Passionate Bid (16 page)

Chest heaving, she stood in the middle of Julian”s living room. She was glad Julian”s grandma was out with her nurse. She knew the old woman always went for a stroll at the park, and she took the chance of coming here to find Joanie”s address in Oregon.

It was Ricky”s damn fucking fault. He told her to play hard-to-get, to pretend leaving him so he”d be pushed to face his wife in person and ask for her signature because the bitch kept sending the papers back. She endured a month of being away from Julian, thinking he would realize how much she meant to him.

Now, the threat of losing him loomed like dark clouds above her. When Julian told her about the brat, she wanted to curse him for being such an idiot. But she must play her cards well. Her future, her dream was at stake here.

Julian would be gone for two weeks. Two fucking weeks to spend with his child! Not good. Anything could happen in two weeks. Joanie had the advantage—

she would dangle the brat on Julian”s nose.

I hate fucking kids. Dirty, loud, pests, and smelly. Julian had said he loved his daughter. Shit, how could he have known that in two days? And by the tone of Julian”s voice, she could tell that Julian liked his wife with fucking forest green eyes.

Julian”s marital status was no secret to her. She knew all about it. She may be blonde, but stupid she wasn”t. When she had spotted him at a dinner party, she had made inquiries. Julian was a catch with money coming out of his ears. His parents were long dead—no in-laws to deal with—and he had only one relative close to him, his grandma. Julian was her stop. A big fish she must reel in, in a hurry.

She must do something before his bitch of a wife won.

She was done sucking up politicians pruny testicles who only used her in bed. She would never go back to dating old pricks in exchange of a signature handbag, and she was done dating empty-headed models who like her were only waiting for their big breaks. She found Julian, an established doctor—not a heart doctor, but who the fuck cared—with money and the first lover who actually hinted an interest of marrying her. Doctor Julian Ravenwood would be her ticket to achieve her long time goal—live the life. She could almost feel it now, her success. And she would do anything to remove obstacles that would prevent her from claiming that success. Be it a freaking woman or small child.

With Julian”s child around, he would never be hers alone. The child would need support, would whine about school and tuition for college. And the ugly mother would use the child the way she was doing now—detaining Julian, refusing to sign the divorce papers in exchange of who knows what. No. One thing she hated most was sharing her possessions. She would never ever share Julian with anyone.

Damn it! This was all Ricky”s fault. That damn useless asshole of a lawyer.

She let him fuck her from behind because he promised to help her snag Julian.

“Trust me, Georgina,” he”d said. “If you let me fuck your magnificent cunt doggie-style, I”ll help you get Julian to the altar. Come on. I”ve been dreaming about having a taste of your pussy. Julian wouldn”t know.” Those were the words of a horny jerk, and she believed him. But his fucking idea of sending Julian to Oregon instead of him going there failed! What an asshole.

Julian said something about the brat”s birthday in two weeks. If Joanie planned to use the kid to keep Julian on her side, she”d use the child, too, to bring Julian back to her bed. And what better way to do it than show her genuine sdoration for his child. She would go to Oregon next week. First, she must make a plan.

Georgina went to Julian”s home office that she always found dull and boring.

Books about animals filled his shelves. The magazines on the console table were also about animals. She opened his desk drawers and riffled through the papers and whatnot. While pushing pens and paperclips around, she noticed something that didn”t quite belong there. A hair ornament.

It was old but beautiful. Must have belonged to Julian”s grandmother, she thought. But the engraved letters on the back told her otherwise.

“To my beloved Julie,

A token of my affection, love, heart, and soul.

Yours, James Saint Claire”

“So this old thing belonged to Joanie”s mom. But how did it end up in Julian”s drawer? Joanie must have given it to him. Well, darn fucking bad because she wouldn”t see this in one piece again.” With all her might, she snapped the clip in half and then laughed her heart out.

Grinning, Georgina turned on Julian”s IMac, logged onto the Internet and searched for a flight. It didn”t take long for her to book a business class flight to Oregon. Now if she could just find the address in Bend, she”d be set.

Julian smelled pancakes. His lovely wife must be up and cooking, no, more like burning food again. He tried opening his eyes, but the flimsy, faded curtains failed to block the sun from shining on his face. God, it was five o”clock when he finally fell asleep. The clock on the wall showed he slept for only three hours.

Seemed like it was only ten minutes. Maybe if he sleep another hour, he”d feel better. He covered his eyes with his arm and did just that when something soft and heavy landed on his stomach.

“Yeooww!”

“Wake up, Doctor. Wake up!” Sam whacked him again with her stuffed monkey. “I have you something!”

“I”m up, I”m up. Morning Sam.” He picked up Sam whose eyes were bright and shiny like a sapphire left under the heat of the sun and gave her a hug. His daughter smelled of toast and milk. For a moment, he just inhaled her scent. God, he wished he”d seen her when she was just a little baby. How many hugs and kisses had he missed? So many. His throat constricted. God, he wanted to cry.

Sam wriggled from his hold. Reluctantly, he released her. “Did you bathe in milk? Because you smell so good.”

“Noooo! I drank milk. Look! It”s for you.”

He cleared his throat and pretended to look shocked. “Wow, for me? I”ve never had a stuffed butterfly before.”

“His name is Midnight Blue. See, this is the color of your eyes like mine. See?

See?” Sam nearly poked her eyes to make a point.

“Yeah, I see.”

“His wings are your hair. Black. What”s you gonna call him?”

“I thought his name is Midnight Blue?”

“Yessss, but what”s you gonna call him?”

“Let me see…how about Midnight. So I won”t forget what kind of butterfly he is.”

“I got icky feet again. See.”

“So I see. And looks like your hands are icky, too. What have you been doing?”

“Picking flowers.”

“Alright. I think I know how to fix your icky hands and feet.” He knew what Sam wanted—to get tickled. Julian picked Sam up and tossed her up in the air.

“Here we go!”

Sam”s eyes were big from anticipation as she waited for the water to turn warm. The moment Julian said okay, Sam kicked and stomped her feet inside the sink. Soapy water splashed everywhere. He tried cleaning her soles where the sticky saps from Rhododendrons were stuck, but she”d kicked her feet, squealing.

His little girl laughed so much drool dripped down her chin. He was counting Sam”s toes making her squirm and giggle when Joanie walked in on them. She was carrying the pink bag she gave Mark the day he took Sam to the zoo, a butterfly balloon, and a bouquet of wilted flowers. Her cheeks were flushed and there was dirt on her forehead where she must have wiped her hand.

“Oh, no. Mark”s been spoiling her with gifts. Now you”re spoiling her by washing her feet.”

“Jealous?”

Joanie rolled her eyes. “Yeah. In your dreams. You guys, next time you play this game, do it in the tub. Look at this mess!”

“Uh-oh. We”re busted and Mama”s huffing and puffing like an angry wolf.”

“And she”s gonna blow us down!” Sam laughed.

“Excuse me. I need to get my vase under the sink.”

Julian moved a bit to make room for Joanie. “Need water for that. Here.” He changed the water temperature to cold.

“Here, Mama,” Sam mimicked then giggled when Julian rubbed soap in between her toes. “Stop! It tickles.”

“You want me to stop?”

“No.”

“I thought so.”

“That”s enough. You”re feet are clean now, bug.”

“Mama”s turn?”

Julian grinned. “Wanna have a turn, Mama? I”ll gladly wash more than your feet.”

“Ha. Ha. Very funny. Come on you guys. I made breakfast.”

“Mama”s too big for the sink, Sam. I think we”ll have to use the tub for her,” he said without taking his eyes off Joanie. She looked so pretty, especially when bright red spots painted her cheeks.

“And purple bubbles to make her smell yummy.”

“Sam, that”s our secret. Don”t tell.”

“Okay. Can I tell Doctor Julian you always cry when you look at my ring?” Sam looked inside her shirt. “Mama, it”s gone.”

Sam”s lips quivered and her eyes welled with tears before Julian could search his pocket for the ring. “Sam, baby. The ring is not missing. I have it.” Quickly, he took the ring out of his pocket and showed it to her.

“You do?” Sam blinked her tears away.

“See? You can wear it now, but not while you sleep. It”s not safe. I think Mama cries when she sees your ring because you”re growing up too fast. You”re going to be four soon.”

“Uh-huh.” Sam wiped her cheeks with the back of her chubby hands. “I will have big pink balloons, chocolate cake with butter, ice cream with butter, and more butter. Yum!”

“Sam, Julian will be staying with us until your birthday.”

“Yeesss! Can I go play now?”

“Sure. In the living room, not outside.”

“Okay, Mama.”

Julian dried Sam”s feet and helped Sam put her sandals on. He gave her a tight squeeze before letting her run around the house with her butterfly balloon.

Then he faced Joanie. “Good morning, Joanie.”

“Good morning.”

“You still cry about us?”

“I stopped crying about you long time ago. If I cry now it”s not all about you.

How about breakfast?”

Julian didn”t force the subject. Before his two weeks was up, he”d sit down with her. They needed to talk. Yeah, they talked last night, but it wasn”t enough.

There were so many things bottled up inside Joanie. She must let it out, clear her chest, and then maybe she”d forgive him for being an ass and accept him as friend.

A lot of divorced couples ended up being good friends. Maybe they could be, too.

“Breakfast sounds good. What are we having?”

“Pancakes. I made them this morning while you slept. I could have burned the whole house down and you would just keep on sleeping. Did you stay up late?” Yeah. I was up all night contemplating whether to go upstairs and sleep with you or not.

“Someone”s face kept me awake all night.”

Joanie frowned then nodded her head. “I see. I”ll make coffee.”

“No! I mean, thanks but I”ll make it.”

“You don”t like my coffee, do you?”

“I do. It”s just…”

Joanie leaned against the counter top, clasped her slender hands together and sighed. “It”s okay, you know. I think Mark doesn”t like my coffee, either.”

“Don”t look sad.” He stood in front of her and leveled his eyes with her by bracing his hands on each side of her. “Making coffee is quite tricky.”

“And grilling hotdogs. They said that the best way to a man”s heart is through his stomach. Well, I”ll never make it into anyone”s heart if I can”t make coffee.”

“Is there a special heart you want to reach?”

“I”m just saying…”

He thought about showing her how to measure the grounds and water to make a good pot of coffee. Now, with her statement he just might not. If her tar looking coffee would keep men away, he shouldn”t meddle. Julian took a deep breath and let it out in a whoosh. Why should he care about her coffee? All he knew right now was he wanted to kiss her, find out how she tasted in the morning, and feel her sun kissed cheeks against his unshaven one.

“Is my coffee really that bad?”

“Babe, you make horrible coffee.” The pain in Joanie”s eyes made him discard the kissing idea. Instead, he touched her forehead to wipe off the smudged dirt. “I didn”t mean to hurt your feelings.”

“Oh, no. You didn”t. I just remembered what Dad told me about coffee.”

“Care to share?”

“He said, „If a man is in love with his woman, her coffee would always taste good to him.” ”

What a crock of bullshit, Julian thought. But then the old Saint Claire loved his wife. And he didn”t love Joanie. Attracted to her, yes. But love her? Definitely not.

“Bet he”s right. Your coffee is not really that bad. Just a bit of sugar and honey and it”ll be good.”

“You don”t have to say that to make me feel better. Honestly, you didn”t hurt my feelings. Maybe there”s a bit of truth about Dad”s theory, but then it”s debatable. Mark doesn”t like my coffee, but I know he loves me.” And he knew why. Joanie was pleasant to be around, likeable and for sure easy to love. For the first time since he left her, he wondered if he had made a mistake of not giving their marriage a chance. He stared at Joanie”s clear big eyes.

Eyes that cried for him and probably looked outside many times hoping he”d come back. Julian”s chest felt heavy. The impact of what he”d done crashed on top of him. He didn”t deserve to be treated like a guest in her home after what he”d done to her. But Joanie, like his grandma had said, was a good soul.

“You deserve someone who would love you the way your dad loved your mom.” He smiled at Joanie.

“I already found that someone.”

“You have?” Hearing Joanie loved someone was a blow in his gut. It hurt like a son of a bitch, but Julian kept a smile on his face. Any husband would feel the same way he thought. Even the estranged ones.

“Yeah. But the thing is he has yet to find me.”

“Whoever he is, he must be blind.” And stupid. He brushed a gentle kiss on each corner of her mouth.

“How many times do you have to make mistakes of kissing me?”

“I suppose for the whole duration of my stay. It”s hard not to kiss you, Joanie. You have beautiful, shapely lips that are begging to be kissed.”

“You”re just saying that.”

Raising his mouth from hers, he gazed into her eyes. “No. I am telling you the truth.”