Baiting the Maid of Honor (Wedding Dare #2)(32)

Reed opened his mouth to demand the phone from her, but managed to hold himself back at the last second. Shit. Shit, I really need to get a handle on this. I’m acting like a lunatic.

“You’re right, Daddy, I picked an inconvenient time to leave Atlanta.” Julie dropped her hand from the door, but left it open as she retreated into the room. Reed stepped in and closed the door behind him without taking his eyes off her. She sank down onto the edge of the bed and massaged her forehead. “Have you tried calling Dr. Cybil? She makes house calls.” She listened for a moment. “Good…I just…I didn’t expect this. Last year, when we reached three years, Mom seemed to be coping better. I would never have left if I’d—”

She broke off as Reed sat down next to her on the bed. He hadn’t planned on it, had been walking toward the balcony to get some air and wait for her to wrap up the call. Then her words had started making sense, calling to mind the conversation he’d overhead between Julie and her mother. Three years. Her sister’s death. Hell, he’d been so wrapped up in his own bullshit, his almost-painful attraction to her, he’d let it slip from his mind. She’d opened up to him in the woods and he’d basically disregarded it. Just another way they differed. If Julie knew someone was hurting, she would probably do everything to fix it. He, on the other hand, just expected everyone to bottle it up and move on. Like he did. Funny, he didn’t want Julie to bottle anything up. Not around him. Even as the idea of shouldering someone else’s burdens terrified him, he craved the idea of bearing the brunt of anything upsetting Julie.

With considerable effort, Reed pushed aside the startling realization. Trying for casual, he laid his hand on top of hers, all the while pretending to be engrossed in the muted television. Her hand jerked a little and for a brief, awful moment, he thought she might pull away. After casting him a quick glance, she slowly entwined her fingers with his and continued her conversation, voice a hint more confident than before. Why that made him so goddamn happy, he didn’t have the courage to explore.

“Daddy, we know the cycle by now. She won’t stay in bed forever…just give her time.” Julie cleared her throat, shifting on the bed. “Does she…does she want to talk to me?” She nodded once. “Okay, then. Call me back if she changes her mind.”

Reed watched her hand drop into her lap, the phone call ended. He waited for her to say something, because hell, Julie always had something to say. Frankly, he was counting on it, because he didn’t know the first thing about comforting a woman. He racked his brain for inspiration. None came. So he simply went with his gut. “What was she like?” He swallowed hard. “Serena, I mean.”

Julie was silent a moment. “Quiet. Compassionate. Loving.” She exhaled. “People would mistake it for weakness sometimes but we all knew better. She could cut you off at the knees with a smile on her face.” She reached up and released her hair from the haphazard bun on her head. “Serena loved the rain. I never understood that about her. She sat with me for hours, watching it through the window. We used to play go fish, waiting for it to let up. She was so patient and all I ever did was complain about wanting to go outside. Now…I love the rain. I was too young to understand her then, and now that I do, it’s too late.” A long pause. “She was better than me, Reed. Sometimes, I think it should have been—”

“Stop. Don’t say it.” Reed’s hand tightened reflexively on hers. “Promise me you won’t ever say that out loud.” He glanced away, more than a little unnerved by his reaction. “I didn’t know her, but she wasn’t better than you. Different doesn’t mean better.” He looked back to find those big blue eyes trained on him. “I’m still waiting on that promise.”

“I promise.”

Reed nodded once. “Good.” She merely watched him silently, and he cursed. “I don’t get it, pixie. With everyone else, you talk a mile a minute. But you get around me and you go quiet. For once, I wouldn’t mind it if you ran your mouth for a while.”

She laughed. Not a regular laugh, but that loud, cracking laugh that he’d only heard once before. The one that made his throat feel uncomfortably tight. When it died down, she shook her head. “What are you doing here, Reed?”

“You know why I’m here.”

With a sigh, Julie stood up and walked through the balcony doors. Reed followed, joining her where she leaned against the wooden rail. Late afternoon had fallen over the mountains in the distance, casting shadows and light patterns over the vast resort. A light breeze lifted the blond hair off Julie’s shoulder. Reed shook himself, wondering when the hell he’d started noticing such details. “I suppose I do.”

“You suppose nothing.” He took a step closer, pressed his mouth to the skin beneath her ear. “I’m already hard and aching again, baby. Shouldn’t have let you leave my room.”

“Let me?” She tipped her head to the side and exposed her neck for his mouth, teeth sinking into the plump flesh of her bottom lip when he grazed her with his stubbled chin. “You couldn’t get me out the door fast enough.”

Reed frowned, pulled back. He opened his mouth to deny it, but the lie wouldn’t come. Only the truth. At least as he saw it. “You already know I don’t do the romantic afterglow. If that’s what you want…” He broke off. If that’s what you want—what? Let’s part ways? Go find someone else? Fuck, no. But he didn’t know how to finish the damn sentence. Julie watched him, patiently waiting. He swallowed heavily and went to sit on the white wicker chair near the wall. “What can I say? I’m an emotionless son of a bitch. It’s why I’m good at what I do. Everything is black and white. No gray areas to get lost in.”