The Game Changer (40 page)

“You sound weird,” Olivia commented.

“It’s been a weird night,” Melody told her. “A long night. I’m tired.”

“What aren’t you telling me, Melody?”

Melody sank further into the pillows and covered her eyes with her free hand. She couldn’t keep anything from Olivia, even if she wanted to. “Julian and I…we almost had sex tonight.”

“Almost?” Olivia asked in a barely controlled voice.

“Yes,” Melody confirmed tiredly. “We were just about to…when his mother called to tell him what had happened.”

“Oh god,” Olivia groaned. “Worst timing ever.”

Melody considered telling Olivia about Julian’s remark that sleeping together would have been a mistake, but she was too weary to get into it. She would tell her eventually, but now wasn’t the time. “It was,” she agreed. “It made things really tense between us after that.”

“I’m sure,” Olivia said. “You okay, honey? Really?”

Melody swallowed past the lump that had suddenly formed in her throat. She would have given anything to have Olivia there, holding her hand and telling her everything was going to be okay. Even if it wasn’t true. “I’m okay,” Melody assured her, hoping she sounded more convincing than she felt. “I’ll call you tomorrow.”

“Call me anytime. I’m leaving my cell on. I love you, Mel.”

“Thanks, Liv. Love you, too.” Melody disconnected and set the phone on the night table. She switched off the lamp and sank back into the pillows. The house was so quiet, it was almost unsettling. Her apartment was usually quiet, but it was a familiar quiet. She could always hear noise in the distance—cars passing on Front Street, the water of the Moira River lapping against the banks, night trains rumbling over the bridge.

When her breath hitched, she tried to ignore it. A prickle behind her eyes accompanied the second hitched breath, and Melody closed her eyes tightly against the tears. “You are
not
going to cry right now,” she told herself sternly. But it didn’t work; the tears came anyway, and she couldn’t stop them.

Everything that had happened recently caught up with her in that moment and pressed against her, threatening to smother her—her breakup with Rick, the realization that she had only stayed with him because it was familiar and comfortable, her run-ins with Sydney, her tenuous relationship with Ava, Olivia’s absence the past few weeks, Angelica moving back home, her developing feelings for Julian, the events of tonight—just everything. She cried and cried, burying her face in Julian’s pillow to stifle the sobs, even though she was alone and no one could hear her.

*****

A noise startled Melody awake. She blinked in the darkness of the room, trying to get her bearings. Outside the window she could see the sky changing from black to navy blue on the horizon. She was about to settle back on the pillows when a silhouette passed by the window, making her gasp.

“It’s just me,” Julian said quietly. He let out a tired breath and sat heavily on the bed. “I tried to be quiet.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Melody said sleepily. She examined his face the best she could in the dimly lit room, prolonging the question she knew she had to ask while she tried to gauge his expression. “How’s your dad?”

“The doctors say he’s going to be fine, barring any unforeseen complications,” Julian said.

“That’s great, Julian.” Melody sat up and gave him an awkward side hug. “You and your mom must be so relieved.”

Julian nodded, gripping her arm where it draped across his chest. “Mom’s still at the hospital. I told her she needed to come home and get some sleep, but she said she’d be home later.” He glanced down at her, and his brow drew together. “Were you crying?”

Melody ducked her head, leaning her forehead against Julian’s shoulder and surreptitiously touching her swollen eyelids. “No.”

“Liar.” His tone was light, but he tilted her face up and regarded her with concern. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing…and everything. I don’t know, it’s stupid. Everything’s changing, and I guess I’m just not dealing with it very well.”

Melody was surprised when Julian nodded. “I think I understand,” he said slowly. “Everything’s sort of just…beyond your control. All these changes that you have no say in, and yet they affect your life.”

“Exactly.” Why was it so shocking that Julian understood? She still had trouble grasping what a genuinely good friend he truly was. It went beyond simply paying attention—he
knew
her. He
saw
her. Wasn’t that what she’d always wanted? Why was she always so afraid to go after what she wanted? “Julian?”

Instead of replying, Julian shifted on the bed and covered her mouth with his. His hands went into her hair, fingers weaving through the strands and pulling her closer.

With Julian’s lips on hers, all the confusion and fear, hurt and disappointment Melody had felt earlier melted away. All she could think about was his tongue sweeping over her bottom lip, his hands moving from her hair onto her shoulders, and his heart racing where her hand rested on his chest.

“I’ve wanted to be with you for so long,” Julian said in her ear, his ragged breath sending shivers through her. He pulled back and met her eyes, his expression so serious it made Melody reach up to smooth the worry lines between his brows. “I’m just afraid of complicating things. I can’t lose you, Mel.”

Melody closed her eyes, suddenly remembering saying those very same words to Julian a little over a week ago when she was drunk. No matter how much she wished sleeping with Julian wouldn’t complicate things, she knew it would. But right then, she didn’t care. “You’re not going to lose me, Julian.”

“I need you so much, it scares me.”

His whispered words sent a jolt through Melody. She never would have thought she’d see Julian Reynolds, playboy extraordinaire, this vulnerable. It was unsettling, and yet, seeing this side of him made her want him even more. He looked like he wanted to say something else, but Melody didn’t think she could handle any other revelations today. There would be time for that later.

Without a word, she reached for the hem of his shirt and pulled it slowly over his head. The worry lines between his brows returned, but were gone again almost instantly when Melody rose to her knees and leaned in to kiss his forehead, then his nose, and cheeks, and finally his lips. She wanted to make him forget everything but her, and she didn’t want to think about anything other than him and this moment.

He removed her pajamas and pushed her back gently on the bed before standing to shed the rest of his clothes. Melody’s breath caught at the sight of him standing naked in front of her—she had imagined this, imagined
him
, but her fantasies were nothing compared to the reality. He was so beautiful, and the look of affection on his face made her wish for a way to capture this moment forever.

Julian eased himself onto the bed and hovered over her. While he gazed down at her, his dark eyes like depthless midnight pools taking in every inch of her face, Melody realized this wasn’t what she’d been expecting. She’d always pictured Julian as a very suave lover, taking time to seduce, entice, maybe even tease as he moved slowly through foreplay and onto the main act. But like all of her other imaginings, the reality was so much better. Nobody had ever looked at her the way Julian was right now.

His gaze slid from her face and down her body, and Melody closed her eyes tightly, desperately wishing she could cover herself up. Only two men had ever seen her naked—Billy, the boyfriend she’d lost her virginity to in college, and Rick. After all those years with Rick, she had never gotten over her self-consciousness, and had always hated being naked in front of him.

Melody heard a quiet chuckle from Julian, and her eyes flew open, looking straight into his. “What?” she asked, her tone holding a touch of defensiveness.

Julian shook his head. “You look like you want to curl up and hide.” He brushed her hair back from her face, his hand lingering on her cheek. His face turned serious once more, and he pressed his lips to hers. “You’re so beautiful, you have no idea.”

He lowered his mouth to hers and kissed her so slowly and so thoroughly, Melody’s head spun. His hands glided over her with whisper-soft gentleness, and his mouth left hers to follow the trail of his hands across her body. Nobody had ever touched her with such tenderness. Nobody had ever sent these electric lightning-bright thrills through her body. She had no idea sex could be like this, and it was only the beginning.

By the time Julian rolled off her and pulled her close against his slick chest, Melody felt like every nerve in her body was frayed. Julian was an incredibly attentive lover, watching her closely, gauging her reactions to his touches and kisses and pace. He had driven her close to the edge so many times, she thought her sanity would snap, and when he finally sent her over that edge, it was like nothing she had ever experienced before.

With her entire body still trembling, she burrowed against Julian and sighed happily when he pulled her closer, tucking the sheet around her. She felt at once exhausted and exhilarated, and wondered if every time with Julian would be this way. She had a feeling it would only get better.

She tilted her head to look at him, and he gazed down at her with a sleepy, satisfied smile. There was so much she wanted to say, so many questions she wanted to ask, but she didn’t want anything to ruin this happy, sated feeling.

Julian’s eyes drifted closed then snapped back open, and he grinned ruefully. Melody could only imagine how tired he must be, so she whispered, “Get some sleep.”

Nodding, he kissed her forehead, snuggled down into the bed with his arms around her tightly, and fell asleep almost instantly. Melody lay awake for another few minutes watching him and listening to his slow, even breathing before closing her eyes.

CHAPTER 21

Melody awoke slowly, stretching her legs and back before rolling to wrap an arm around Julian. Her eyes flew open when her hand met cool, empty sheets. Seeing a folded note on Julian’s pillow, Melody snatched it and read the quick scrawl.

Mom called and said to come to the hospital. Didn’t want to wake you. Go ahead and make yourself something to eat. I’ll be back later. -J. xo

Melody read the note twice before folding it and placing it on the bedside table. She was disappointed that Julian was gone, but she understood that his dad was the priority right now. A niggling little part of her brain wanted to dissect his note—it was so brief and generic—but she stopped herself, knowing it would be foolish and pointless.

Glancing at the clock, she was surprised to see it was 10 a.m. She wriggled into a sitting position, lounging against the soft pillows, and checked her phone for messages. She sent a quick text to Olivia letting her know everything was okay and promising to keep her informed, then dialed her mother’s number.

“Hi sweetie,” Rita greeted her after two rings. “How are things? How’s Julian’s dad?”

Melody filled her mother in on Mr. Reynolds’ surgery, and told her Julian and his mom were at the hospital. “I’m still at his parents’ place,” Melody explained. “I just wanted to check in, and I’d like to talk to Ava now if that’s okay.”

“Of course,” Rita said. There was a long pause, and Melody was surprised when her mother let out a small sigh. “I don’t want to make you feel bad, but she’s really excited about going to your place today, honey. You asked me to let you tell her yourself, so I waited, but…I just wanted to prepare you.”

Melody groaned and closed her eyes. “Crap,” she muttered. “I feel so bad, but what was I supposed to do? I couldn’t let Julian come up here by himself.”

“I know that, sweetie,” Rita assured her. “But ten-year-olds don’t always necessarily see logic the way we do.”

When Ava came on the line a few seconds later, Melody was surprised just how much she missed her niece. She could picture her sitting on the couch in her pajamas, her long dark hair still braided from the night before. Trying to keep her voice upbeat, Melody said, “Hi sweet girl. How are you doing?”

“Good. Nana made me a special breakfast this morning—blueberry and chocolate chip pancakes. She said they were your favourite when you were little.”

Bless her mother for trying to soften the blow for Ava, Melody thought. “They were. We’ll have to ask Nana to make them for both of us sometime. I haven’t had them in ages.”

“I’ll tell her for next time you come over,” Ava said. “So, when are you coming to get me?”

Melody covered her eyes with her free hand. The cowardly part of her was wishing desperately that she’d just let Rita tell Ava she wouldn’t be able to see her today, but she knew that wasn’t fair to any of them. She just hated the thought of disappointing Ava when she’d lived with so much disappointment her whole life. “Well…Ava, I’m not going to be able to spend the day with you. Julian’s dad got really sick last night, and now we’re in Ottawa so Julian can be with him in the hospital.”