Page 53 of Betrayal of a Billionaire

She was pushing every button he had, but he fought to maintain his composure for Julia. “We all have a past.”

“Oh right, I forgot. You have abigone. And…I guess it doesn’t really matter, does it? In eight months, she’s a free woman.”

The words sliced at him like a knife to his gut. He couldn’t bring himself to say the words. In eight months, he hoped to have a real wife at his side. But he worried they’d never make it there with the Luke complication.

“I’m right, aren’t I? Though, I’d really rather she didn’t wait the eight months.”

“Alicia–”

“You don’t have to answer. Just…think about it. You know…shealwayscomes back to Luke. They’ve broken up a few times before. But they always get back together. They’re like…air for the other one. They just need each other.”

He regretted the offer to allow her sister to stay with them after those words.

She sped up, glancing over her shoulder. “Nice talking to you, Grant.”

His jaw clenched as he went over the words again and again.They’re like air for the other one. They need each other.

With a sigh, he shook his head. Alicia hurried forward and smiled at Sierra, pulling her away from Julia as she pointed something out. Luke stepped in to fill the void. They were pulling out all the stops to force Julia and Luke together. Would it work?

His thoughts were interrupted by another voice. “You give my offer any thought?” Kyle asked.

“Your ridiculous plan to destroy Luke?”

Kyle tilted his head as he stared ahead at Julia who smiled up at Luke. “Ridiculous? I don’t think so. But if you want to keep taking the high road, you go right ahead. You’re going to take it all the way to letting Julia slip right through your fingers.”

Kyle paused, casting a glance back at Grant, a mixture of concern and frustration evident in his expression. “Sometimes, you need to take the low road to fight for what you want.”

Kyle strolled forward away from him, leaving him at the back of the group. He lingered there as laughter and conversation orbited around everyone but him. Alicia’s words ripped a hole into his heart. He worried as he watched the easiness between Julia and Luke that his son may have a point. And he may be watching the woman he loved slip right away from him.

CHAPTER 12

JULIA

Julia glanced over her shoulder as they rounded the final curve in the trail around the pond. Memories of her last time walking this trail with Luke danced through her mind. The warm vivid memory now clashed with her heartache as she spotted Grant trailing at the back of the group. Her heart sank as the tug between past and present threatened to tear her in two again.

As they reached the end of the trail, Julia dropped back until Alicia stopped her. “Hey, sis, how about dinner tonight? Just the gang, like old times?”

“Oh,” Julia hesitated, her heart a swirl of conflicting emotions. She glanced back at Grant, a part of her longed for the comfort of her shared moments, yet echoes of her past with Luke whispered promises of a different life. “I’m not sure.”

“It’s just dinner,” Alicia said. But her brief glance at Luke hinted at hopes that went beyond sisterly concern.

Grant approached as the warm, golden late afternoon sun shone through the trees.

“Grant wouldn’t mind, would you, Grant? You wouldn’t stop your wife from spending time with her family and friends, would you?”

Grant shifted his eyes between Julia and Alicia, his eyes clouded with an emotion she couldn’t read before he shook his head. “Of course not.”

She clapped him on the shoulder. “I knew you wouldn’t mind. That’ll give you some time to spend with your own family.”

This time, Julia couldn’t mistake the hardening of Grant’s features. Alicia wasn’t being fair. She was certain that while he understood the importance of family, she preferred not to be shut out of her world. “Why don’t you all come?”

Grant eyed her for a second.

“Oh, he doesn’t want to come with us and talk about old times in Harbor Cove,” Alicia said with a chuckle.

“Ally,” Julia murmured with wide eyes.

“What? Come on, I’m being serious. Plus, I’d really love to spend some time with my sister.”