Authors: Vivienne Harris-Scott
Julian
“
I think we should get properly introduced
…”
Kevin says to his new neighbour, two
cups of coffee in hand, as Julian opens the door only wearing bottom
pj
pants.
“
What time is it?
”
he asks, his hand rubbing his eyes.
“
7 a.m.,
”
Kevin replies, looking at his watch, as
he
’
s already wearing a suit, and will be on a
train headed to Lyon is less than half an hour.
“
Come in
…”
Julian says, receding into the apartment,
and to his bedroom to get a jumper on.
They meet again in the lounge, as Kevin is
sipping on his coffee, reading the newspaper.
Julian watches the man in front of him,
and he still a bit stunned at his presence at such an early hour
…
“
You seem mighty comfortable
…”
he starts.
Kevin looks up from his paper, and replies
coolly,
“
Is there a reason, I shouldn
’
t be?
”
“
No,
”
Julian, answers, clearing his
throat, and getting the cup of coffee, apparently waiting for him on the table.
“
I have to give you some props,
”
Kevin starts, his eyes, slightly amused,
as he can tell the man in front of him is either not fully awake yet, or made
quite uncomfortable by his presence,
“
Buying this apartment
…”
his hand casually pointing their
surroundings,
“
But one thing needs to be very clear
…”
his voice icily pursues,
“
I don
’
t care how much money you spend, the only
thing that matters to me is her not getting hurt
…”
his eyes harden, as he ends,
“
By anyone.
”
“
Well, you know how to start a conversation
…”
Julian replies with a casual smile, the
caffeine is hitting his brain, making him aware of the reasons this man is sitting
in his lounge at dawn.
“
Let
’
s just say, I prefer things to be said.
”
Kevin replies with his own smile.
“
I got you. And I appreciate it. Giving me
fair warning
…”
Julian
replies seriously.
“
I am glad we understand each other.
”
Kevin says, getting up, and holding his
hand out, for a handshake.
“
Thank you.
”
Julian says sincerely, as he wants this
man to be on his side and remembers Ethan
’
s words about him.
“
I
’
ll try my hardest to make her happy.
”
he adds reassuringly.
Kevin smiles, and replies,
“
Almost never counts Julian. Make sure you
deliver.
”
And he exits the apartment, leaving a
stunned Julian.
((~~!~~))
It
’
s now been nine full weeks, - two months! -, since he
’
s moved into his new apartment, and he
sees her every day, but she is still refusing to move in with him.
While apparently impressed with the grand
gesture, she has not been as swayed as he hoped.
He cherishes the few hours they share
everyday as they get to really know each other, but it
’
s simply not enough.
Especially when he feels like he
’
s being assessed, as if in the middle of
passing a test exam
…
and, he is flunking.
Kevin is very present, and while he never
interrupts their times, when he picks her up, or attend dinners with them,
Julian feels the pits of jealousy hit him, when he is forced to acknowledge
these two share an intimacy he is not dealing well with
…
He has tried to enlist Kevin in convincing
the man they
’
d both be happier if she moved across the
hall, but unsurprisingly he hit a firm
‘
no
’
on his part. Kevin will not help him in
that regards. He
’
ll befriend him because there is no other
choice considering the circumstances, but his loyalty will always be to her,
not whatever man, - as he shockingly put it-, happens to have gotten her
pregnant this time around.
Julian is getting increasingly frustrated
with the situation while reminding himself, that this is better than he
actually hoped for after her dramatic departure from LA.
Yes, LA, where his real home is, a home
that is ready of her and their child, he
’
s given instructions to Consuela
…
when he naively thought Vi would return
there with him if he could only persuade her
…
Damn
.
He knows, now, it
’
s not going to happen anytime soon.
He is a proud man, and he is used to
getting what he wants. He just needs a new game plan. Being next door is
clearly not doing the trick
…
Suddenly it hits him; there is one thing
that will solve all his problems in one sweep.
Her birthday is coming next week, and he
will present her with the mother of all gifts.
Something he never thought he
’
d give away to anyone, ever.
His heart.
((~~!~~))
“
The biggest heartbreak of all is to let go
of her, trust me, you never want to have to experience it. Get her out of that
apartment or you will. I
’
m not your biggest competition, he is.
What they have is, almost incestuous. Just go get her, or I
’
m going to be the one doing it myself.
”
Ethan declares, as they have been talking
on the phone for over half an hour.
Julian has called him to enquire about his
plans to come to the French capital, and tell him about his plans for her
birthday.
“
I really think, she
’
ll say yes E.
”
Julian says with conviction.
“
I think you are deluding yourself,
”
replies his friend curtly.
“
Look, we
’
re expecting a child, she
’
s getting close to the third trimester.
Things are good between us, and I really think this will cement our future, or
at least
…”
But, he
’
s interrupted by Ethan
’
s laughter as he chortles,
“
Don
’
t say I didn
’
t warn you! And so far, I
’
ve been right about just about everything
…”
“
Don
’
t remind me,
“
Julian replies, grimly, wondering, how he
managed to get himself feeling like he
’
s stuck between the devil and the deep
blue sea.
He
’
s Julian McCarty for crying out loud. What
the hell is happening to his life? When did he lose all control of it?
“
E.? When are you coming?
”
he asks, shaking away his feeling of
hopelessness.
“
I
’
ll be there on her birthday
…
after all, I don
’
t want to miss the big event
…”
his friend chuckles, once more.
“
Hold on a second! You don
’
t think I
’
m going to do this with you as an
audience?!
”
he nearly yells incredulously at his
friend
’
s gall.
Ethan explodes, with a full on laughter,
“
Julian, I
’
m not that cruel! I was talking about her
birthday itself, not your plans!
”
Julian remains silent, relieved.
“
Jay, heed my advice. Do what you have to,
just get her out of that place! And good luck with your project
…”
“
I
’
ll see you next week E.
”
Julian says before disconnecting the
call, as he now feels doubts about his plan
’
s success.
But then again
, what other choice does
he have
, he asks himself.
Fuck.
CHAPTER 93
If you don
’
t
succeed, dust yourself up and try again
…
Ethan
“
El
corazõn
desea
lo
que
desea
[7]
,
”
he had said to her.
He remembers. She had smiled to him. One
of the things she liked about him was his versatility in foreign languages, a
trait that they both shared and used at will in their conversations whether
they were arguing or making love.
The fact that this time he had used
Spanish, her native language, meant he was serious.
“
I see you are not in love with me at this
point in time, yet you love me, so go to him. I can live with that.
”
he had continued.
Yes, that
’
s what he had said to her.
Time to let her go. It would have been
easy to keep her, she still loved him; they would fall back into patterns. They
had been there before. Yet, this time would be different, albeit the love they
still shared, he would have to question himself every time he touched her,
wondering if she was thinking of
him
.
He couldn
’
t bear it, for her, but mostly for
himself. He
’
d rather have her as a friend.
Yes, he could do it.
Now, it was time to test that theory.
((~~!~~))
He had arranged for her birthday present to be
delivered before he arrived in Paris.
He wanted to make sure it was a gift she
received right before the stroke of midnight, before her birthday officially
started.
He knew the other men in her life would
lavish her from the minute she would wake on the day.
He
’
d be first.
Because that
’
s what he did.
He was Ethan McGregor.
Why play, if not to win?
He still loved her, and from what he
gathered of her past months in Paris, she still hadn
’
t made up her mind about any permanent
arrangement with Julian or otherwise.
He called her once a week, making sure not
to ever be pushy in his questions, but genuinely concerned for her well-being.
They had reached a quiet status quo, their
conversations, light, almost like at the beginning of them, when they were in
different continents, missing each other until their next meet.
Maybe, there was still a chance for them
…
That
’
s what he thought to himself as he ordered
a scotch and settled for the long haul.
((~~!~~))
“
Everything is ready for your arrival,
”
said his London attorney.
He exhaled.
“
To the deed?
”
he wanted confirmation.
“
Yes, to the deed. But, Ethan, once again,
are you sure? I mean, this is a nearly 5 million pounds property
…
and I know you
’
re not hurting for money or anything, but
considering your marital status
…”
He interrupted his lawyer, with once
sentence,
“
I am sure. Thanks. I
’
ll call you when I get there.
”
He hang up and smiled to himself.
The idea of the property had germinated in
his mind when he realised she held no title to any.
She had money in the bank, an impressive
sports car collection that would make some men jealous, yet she was homeless.
She had left Paris for Geneva when she was
in her twenties, then married him, and then divorced him, living in rented
placed for years on.
He knew Vic, she
’
s always longed to have her own home.
She had it once
, he recalled thinking of the house he was
still standing in, the countless hours she had spent decorating it, the trips
to Bali for the handpicked furniture, rugs, china
…
She was ripped of her home when she left
after Luca
’
s death
…
.
By the sheer grace of God, he had fixed
their relationship; he would fix this too.
He owed it to her.
((~~!~~))
Julian and Marcus
“
Going all out, are we?! Wow! I can
’
t say I didn
’
t see it coming!
”
Marcus whistled,
“
It seems the woman has made it her mission
in life to push you over the top!
”
he ended laughing at his friend latest
plan.
“
Marcus, what else am I supposed to do? I
’
ve tried just about anything I could think
of, and she won
’
t budge!
”
Julian said with despair.
Marcus just laughed some more. He still
hadn
’
t met Vi, but being involved with Lily for
a steady two months now, he knew if the two women were anything alike, it was
no surprise his friend was on the brink of losing his grasp on what could be
done to regain her. That is if he ever had her in the first place!
It had been Marcus
’
s idea for Julian to buy the apartment
next door, so she wouldn
’
t have to move too far from her present
digs. He had told Julian, he was certain she would give him a flat no to going
back to LA with him, and he had been right.
It had also been his idea to take things
slowly with her after the Frances episode on his birthday, as no woman would
easily forget that sight. Yet, he had also encouraged him to be proactive in
showering her with the right kind of attention so she would recall who he was,
what they had, and more importantly what they could be.
It was all about balance for Marcus. This
he had learned with Lily. She was simply unperturbed by any of his grand
gestures, and actually preferred honesty, kindness and the simple discovery of
who he was.
Not to say she wasn
’
t sensitive to the weekends away, the
expensive gifts, and the attentive loving he was giving, but she was just as
happy if not happier when she returned from a long day at the hospital and he
was there, in her kitchen, dinner simmering, a bottle of wine waiting to be
opened, as he asked if she wanted to talk about her day or preferred discussing
the book she was currently reading and trying to finish when she had a spare
minute.
Yes, the little details made all the
difference with this type of women. Money could only lead so you far
…
And, this was the reason he told his
friend to be very careful about the selection of his latest
‘
gift
’
.
“
Frankly, if I were you, I
’
d get Kevin on board with this
…”
he had said to Julian.
“
Kevin? He
’
s already living with her!
”
he erupted, wondering if Marcus had lost
his damn mind.
“
Well, precisely Julian. He knows her
better than anyone. He
’
ll know to what she
’
ll respond to
…
Trust me, getting her the first Harry
Winston rock you see isn
’
t going to do it mate, quite the contrary
I suspect
…
Get Kevin to help you with this! He knows
her, and he wants her happy. Take advantage of it!
”
Marcus had insisted.
Julian had remained silent for a few
seconds until a smile formed on his lips, as he said,
“
Marcus, you are a genius! Enlisting Kevin
is simply brilliant, she won
’
t be able to resist! Thanks!
”
“
You
’
re welcome my friend!
”
“
You
’
re still coming right? I mean, I know Lily
will come for her birthday, but you are coming right?
”
he asked, anxious.
“
Yes. I am coming. I think you
’
ve been alone for too long, and clearly,
it isn
’
t doing you much good!
”
Marcus chuckled.
((~~!~~))
Julian and Kevin
“
I have to say thank you.
”
The man shrugged and smiled at him.
“
Truly, I wouldn
’
t have been able to choose the right one,
and even if I had, I don
’
t think I would have picked anything like
this!
”
Julian said, as both men were waiting for
the jeweller to make adjustments to the ring he just purchased, in the
custom-only, by appointment-only niche boutique, secluded in the rue du
Bac
.
“
She will love it. It
’
s like her: unique.
”
Kevin replied.
The pink diamond marquise cut 17 carats solitaire
was indeed unique, if the price tag attached to it was an indication, but also
its white diamonds surrounding the central stone.
Julian looked at the man seating in front
of him, and feeling suddenly candid asked,
“
Do you think, it
’
s too early? That I am making a mistake?
”
Kevin gave him a surprised look, the
Julian he came to know was anything but a doubtful man, and right now, he was
yet, spotting a nervousness that made him look fragile. Kevin would have
laughed, if the man hadn
’
t actually looked distraught.
“
No, I don
’
t think so,
”
he replied seriously.
“
I believe, you are showing her you are
ready to commit your life to her, and that is not something she
’
ll take lightly, considering she is
expecting your child.
”
he added, giving him a
small reassuring smile.
“
It might be the thing she needs after all
these months of turmoil
…”
he
sighed,
“
And you really love her and are good to
her, that makes you quite irresistible all things remaining equal.
”
he punctuated.
“
Thank you again. I really appreciate you
being with me on this
…
Ethan had me doubt for a second
…”
“
Ethan?
”
Kevin interrupted him, a scowl on his
face, his smile gone.
“
Yes, I told him about my plans and he
laughed
…”
Julian
said shaking his head, irritated at the memory.
“
Of course he did!
”
Kevin retorted bitterly.
“
Look, I know you two have
…”
Julian started.
“
We have nothing, I despise the man!
”
Kevin cut in, icily.
“…
issues.
”
Julian finished his sentence, already
regretting mentioning the name of his friend.
A silence passed between the two men,
until Julian said,
“
Thank you again. Your help has been
invaluable. I
’
m sorry about bringing up E
…”
he sighed, and continued, thinking Ethan
would be arriving the following week and Kevin would not like it one bit.
And, as if sensing his thoughts, Kevin
asked with contempt lacing his voice,
“
He
’
s coming for her birthday, isn
’
t he?