Page 132 of Betrayal of a Billionaire

“You’ve got a funny way of showing it.”

Julia shook her head at him. “Kyle, I didn’t file any restraining orders. And I’m not ignoring you. My phone is…”

Heat washed over her as realization set in. She grabbed Kyle’s hand as she kicked the covers back. “Come with me.”

“Shhh,” Kyle warned. “Your boyfriend is asleep on the couch downstairs.”

Julia eased the door open and crept into the hall. “He’s not my boyfriend.”

“You’ve got a funny way of–”

“Stop,” she warned with a wag of her finger before she inched down the stairs in her bare feet. Kyle followed behind her. She veered away from the living room, heading for the kitchen.

“Midnight snack?” Kyle asked as she headed for the counter.

“No.” She dug the phone from the rice bag before she skirted the counter and tugged open a drawer, searching for a charger. She found one and plugged it in, attached it to her phone. The display blinked to life, indicating the device was charging.

Julia sighed and shook her head.

“What are you doing?”

She flashed the charging phone to him. “My sister told me my phone was zapped. It’s not, clearly. She just didn’t want me to get any texts from anyone. She set this entire thing up.”

Julia pressed a hand against her forehead as the realization set in that they hadn’t been ignoring her. Her sister had orchestrated the entire thing to separate them.

“Oh, thank goodness,” Kyle said with a smile. “I really thought I’d have to drag you from here kicking and screaming.”

Julia screwed up her face. “You’re not serious.”

He offered her a blank stare. “Of course not. I’m just joking. Anyway, now that we’ve solved this little mystery, let’s go.”

He grabbed her arm and guided her toward the back door.

“No,” she said as she pulled back against him.

He offered her an incredulous stare. “Julia, youhaveto come home. We’re going crazy without you. We only barely got Sierra to believe you’re still in the hospital. But there’s no way we’re going to convince her to get on a plane in a few hours and go back to New Orleans without you. She’ll have a meltdown and burn the airport to the ground.”

“Oh, as opposed to you who would prefer to kidnap me again?”

“Kidnap is a strong word.”

“No, I can’t leave yet. I have to talk to my sister.”

“Are you kidding me? Your sister used this situation to manipulate you. She lied to everyone, including you, made up a restraining order, gave your rings back to my father, and told us you wanted nothing to do with us, and we’d never get near you again.”

Julia heaved a sigh. “Yes, I know. But she did that because I lied to her first.”

“Julia!” Kyle hissed.

“I can’t believe this. You are the king of crossing lines. You literally broke into my sister’s house tonight, and you’re blaming Alicia for capitalizing on the situation?”

“Yeah, I am., and I only cross lines that need to be crossed. Like this one. Clearly, you needed to know this. Now, stop being stubborn, and let’s go.”

“No,” she said with a shake of her head as he tugged on her arm. “I need to talk to Alicia.”

“Fine, go wake her up.”

“No. Just go home, Kyle.”