Don't Say a Word - Barbara Freethy [17]
"I bought a house. It's down the street from Carol's home," he added, referring to his younger sister. "She knew the seller. I was able to make an offer before the owner put it on the market. It's small and needs a lot of work, but it's perfect. It's near the Marina, on Waterside. It has a small garden in the yard, and it's close to the rec center where I play basketball."
"Has Julia seen it?"
"No, I want to surprise her. What do you think?"
What did she think? She thought he was crazy. But it was certainly a romantic gesture. She had to give him that.
"Say something, Lizzie. You're making me nervous."
"It's just that a house is such a big thing to do on your own, Michael." Liz had a feeling Julia would not be happy to have been left out of the decision making. "Why didn't you show it to Julia before you bought it?"
"Because she would have put me off, told me to wait until we got married, and this was too good a deal to pass up. I want us to have our own home, Liz. No more apartment living. I want to own something, put down roots, Start a family. I want to give Julia back some of what she lost when your mother died." He gave her an earnest smile. "It's a two bedroom, so we'll have plenty of room for a baby. With my sister down the street, we'll have family nearby. I was so afraid we wouldn't be able to afford a place in the city that I knew I had to grab this one."
"That makes sense," she said slowly. "When are you going to tell Julia?"
"I want to fix it up first. It needs a lot of paint, some landscaping. I'm going to Start work on it tomorrow. The escrow doesn't close for another two weeks, but the owner has already moved out and said I could do whatever I wanted."
"Wow." She didn't know what else to say.
"You can't tell Julia about it until I'm ready. Promise me, Lizzie."
"I promise. This is your secret to tell."
"I will make her happy," he said with determination. "I just want her to give me a Chance to do it. I thought I'd pinned her down today; then tonight she got the jitters again." He paused. "Did she tell you about a photograph she saw at the museum that she thinks is her?"
"No. What are you talking about?"
"She saw some picture of a little girl standing in front of an orphanage in Russia twenty-something years ago, and for some bizarre reason, she thinks it could be her."
"What?" Liz's jaw dropped in amazement. "That's crazy. She's not Russian, and she was never an orphan."
"Yeah, well, she suddenly doesn't know who she is."
"She's a DeMarco. She's my big sister, that's who she is," Liz said, with a burst of anger. It was one thing for Julia to question getting married, but why on earth would she Start thinking she was someone she wasn't?
"You should remind her of that."
As Michael finished speaking, the door opened, and Julia entered the restaurant alone. She sat down next to Liz, her cheeks flushed, a guilty look in her eyes. Liz felt a shiver of uncertainty race down her spine. What was Julia feeling guilty about? That man? Or was it something else? Something that would throw their lives into chaos again? The past year had been horrible. They were finally getting back to an almost normal State where she didn't feel like crying every day. She didn't want to deal with any more problems. Which meant she didn't want to ask Julia what she'd been up to outside the restaurant.
Apparently Michael didn't feel the same way. "Who was that?" he asked, an edge to his voice.
Julia hesitated for a moment, then said, "A photographer."
Liz felt a wave of relief. "Of course, a wedding photographer. I told you it was nothing," she said to Michael.
The tension on his face eased as well. "You were talking to a wedding photographer? I thought you weren't sure about planning the wedding yet?"
"I'm not, but-"
Before Julia could finish, they were interrupted by Lucia, who held a digital camera in her hand. "Come, come," Lucia said. "We're going to take a family picture for my birthday present. Now, before your father falls down."
"Dad's drinking again?" Julia