Battle for Love (Bachelor Billionaire #3) (6 page)

Ethan
watched Julie console her brother. Why wasn't everyone as amazing as
her? Why wasn't his father understanding when it came to his mother?

“
I
can't believe this happened,” Gavin said. “We loved our
little baby so much already. I would do anything for everything to be
okay.”

“
I
know you would,” Julie replied. “We all would. You have
to know that just because this happened, doesn't mean it will ever
happen again. Becky could get pregnant again and everything can be
just fine. Please don't let this stop you from having a happy family.
I know it does not change that you lost this baby. I just want you to
make sure you move forward together and not backward.”

The
three of them walked back to the bedroom to sit with Becky. Ethan
went right to her, sat down, and pulled her into his arms.

“
I
am so sorry.”

He
had to hold his tears back. Ethan worked very hard to keep his walls
up and hidden from his friends. There was no way he wanted them to
see how the situation affected him. Without thinking, he looked up
into Gavin's eyes, not letting go of Becky.

“
You
two have to make it through this. Please promise me that you two will
stay together. I love you guys. I can't believe this is happening. I
need to know that you are going to make it through this,” Ethan
said.

Becky
wrapped her arms around him.

“
We
will get through this together. We love each other very much. He is
my rock and I know that he will be with me every second. We are going
to be sad, but we have each other. We will always have each other.”

“
I
love you,” he said. “I have to go. I need to leave. Call
me if you need anything, and I will be here no matter what.”

Ethan
squeezed her tight and then stood up. He pulled Gavin out the door
and down the hallway with him. Wrapping his arms around Gavin, he
leaned in close to his ear.

“
Please
be there for her.”

Gavin
gave him a look of confusion.

“
I
promise you, I will be there for her. I love her more than you could
ever imagine. We need each other right now. I will always be here for
her. Are you okay?”

“
I'm
fine,” Ethan replied. “I just have to get out of here. I
love you guys.”

He
pulled away from Gavin and took off for the front door, just as Julie
walked up to them. Ethan grabbed his bags from where he left them and
let himself out.

What
was that about, Julie wondered? She had never seen Ethan that upset
or serious the entire time she had known him. It was the first time
she had seen a tear in his eye or hurt on his face. He was always a
cocky ass. She looked at Gavin, wondering if he had the same thought.
It was as if her brother could read her mind.

“
I
have never seen him as upset as he was just now. Ethan gets pissed
over business deals gone wrong, but he holds his emotion well. I
can't believe he was that upset about our baby. Every now and again,
he truly amazes me. Rarely do I ever see him let the walls down he
has worked so hard to build. I have no idea what he has been through
in his life, but he makes me appreciate the wonderful life I have.
There are always things working on his mind. It's like I can see how
hard he fights himself sometimes. I don't think any of us could be as
hard on him as he is on himself. I know deep down, he is a good man.
One of these days, someone is going to crack that hard-ass exterior
he holds up so well. Are you okay?”

“
I'm
just worried about you and Becky. It was bad, Gavin. She was
devastated. I wanted to tell you so bad, but she wouldn't let me. She
wanted to see you in person. I love you guys so much. I would do
anything for you,” Julie said, as she wrapped her arms around
her brother.

“
We
would do anything for you too. We'll get through this. I am so glad
you came to her. Thank you so much for that. You have no idea how
important that is to me.”

“
She's
my sister. Of course I would be there for her. Honestly, I was afraid
that was what was happening, but I didn't want to scare her. I made
sure to let her doctor tell her. There was nothing either of you
could have done. I hope you know that.”

They
both walked back to the bedroom. Julie sat with Becky for a while
longer, while Gavin put his stuff away and got them something to eat.
He offered for her to stay, but she wanted to let them have their
privacy. She told Becky she would call in the morning to check on
her, and if anything happened during the night to call her.

Julie
could not stop thinking about Ethan's reaction to the situation. He
kept telling Becky and Gavin that they had to get through everything.
Why was he so worried that this would tear them apart, she wondered?
There was something going on with him. She could see the love and
fear in his eyes. That had been the first time she had seen him since
their blow out, but she needed to make sure he was okay. The way he
held her while she cried was not something she would ever forget. As
much joking and trouble as he had given her, he was there for her
when it counted. Julie used to have such a huge crush on him, but the
past few years his behavior had really upset her. Maybe there was
something more to him than she gave him credit for. She knew there
was a chance he was going to be upset with her, but she pulled out
her phone anyway and started to text him.

“
Where
are you?”

“
Out”
he replied.

So
he was not going to make things easy on her. He sat and let her soak
his shirt with her tears, and she was going to make sure he was okay,
whether he liked it or not.

“
Out
where?”

“
Out”

She
shook her head and laughed.

“
Tell
me now or I will figure it out anyway.”

“
I'm
at the bar.”

“
Which
one, genius?”

“
Why
do you care?” he sent.

“
I'm
on my way.”

“
Don't
you dare come here. Go home to doctor boring. I'll be home with a
chick naked and beneath me before you get here.”

“
Fuck
you.” she sent.

She
knew he was just trying to push her away. He was very good at that.
Anytime he had something bothering him, he pushed people away or
worked so hard to piss them off that they left on their own. It
wasn't going to work. There was something going on with him, and she
was not going to leave him alone. Julie knew which bar he went to
more than the rest. She was hoping that he would tell her so that she
didn't have to invite herself, but that didn't happen.

She
slammed her car door and headed into the bar. As she walked past a
table of guys, one of them whistled at her. Julie shook her head and
kept walking. When she walked back toward the corner, she felt her
cheeks redden as she picked up her pace. She had no claim to Ethan,
but that did not stop the flood of emotions she felt seeing some
chick hanging all over him. His head was down on the table, as some
woman had her hands on him. Julie stopped at the end of the booth and
slammed her fists down on the table. Ethan's head jerked up and his
eyes widened with surprise.

“
Excuse
me,” she said, as she stared directly into the chicks eyes.
“Get the fuck away from my man.”

“
What
do you mean your man?”

“
What
part of my man do you not understand? Remove your hands from him
now.”

Julie
stood as tall as she could and pulled her shoulders back. She was as
confident as could be. Ethan let out a laugh as he threw his head
back down into his arms on the table.

“
I
had no idea he was taken. I'm so sorry. You both have a great day.”

The
girl removed her hands from his back, moved to the edge of the booth,
stood up, and walked toward the group of men who had whistled
earlier. Julie slammed herself down on the seat that had been
vacated. Neither of them said anything for a moment.

“
I
can't believe you just did that,” he said, with his head still
on the table.

“
I
don't know what you mean?”

“
Yes
you do. I was just about to get lucky, and you chased her away. I
visit this bar often, you know. Everyone over at that table knows I'm
single.”

“
Are
you talking about that table full of testosterone that whistled at me
as I walked by. Great bunch of guys, I'm sure.”

His
head came off the table and he turned to face her.

“
What
do you mean they whistled at you on the way by? Which one?”

Julie
could see the sadness in his eyes, but she could also see something
else. Was it jealousy?

“
Get
up. I'm going over there. Which one was it?”

“
Shut
up and sit there. You aren't going anywhere until you tell me why you
left.”

He
let out a sigh.

“
Start
talking Ethan or I'm going to do something more embarrassing than
tell that girl your taken.”

He
smiled and shook his head.

“
I
thought you were boring now. I can't believe you chased her away. I
am a little curious to see what else you would do.”

“
I'll
go over to that table of guys and”

“
I
don't think so,” he said, as he cut her off.

“
How
much have you had to drink?” she asked. “No, it doesn't
matter. I'm driving you home.”

“
You're
not driving me home. I'm not finished here. Just go back to your man.
I'm sure you have much better things to do. Tell that girl to come
back over here on your way out.”

Julie
felt a surge of anger run through her veins. She knew he was messing
with her head, but enough was enough. Why she was so jealous of that
chick hanging on him and touching him? Sure, she used to have a crush
on him before she really got to know him. Julie had learned to put
her guard up when she was around him. He always made flirty comments,
but she knew he would never really care about her. Ethan cared about
himself. He was a selfish ass, but the hurt and sadness she had seen
in his eyes made her want to learn more about him. What Gavin said
about him was in the back of her mind. Maybe there was more to Ethan.
There was no way she was leaving him there drunk. Julie knew not to
let him get the upper hand.

“
Fine,
I'll send her over while I go meet her friends,” she snapped.

“
Whatever,”
he said, as he let his head lean back against the wall.

“
I'll
see you later. I'm going to make some new friends.”

Julie
walked toward the table on the other side of the room. She turned
around and saw Ethan watch her with his eyes squinting and his jaw
clenched. As she walked toward the table, she made sure to shake her
backside just a little extra. The guy who had whistled at her earlier
stood and pulled up an extra chair, as he waited for her to sit down.

“
Well
thank you very much,” she said, loud enough for Ethan to hear.
“Are you always such a gentleman?”

The
guy sat down next to her just a little closer than she was
comfortable with. Please don't let this backfire, she thought.

“
My
name's Jeff? These are my friends Matt and Roy. This is Roy's new
friend Sally,” he said pointing to the girl she had chased away
from Ethan.

She
was glad that Sally was to busy kissing on Roy's neck to notice her.