Today was her
last day at work and they’d had a small going away luncheon for her
that was very sweet. Julia had made friends with the women there
and before she left, they officially invited her to attend their
monthly “Girls Night Out” dinner. Julia felt honoured, making
friends was another important step in feeling home and conquering
homesickness.

It was all
falling together for Julia, she was settling into her life in
England.

She just had
one more thing to do.

She was later
arriving at Sommersgate than usual due to stopping by the grocery
store on her way, getting steaks, potatoes and anything else she
thought Douglas would like (though she had no idea of his favourite
foods or if he even had any, but she felt safe as most men seemed
to like steak and potatoes).

Julia had a
simple plan, she was going to ask Mr. and Mrs. K to watch the kids
for the night, she was going to make Douglas dinner, she was going
to agree to marry him and then she was going to seduce him.

Or she might
do the last two the other way around.

Julia came in
the kitchen door carrying her bags and saw Mr. K at the table. He
had taken to coming around during their break times every once in
awhile to have a cuppa and a gab.

Upon entry,
Julia offered him a smile, “Hey Mr. K.”

“Julia,” he
said but didn’t meet her eyes and she had the feeling that
something was terribly wrong.

She came
forward and dropped her bags on the table and saw Mrs. K
approaching with an already prepared cafetière of coffee.

One look at
the determined set of Mrs. K’s face made Julia’s entire body tense
before she asked, “Mrs. K, is something the matter?”

The older
woman set the coffee down, stood back and crossed her arms on her
ample bosom.

“We have to
talk,” Mrs. K announced.

Julia’s heart
leapt and the blood drained from her face, “Is it the
children?”

“No, lass, it
isn’t the children,” Mr. K assured her. “Sit down, luv,” he
continued gently.

Watching Mrs.
K’s curiously blank face the entire time, Julia sat on one of the
benches.

“Is it
Douglas?” she asked quietly, hoping he was all right. It could be
him, he’d been shot, for goodness sake, anything could happen if
he’d once been shot. He could have vicious, armed villains stalking
him everywhere for all she knew.

“Not what
you’re thinking, no,” Mrs. K said, sat down herself and prepared
the coffee. “But it is him we want to talk to you about.”

Mr. K broke
in. “You have to know that what we’re about to tell you could
–”

“We could get
sacked.” Mrs. K interrupted abruptly, finishing with the
coffee.

“Wha…” Julia’s
voice cracked and she cleared her throat, feeling her mouth go
suddenly dry. Whatever they had to tell her had to be important.
They both loved Sommersgate and she thought they would do nothing
to put their places there in jeopardy. “What is it?”