Page 32 of Betrayal of a Billionaire

Grant eyed her as she studied the drink, her features melting into a broad, genuine smile that spread across her face.

She glanced back at him. “You remembered!”

“I think so. You’ve got to taste it first.” He arched an eyebrow as she brought it to her lips.

The smile spread further as she bobbed her head up and down. “That’s it! Yes! You remembered.”

“Brought back some good memories, I hope.”

She took another sip, the smile stuck on her face. “Yes.”

Grant shot him an unimpressed stare as he sipped his bourbon, and they placed their order. He couldn’t wait to escape this restaurant. Maybe once she got away from him, it wouldn’t seem as daunting as it did right now.

At this moment, it felt like Luke was making a play for his wife. And he worried the man may win. Julia obviously had fond memories of him. Memories that may be unresolved.

His fingers tightened into fists as he realized how little he knew of her past. He assumed she’d had a past, but he hadn’t expected to have it thrown in his face.

His mind turned to his own past. Is this how Julia felt when his past actions had been thrown at them? Guilt coursed through him. She lived with his first ex-wife. He didn’t have any room to be upset over this man’s actions or her response to them.

Of course, maybe she had an easier time because she didn’t love him like he loved her.

He couldn’t help but wonder if he was paying for his past transgressions as he watched Julia with Luke.

A loud voice called him from his rumination.

“Well, if I didn’t see it with my own eyes, I wouldn’t have believed it.”

The smile spread across Julia’s face again as she rose. An older man crossed to them and pulled Julia into an embrace. Grant wondered if it was her father.

“Hi, Chief,” Julia said.

“Aww, not anymore, Juju.”

She clicked her tongue before she kissed his cheek. “You’ll always be my chief.”

“Did I hear right from Ethan that you got married?”

“Yes,” she said, her smile slipping a little. “This is my husband, Grant, and my stepson, Kyle, and stepdaughter, Sierra. This is Charles Whitmore, Ethan’s dad.”

Grant rose from his seat, prepared to shake the man’s hand, but he kept his arm firmly around Julia as he studied them with a bob of his head. “Uh-huh. Hi.”

Julia wasn’t kidding about the locals not caring for them.

“Well, it’s good to see you, sweetheart. I hope you stick around.” He kissed the top of her head before he strode toward the door.

“Wow, he was super friendly,” Sierra said with a wrinkled nose.

Julia set her gaze on Grant. “I told you how they’d feel about you. You’re outsiders.”

“Welcome to small-town life,” Kyle said. “They probablyreallyhate that you married someone from outside of here.”

“The Chief was like a father to me. He’d be hard on anyone.”

“Why do you call him the Chief?” Sierra asked.

“He was the Chief of Police for as long as I can remember. He’ll be the chief for some people around here even after he dies.”

“This place is sort of weird, Julia.”