• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

"I will. Is Alex still with you?"

"Yes."

Liz sighed. "You're crazy, Julia, but I guess everyone deserves to fall for a bad boy once in her life."

Julia wanted to say it wasn't like that, but how could she? She glanced at Alex, who was talking to Elena with a warm, interested look on his face. She wasn't falling in love with him. She was already there. After saying good-bye, she hung up the phone.

"Everything okay?" Alex asked.

"Liz said some guy was watching her. It sounded like the same man who was watching me at the radio station. I feel bad. I'm here. She's there. I don't want her to get hurt."

"Liz is your… sister?" Elena asked, tripping over the word sister.

"Yes. She's younger than me, just twenty-two. I've always taken care of her. She's really angry with me for getting involved in all this."

"Does she know about me?"

"I wanted to make sure I could find you first, so I haven't said anything yet."

Elena nodded, understanding in her eyes. "That will be difficult for you, won't it?"

"Probably."

Elena cleared her throat. "I need to go downstairs and check on Colin. You're welcome to stay here and wait for that call."

"Actually, I was thinking about food," Alex said. "And it will probably be hours before my father calls back."

"I'd love to see more of your shop," Julia put in. She exchanged a look with Alex and knew they were once again on the same page. She needed some time alone with her sister, and he was more than willing to give it to her.

"I'll get some takeout and bring it back," he said. "Any suggestions?"

Elena thought for a moment. "If you're adventurous, there's a great Thai restaurant around the corner."

"Oh, my God. You are my sister, " Julia said with a huge smile. "I love exotic food." Elena grinned back at her. "So do I." For the first time since they'd arrived, Julia felt optimistic and back on balance. "This is going to be good," she said, and she wasn't talking about the food.

It was almost midnight when Julia and Elena finally talked themselves out. While Elena went into the bedroom to undress, Julia helped Alex make up a bed on the couch. "Will you be all right out here?" she asked.

"I'd be better if you were with me." He gave her an intimate smile that reminded her how long it had been since she'd kissed him or touched him. "Come here," he said softly.

She cast a quick look over her shoulder. "Elena might see us."

"One kiss."

"It's never enough," she said with a sigh as she moved into his arms. His hands spanned her waist as he kissed her gently, tenderly, with only a hint of the passion they'd shared the night before. "That was awfully restrained," she complained.

"Believe me, if it wasn't, you'd be on your back right now and we'd give your sister the second shock of her life."

"Promises, promises," she said with a smile. She pressed another kiss on his lips. "Thanks for being so great today."

"I didn't do anything."

"Yes, you did. You supported me, and you didn't try to take over. You did good. I owe you."

"And I will collect," he promised. "I just hope my father calls tomorrow. I'd like to get that number resolved."

"I think he will. He wants to help you."

"To absolve his guilt, maybe. Whatever the reason, I'll take it. The sooner we figure out the ending to this mystery the better."

A twinge of pain ran through her at his words. As soon as the mystery was over, they would be over. To be fair he probably hadn't meant it like that, but it was still true.

"Hey, what's that frown for?" He tipped up her chin with his finger.

"Nothing. I was just thinking about all the secrets, the lies, the constant surprises. I never know what will happen next."

"But that doesn't stop you from fighting on," Alex said, a note of admiration in his voice. "A lot of people would have quit or backed away by now, not wanting to risk losing everything they believed in. You're something else, Julia." He ran his fingers through her hair. "Beautiful, smart, and gutsy. Hell