It's Better This Way(40)

“My love, I fully intend to win your heart, and I refuse to let our exes or our children stand in the way.”

What Heath had failed to realize, she mused after he left, was that he already had possession of her heart.





Chapter 15




True to his word, Heath refused to let her give up on them as a couple. After a week, she realized she didn’t have it in her to let him go, either. They would stand together and prove to their children that despite everything, they were meant to be together.

So Julia and Heath began to practice a don’t ask, don’t tell policy. They wouldn’t hide their relationship, but at the same time, they wouldn’t refer to each other in front of their children, in the hope that would maintain the peace. While they had no intention of sneaking around and hiding their relationship, they wouldn’t make the same mistakes Eddie had and insist their children accept that they were together.

Saturday, ten days after the lunch, Heath invited Julia to sail Lake Washington with him. It was a perfect August day, and according to Heath, the wind was perfect. Never having been on a sailboat, Julia wasn’t sure she would know what to do. Heath assured her the only thing necessary was to sit back and enjoy herself. Earlier, he’d let it slip that Laura had rarely gone on the water with him. While he sailed, she’d headed to the golf course. It made sense that Eddie would connect with a woman who enjoyed golf, seeing that Julia’s sport was tennis. She played occasionally even now.

    Her doorbell rang. They’d agreed to meet at eleven. Heath must be anxious, as he was nearly fifteen minutes early. With a hop to her step, she headed to the door and was stunned to find her ex-husband standing on the other side, wearing a dark frown.

“Eddie? What are you doing here?” she asked, taken aback, hardly believing she was seeing him. It had been two years or longer since she’d last set sight on her ex. He’d gotten heavier, and his hair was nearly all silver now. It looked good on him, she was willing to admit. He’d always been tall and good-looking. He was well aware that even though he was close to sixty, he still had the ability to turn heads.

He noticed her shorts, hat, boat shoes, and the sweater she had tied around her neck. “Looks like you’re going out?”

“I am.” She didn’t enlighten him as to where or with whom.

He frowned. “This will only take a few minutes.”

Stepping aside, she allowed him into her condo. This was his first visit to her home and he looked around, eyeing the area. Julia was proud of it and the way she’d used her design skills to make this place her own.

“You like living here?” he asked, rubbing his fingers through his hair. It was a nervous habit she remembered well. “I never thought you’d be happy living in a condo.”

“I love it. The Heritage is perfect for me. I can walk to work and to the market. It’s convenient to everything.” She wasn’t going to defend her choice, and wondered at his small talk. He must have a reason for this unexpected visit, but she wasn’t going to ask. He’d get to it sooner or later. Julia was sure Hillary’s wedding plans were what had prompted him to stop by. Her daughter hadn’t enlightened her to any new developments in regard to her father. The next move, she believed, had to come from Eddie.

    With his hands stuffed in his pockets, her ex-husband paced in front of the window, looking down at the floor. She’d covered the hardwood with Oriental rugs she’d purchased at a discount, from a well-known company. They were of the finest quality. She loved the feel of them against her bare feet and often went without shoes while home.

“I’m assuming you stopped by for a reason,” she said, growing impatient. She didn’t want to keep Heath waiting.

He shrugged. “Is it true?” he asked, looking up and glaring at her. “Are you dating Laura’s ex?”

So that was it. She should have realized Eddie would have gotten word of her involvement with Heath. “Not that it’s any of your concern, but yes, it’s true.”

He snorted as if amused, and clearly he wasn’t.

Julia clasped her hands in front of her. “I suppose Michael told you.”

Eddie shook his head. “He told Laura and she told me. Neither one of us is happy about this.”

Julia laughed outright. This was rich. “And I should care what you and Laura think?” How ironic and ludicrous that they would assume their opinion mattered one way or the other.

“You’re doing this on purpose,” he said.

    “On purpose?” she repeated, not following his line of thought.

He glared at her. “It’s your way of getting back at me.”

This was Eddie at his most self-absorbed, egotistical self. “In case you’ve forgotten, our marriage ended six years ago. You moved on and so have I. Whom I date is none of your concern.”

“Normally, I’d agree. I really couldn’t care less. But Heath Wilson? Julia, please.”

“Please what?”

“Do you think I’m stupid?”

Julia crossed her arms and shook her head. “You should know by now how unwise it is to ask a question when you already know the answer.”

“Very funny. I’m onto your game.”

It amazed her that she had been married to this man for thirty-one years. The Eddie standing in her home was a stranger.