Page 39 of Betrayal of a Billionaire

With each step, the tension eased away. Conversation got easier, laughter got louder.

Memories flowed easily and without as much pain as they had the night before. As they stopped to admire a sweeping view of the ocean in a break of the evergreen trees, Luke offered her a bottle of water.

Their laughter echoed, a familiar sound in the forest’s embrace, as they discussed getting lost. A bittersweet memory that led to another easy, shared laugh, a reminder of a time untainted by current complexities.

“Thanks. I should have brought mine, but I haven’t been hiking in so long,” she said with a sigh.

“You shouldn’t have moved, Juju. Maine is in your soul.”

He wasn’t wrong. Her heart was happy here. It was easy and familiar, just like their relationship. Maine was in her soul. Just like Luke.

She twisted to face him to respond, finding him closer than she’d expected. Her eyes searched his for a moment before they leaned closer to each other, her eyes sliding closed and her lips parting as she readied for a kiss.

The buzzing of her phone made her jump back. Her heart thudded against her ribs as though she’d been caught with her fingers in the cookie jar.

She avoided eye contact with Luke as she pulled it from her pocket and glanced at the screen. Her pulse quickened again as she spotted the message from Grant. Her fingers trembled as she read it, a knot of guilt tightening in her stomach. She was torn, caught in a web of what was and what could be.Hey, I hope you didn’t forget about lunch. Please don’t leave us with your sister.

Julia swallowed hard as her present situation smacked her in the face again. She had fallen back into old habits so easily on the walk that she’d forgotten completely about the rest of her life.

She’d nearly missed lunch. Her heart thudded as she found herself, once again, plunged into a whirlwind of emotions, caught between her past and present, with no idea which way to step.

As she gazed at his message again, the serene landscape blurred before her eyes. Her heart ached, a poignant reminder of the life she’d built and the love she’d left behind. At that moment, Harbor Cove became both a haven and a horror.

CHAPTER 9

GRANT

Grant tossed and turned in his bed, unable to sleep after the day. Each time he closed his eyes, images of the easiness between Julia and Luke floated by. From the way they looked at each other when they’d first met on the docks to the picture of them hanging on the restaurant’s wall, it haunted him.

He tried to shove it away. He’d had a past, too. In fact, he’d had one that had been the bane of their existence since they’d married. He’d had four wives before her. He had no right to expect she hadn’t had relationships.

But it wasn’t her former relationship that bothered him. It was the way she still looked at the man. That look in her eyes when she’d fallen into his arms on the dance floor twisted his stomach and his heart into knots.

He hated to think of it, but he couldn’t stop from dwelling on it. Had she ever looked at him like that? Had they evershared one of those easy moments? Had she ever looked that comfortable in his arms?

He searched his memory, finding many moments he’d cherished. He spent the night tearing them apart, comparing, contrasting, and searching for the spark he desperately wanted them to have. Had her smile when they’d danced in Paris been as full as hers was with Luke?

But as the morning’s first light crept over the horizon, he resigned himself to the realization that he didn’t know what feelings, if any, she had for him.

He stared at the ring box in the morning’s dim light, now more unsure than ever about asking her to stay with him.

As he rose from his bed, one thought permeated his mind. He wished they’d never have come to Harbor Cove.

Maybe this morning’s breakfast would bring him more clarity. He planned to ask Julia for a few tips for handling her sister. Maybe soon, he could get on the woman’s good side and this crusade to push him as far from Julia as possible would end.

He shuffled downstairs after he’d showered and dressed, finding Kyle in the kitchen frowning into his coffee. “Anyone else up yet?”

“Julia is,” he answered.

“I hope that’s not because you banged down her door to talk to her,” Grant said as he poured a cup of the steaming liquid and took a sip.

“Nope,” Kyle said, poking a finger at the refrigerator.

Grant spotted a piece of paper poking from under a magnet. He crossed to it and yanked it free.Gone for a hike. See you at lunch. J

She added a smiley face underneath her initial. He heaved a sigh. So much for tips and tricks on her sister.

“I think we really need to talk,” Kyle said.