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Maybe those were better attributes in a family pet, but he managed okay.
In Sam’s opinion, there was no use wearing his heart on his sleeve. The scraps of memory he had from the months after his mother died were awful, his dad too often passed out drunk on the couch. Neighbors shuttling Sam and his brother to school and a steady diet of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. When Joe finally got a handle on his emotions, it had saved their family.
Sam would never risk caring for someone like that. Feeling too much, connecting to the feelings he’d locked up tight, might spiral him back into that uncontrolled chaos.
He looked around the apartment, taking in more details with Julia out of the room. The dining area opened directly onto the living room, which was filled with comfortable, oversized furniture covered in a creamy fabric. Several fuzzy blankets fell over the arm of one chair. A wicker box overflowed with various toys, most of which looked far more complex than he remembered from childhood.
In addition to the classical CDs, framed pictures of Charlie with Julia, Vera, Lainey and Ethan sat on the bookshelves. Sam had also noticed an impressive collection of books—several classics by Hemingway, Dickens, even Ayn Rand. For someone who clearly didn’t see her own intelligence, Julia had sophisticated taste in reading material.
The baby monitor crackled, drawing his attention. He heard Julia’s voice through the static. “Did you have a dream, Charlie-boy?” she cooed. “Can Mommy sing you back to sleep?”
Charlie gave another sleepy cry as an answer and a moment later Sam heard a familiar James Taylor song in a soft soprano.
He smiled as he listened to Julia sing. Classical for Charlie, Sweet Baby James for his mother.
Sam felt a thread of unfamiliar connection fill his heart. At the same time there was a release of pressure he hadn’t realized he’d held. In the quiet of the moment, listening to her sweet and slightly off-key voice, the day’s stress slipped away. He took a deep breath as his shoulders relaxed.
“I love you, sweetie,” he heard her whisper, her tone so full of tenderness it made his heart ache all the more.
He understood in an instant how much it meant for Julia to keep her son. Knew that she’d do anything to keep Charlie safe.
Suddenly Sam wanted that for her more than he cared about his own future. But he was a man who’d made it through life taking care of himself, protecting number one at all costs. No matter how he felt about one spirited single mother, he couldn’t afford to change that now.
Hearing footsteps, he quickly stood to clear the dishes from the table.
“I think he’s back down,” she said as she came into the kitchen.
Sam rounded on her, needing to get to the crux of the matter before he completely lost control. “You’re right,” he told her. “This deal was my idea and I’ll play the part of doting fiancé because it helps us both.”
“Doting may be pushing it,” she said, fumbling with the pizza box, clearly wary of his change in mood. “We don’t need to go overboard.”
He propped one hip on the counter. “We need to make it believable.” He kept his tone all business. “Whatever it takes.”
“Fine. We’ll make people believe we’re totally in love. I’m in. Whatever it takes to convince Jeff to drop the custody suit.”
“Will he?”
“He still hasn’t even seen Charlie. I get the impression his parents are pushing for the new custody deal. The attorney is really here to figure out if they have a viable case or not before they go public. Jeff didn’t want kids in the first place. He’d even talked about getting the big snip. They probably think Charlie is their only shot at a grandchild, someone to mold and shape in their likeness.”
“I don’t think that’s how kids work.”
She shook her head. “I don’t think they care. If we can convince Lexi that Charlie has a happy, stable home and that he’s better off here than with Jeff and his family, that’s the report she’ll give to them. It will be enough. It has to. Once I get the custody agreement—”
“You’ll dump my sorry butt,” Sam supplied.
“Or you can break it off with me.” She rinsed a plate and put it into the dishwasher. “People will expect it. You’re up for reappointment soon. It should earn extra points with some of the council members. Everyone around here knows I’m a bad bet.”
“I thought you and Ethan had been the town’s golden couple back in the day.”
“He was the golden boy,” she corrected. “I was the eye candy on his arm. But I messed that up. My first in a series of epic fails in the relationship department.”
“Does it bother you that he’s with Lainey?” Sam asked, not willing to admit how much her answer meant to him.
She smiled. “They’re perfect together in a way he and I never were. She completes him and all that.”
“Do you think there’s someone out there who’d complete you?”
“Absolutely.” She nodded. “At this moment, he’s drooling in the crib at the end of the hall.”
He took a step closer to her and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “We’re going to make sure he stays there.”
Her lips parted as she looked up at him. Instinctively he eased toward her.
She blinked and raised her hands to his chest, almost pushing him away but not quite. “We have to establish some ground rules,” she said, sounding as breathless as he felt.
“I’m the law around these parts, ma’am,” he said in his best Southern drawl. “I make the rules.”
“Nice try.” She laughed and a thrill ran through him. “First off, no touching or kissing of any kind.”
It was his turn to throw back his head and laugh. “We’re supposed to be in love. You think people will believe you could keep your hands off me?”
She smacked his chest lightly. “I’m surprised your ego made it through the front door. Okay, if the situation calls for it you can kiss me. A little.” Her eyes narrowed. “But no tongue.”
He tried to keep a straight face. “Where’s the fun in that?”
“My best offer,” she whispered.
He traced her lips with the tip of one finger and felt himself grow heavy when they parted again. “I think we’d better practice to see if I’ll be able to manage it.”
He leaned in, but instead of claiming her mouth he tilted his head to reach the smooth column of her neck. He trailed delicate kisses up to her ear and was rewarded with a soft moan. Pushing her hair back, he cradled her face between his palms.
Her breath tingled against his skin and she looked at him, desire and self-control warring in the depths of her eyes. He wanted to keep this arrangement business but couldn’t stop his overwhelming need. As out of control as a runaway train, he captured her lips with his.
Chapter Four (#u6fb1c79c-95f4-5a6a-a295-9008d544077b)
It should be illegal for a kiss to feel so good. The thought registered in Julia’s dizzy brain. Followed quickly by her body’s silent demand for more...more...more. Her arms wound around Sam’s neck and she pressed into him, the heat from his body stoking a fire deep within her. His mouth melded to hers as he drew his hands up underneath her shirt.
A man hadn’t kissed her like this in so long. As though he meant it, his mouth a promise of so much more.
A familiar voice cut through her lust-filled haze. “So, the rumors are true. Doesn’t seem right your mother should be the last to know.”
Sam’s eyes flew open as he stepped away from her. Julia let out a soft groan.
“Ever think of knocking?” she asked, pressing her hands over her eyes.
“No” was her mother’s succinct answer.
“Nice to see you, Mrs. Morgan.” Although Sam’s voice sounded a little shaky, Julia had to admire his courage in holding her mother’s gaze.
Almost unwillingly, Julia turned and met her mom’s steely glare. “I’m sorry, Mom. We wanted to keep things quiet a bit longer.”
Vera Morgan was a tiny blonde dynamo of a woman. Her hair pulled back into a neat bun, she retained the beauty of her youth mixed with the maturity of decades spent overseeing her life and everyone in it. She crossed her arms over her chest. “Until you could announce your engagement in the middle of a crowded restaurant?”
Julia cringed. “Not the exact plan.”
“I don’t understand what this is about. It sounds like one of your typical impetuous decisions. Your father and I raised you to be more careful with how you act. I thought you’d have learned to be more responsible about the choices you make. Have you thought of Charlie? What’s best for him?”
“He’s all I think about and of course I want what’s best for him. You have no idea...” Julia wanted to lay it all on the line for her mother—Jeff’s family, the attorney, her fear of losing Charlie. She paused and glanced at Sam. He nodded slightly as if to encourage her.
How could she admit her years of bad choices could jeopardize Charlie’s future? She knew her mother thought she was irresponsible, fickle and flighty. For most of her life, Julia had been all of those things and worse.
Her mother waited for an answer while the toe of one shoe tapped out a disapproving rhythm. Julia could measure the milestone moments of her life by her mother’s slow toe tap. She swore sometimes she could hear it in her sleep.
“I don’t expect you to understand, but this is good for Charlie. For both of us.”
Vera’s gaze slanted between Julia and Sam. “Having the hots for a guy isn’t the same as love. From what I just witnessed, you two have chemistry, but marriage is a lot more than physical attraction.”
Julia felt a blush rise to her cheeks. “I’m not a teenager anymore,” she mumbled. “I get that.”
“I worry about you rushing into something.” Vera paused and pinned Sam with a look before continuing. “Especially with a man who has a reputation around town. I don’t want you to be hurt.”
“I know what I’m doing. Trust me. For once trust that I’m making the right decision.” She hated that her voice cracked. She’d made some stupid choices in her life. So what? Lots of people did and they lived through it. Did she have to be raked over the coals for every indiscretion?
Sam’s hand pressed into the small of her back, surprisingly comforting. “Mrs. Morgan,” he began, his voice strong and confident. Julia wished she felt either right now. “Your daughter is the most amazing woman I’ve ever met.”
Julia glanced over her shoulder, for a moment wondering if he was talking about her sister.
The corner of his mouth turned up as he looked at her. “You are amazing. You’re honest and brave and willing to fight for what you want.”
Charlie’s sweet face flashed in Julia’s mind, and she gave a slight nod.
“You’re a lot stronger and smarter than you give yourself credit for.” His gaze switched to Vera. “Than most people give her credit for. But that’s going to change. I want people to see the woman I do. Maybe we shouldn’t have hidden our relationship, but it wasn’t anyone’s business. To hell with my reputation and Julia’s, too.”
“I hear a couple town-council members are making a big deal about your single status as they’re starting to review your contract. They think only a family man can impart the kind of values and leadership Brevia needs.”
“Another reason we were quiet. I don’t want to use Julia and Charlie to get reappointed. The job I’ve done as police chief should be enough.”
He sounded so convincing, Julia almost believed him. At the very least, his conviction gave her the courage to stand up for herself a little more. “Sam’s right. We’re not looking for anyone’s approval. This is about us.”
“Have you set a date yet?” Vera asked, her tone hard again.
“We’re working on that.”
Sam cleared his throat. “I’m going to head home.” He dropped a quick kiss on Julia’s cheek. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
“Coward,” she whispered.
“Sticks and stones,” he said softly before turning to Vera.
“Mrs. Morgan, I’m sorry you found out this way. I hope you know I have Julia and Charlie’s best interests at heart.”
Her mother’s eyes narrowed.
“That’s my cue.” Sam scooted around Vera and let himself out the front door.
“I only want what’s best for you.” Vera stepped forward. “Your father and I didn’t do enough to help you when you were younger. I won’t make that mistake again.” She wrapped one arm around Julia’s waist. “I don’t understand how this happened and I don’t trust Sam Callahan. But I know Charlie is your number one priority. That’s what counts.”
Julia didn’t want her mother to feel guilty. As a child, she’d tried to hide the extent of her problems from her parents, as well as everyone else. They weren’t to blame. She let out a slow breath. “I’m doing this for Charlie.”
“You love him?”
“He’s my entire life.”
“I meant, do you love Sam? Enough to marry him.”
“Sam is a wonderful man,” Julia answered quickly. “I’d be a fool not to want to marry him.” Not exactly a declaration of deep and abiding love but it was as much as she could offer tonight. “I’m sorry you had to come over.”
Her mother watched her for several moments before releasing her hold. “You’re my daughter. I’ll do anything to protect you. You know that, right?”
Julia nodded. Once again, she had the urge to share the whole sordid mess with her mother. She swallowed back her emotions. “It’s late. I’ll bring Charlie by in the morning before I drop him at the sitter’s.”
Vera patted her cheek. “Get some sleep. You look like you could use it. You can’t keep up this pace. You’re no spring chicken.”
“Thanks for the reminder.” That was the reason Julia wanted to handle this on her own. Vera couldn’t help but judge her. It was in her mother’s nature to point out all the ways Julia needed improvement. She’d have a field day with the custody situation. Julia had enough trouble without adding her mother’s opinion into the mix.
She closed and locked the door behind her mother then sagged against it. She’d done a lot of reckless things in her life but wondered if this time she’d gone off the deep end.
The baby monitor made a noise. Charlie gave a short cry before silence descended once more. Her gaze caught on a framed photo on one end table, taken minutes after his birth. She’d known as soon as the nurse had placed him in her arms that Charlie was the best part of her. She’d vowed that day to make something of her life, to become worthy of the gift she’d been given. While she had a difficult time tamping down her self-doubt, she never questioned how far she would go to protect her son. She’d do whatever it took to keep him safe, even this ridiculous charade with Sam. If it helped her custody case in the least, Julia would become the most devoted fiancée Brevia had ever seen.
* * *
That commitment was put to the test the next morning when a posse of angry women descended on the salon. Two to be exact, but it felt like a mob.
She’d swung by her mother’s after breakfast then dropped Charlie with Mavis Donnelly, the older woman who watched him and one other toddler in her home. She’d gotten into town by eight-thirty, thanks to Charlie’s propensity to wake with the sun. She wanted time to look over the monthly billing spreadsheets before anyone else arrived.
No one outside her immediate family knew about her condition, and she intended to keep it that way, afraid of being taken advantage of or thought too stupid to handle her own business. She put in the extra time she needed to get each financial piece right. Sometimes she studied the numbers until she felt almost physically ill.
When the knocking started, she straightened from her desk in the back, assuming it was one of the stylists who’d forgotten her key. Instead the front door swung open to reveal two pairs of angry eyes glaring at her.
“How’d you do it?” Annabeth Sullivan asked, pushing past her into the salon without an invitation. Annabeth had been in the same high-school class as Julia, a girl Julia would have referred to as a “band geek” back in the day. She hadn’t been kind, and Annabeth, who now managed the bank reviewing Julia’s loan application, hadn’t let her forget it. Annabeth’s younger sister, Diane, followed her inside.
“Morning to you, ladies.”
“He never goes on more than three dates.” Annabeth held up three plump fingers. “Never.”
“Can I see the ring?” Diane asked, her tone gentler.
Reluctantly, Julia held out her hand. “It’s perfect,” Diane gushed.
