Finding Julian (10 page)

Chapter Fifteen

For the next two days
,
I helped Aunt Bev with her project. Together we came up with ideas, using
reader feedback on how to boost the entertainment magazine and make it more
appealing.

Amid working with Aunt Bev at the
Vanderson Publishing office in Newport, I managed to find another lawyer in
Jamestown; Mr. Douglas. He offered me advice on how to contest the will. If I
wanted to remove myself from it and turn my inheritance over to Mackenzie, it
wasn’t going to be easy, especially with all the legal aspects surrounding it.

Aunt Bev had a meeting with the sales
department on Friday afternoon, so I decided to take a break at Dunkin Donuts
across from the office.

Sipping on my usual strawberry coolatta,
I went over the forms Mr. Douglas provided me with. I wanted to have a clear
understanding of the process.

“Mind if I join you?” the raspy voice
was familiar.

Looking up, I saw it was indeed Gavin,
his sea blue eyes brighter than ever. I really wasn’t in the mood for company,
but I didn’t want to be rude.

“Sure,” I said.

Gavin rested his iced coffee on the table
and sat down across from me. “What are you working on?”

I gathered the papers together and set
them aside. “Nothing important.”

He drank some of his iced coffee and
peered over the cup at me. Settling it back on the table, he eyed me with
amazement, “You look so much like Mackenzie.”

“We are sisters.”

“Yes, but…” he trailed. “Mackenzie is
much different though.”

Narrowing my eyes, I sat back and asked,
“How so?”

Gavin folded his hands on top of the
table. “Well for one, you seem to like isolating yourself. Mac loves attention.
That’s all she wants.”

“And who are
you
, Gavin?” I
tilted my head to the side and studied him.

Easing back, he took up his iced coffee
for a sip. “I’m just me….” His eyes drifted away from mine, staring absently
into nothingness. “I guess that’s not enough for her.” He sounded sad.

“Are you okay?” I asked softly.

Snapping out of whatever it was that
distracted him before, a broad grin stretched across his face and Gavin morphed
into a cheerful person. “So, are you going to the annual dinner at the country
club in a few weeks?”

I shook my head. “No. I don’t think I’ll
be here that long.”

He frowned. “Why not?”

I plucked the papers off the table and
stood. “I have to get back to my life in Manhattan. I’ve been putting it on
hold for too long.”

He stood as well, walking behind me out
of Dunkin Donuts. “Is there someone you need to get back to?”

That question was starting to annoy me.

I slowed my steps and looked back at
him. “Does there have to be someone for me to go back to? Why can’t I just like
living in the city?”

A sly grin appeared on his face. Gavin
tossed the remainder of his iced coffee in a trash bin and inched closer to me.

“Looks to me like you’re simply running
away, Julian,” he whispered. “Maybe you actually like it here in Narragansett.
I think you’re already starting to feel comfortable but trying hard to convince
yourself otherwise.”

I was about to dispute his remarks when
Seven came up behind me. “What’s going on?”

Spinning at the sound of suspicion in
his voice, I stared at him for what seemed like a really long second before
answering, “Nothing.”

“We were just talking about the annual
dinner,” Gavin piped in.

Seven lit up with relief. “You’re
staying for the dinner?”

“No, I’m not.”

His face dropped. “Why not?”

“I’m…” the words refused to come out. I
found it hard to look into his eyes and say I wasn’t going to stay in
Narragansett till then.

“I’m heading back to work.” Gavin
excused himself.

Seven glanced behind at him, watching as
he turned the corner towards the printery. Then he brought his gaze back to me.
He stuck one hand inside his jeans pocket and questioned me, “You were having
lunch with him?” There was a pang of jealousy within his tone. It fascinated
me.

“No,” I quickly answered. “He just
happened to come by while I was here.” It sounded like I was trying to convince
a boyfriend I wasn’t cheating.

A gratified smile formed on his lips and
he nodded approvingly. I started to walk past him back towards the office when
Seven touched my elbow, stopping me. “Aunt Bev asked me to take you shopping.”

“Shopping?” My brows went up. “That’s
not necessary, I’m leaving soon—”

“You’ve been saying that since the day
we met,” he stifled back a laugh. “Come one, I’ll take you to get some clothes.
You can’t keep wearing the same things over and over like this.”

If I wasn’t too embarrassed about him
noticing I didn’t have much to wear, I would have been thrilled about him
noticing me at all. Clyde sure didn’t.

Shaking my head, I came up with an
excuse. “Aunt Bev probably still needs to go over some things with me.”

“Aunt Bev isn’t in the office,” he clued
me in. “She’s on her way to a location with our photographer to take some
pictures.”

Humph
. I doubted taking
pictures were really on the agenda for Aunt Bev and David.

Feeling defeated, I agreed to let Seven
take me shopping. It was a favorite hobby of mine that always livened up my
day.

He brought me to Isobel’s clothing store
on Bellevue Avenue. I browsed the racks while he wandered over to the men’s
section. Checking the tags, my eyes widened seeing they were way out of my
price range. I only had a hundred and thirty dollars left in my purse and
hardly enough in my bank account. I shouldn’t have let Seven convince me to get
new clothes. I couldn’t afford a single thing.

“See something you like?” He came over
and stood beside me, eyeing the rack I was looking at.

“No, let’s just go.” I made for the exit
but he clutched my elbow.

“Why? Everything in here looks like
something you’d wear.”

“What do you mean?”

 “This stuff is all…” he waved his
hand about, “simple. You’re a simple girl so I figured you’d like the clothes
here.”

He was learning so much about me in the
short amount of time I’d been here. “It is my style. It’s just that…” I was too
ashamed to admit I couldn’t afford the clothes in the store. How would I appear
to a guy like Seven, who could buy anything he wanted?

He raised my chin and I stared into his
eyes innocently. “Pick out some stuff and try it on. Don’t worry about the
price.”

“No,” I shook my head. “I don’t want you
to do that for me.”

“Jules, it’s okay. Let someone else take
care of you for a change.” The corners of his mouth curled into a gorgeous
smile. My heart felt as if it was melting inside my chest. Why did he have to
be so darn sexy
and
sweet?

I made to protest again when Seven spun
me around and nudged me towards the rack I was browsing before. I guessed there
was no arguing with him.

Being a guy, Seven went back over to the
men’s section as I tried on a few things. Finally, I selected a few items—the
cheapest on the rack. As I bundled them together and made my way over to Seven,
my eyes glimpsed a shapely woman with curly red hair coming into the store. I
almost ignored her when a familiar douchebag entered as well. It was Mr. Monroe
and Claire—the nerve of them.

Instinctively, I knew I had to find a
way to get Seven out of the store without him seeing them. I darted over to
where he was and hauled him to the closest cashier.

He grinned broadly at me when I settled
the clothes on top of the counter. “You
are
simple.”

I forced a smile as he took his wallet
out of his pocket and handed his credit card to the cashier after she rang me
up. Waiting for him to sign the receipt, I glanced behind to see where Mr.
Monroe and Claire went. I had to make sure they were out of sight before
leading Seven to the exit.

“Thank you for coming, enjoy your day,”
the cashier’s high-pitched tone drew back my attention. I smiled and took the
bag from her. Seven reached for it but I gripped his arm and hurried him
towards the store exit.

I almost succeeded at getting him out of
the store without any drama, when a flamboyant laugh reverberated behind us.
Astonished, Seven twisted around at the sound. A dark look formed on his face
instantly. My chest ached for him.

Peering in the direction Seven’s eyes
were locked in, I saw that Mr. Monroe and Claire were tightly pressed together
in a passionate kiss.

He took a step forward, his fists clenched
and his jaw stiffened. I wanted to do something, try to calm him down before he
lunged at the lovers, still engrossed in each other and unaware of Seven’s
presence or mine.

Then Seven relaxed his shoulders and
spun around, storming out of the store. His reaction surprised me. I scurried
out behind him, turning back to glance at the cheating couple one more time
before heading down the street to where Seven’s car was parked.

On the drive back to Narragansett, Seven
was as quiet as a church mouse. I watched him twist his face in agony, pushing
back tears. I lifted my hand to slowly reach over and rest it on top of his,
but decided against it as I remembered I’d kept his father’s affair a secret
from him.

When we got back to the estate, I walked
gradually behind him down the side steps and across the lawn towards the
guesthouse. I deliberated following him when he suddenly diverted and went down
to the beach. My legs wouldn’t let me though. I had nothing to say. No words of
wisdom for a situation like this.

I entered the guesthouse and went into
my room, watching Seven from the balcony. He dropped down on the sand and
stared emptily at the ocean. From behind, he seemed like he needed a friend—a
really good one. Not the kind who knew what was going on and didn’t tell him.

I wasn’t sure how much time had passed
but the sun was starting to set and Seven was still outside, sitting on the
sand. I continued watching him from my balcony, feeling helpless.

After another few minutes, I’d had
enough of the strange tug at my heart. I ran out of my room and didn’t stop
until I was out of the guesthouse. My feet slowed as I approached Seven. He sat
hunched over on the cooling sand, his back shaking lightly. The sorrowful scene
was unbearable to see.

I fell down on the sand and hugged him
tightly from behind. He flinched a bit, then relaxed his body, curving his back
against me. In seconds, his long fingers shrouded my own, his touch warm yet
painful. I wanted so badly to make him happy and I just couldn’t explain why.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered to him, my lips
pressed against his back, inhaling the intoxicating scent of his musky cologne.

Seven gently removed my hands and turned
around to face me. His eyes were red, his cheeks were wet. He’d been crying
here by himself.

I lifted my hand and wiped his cheek as
I would have any friend. Only, Seven was more than a friend. He was someone I’d
started to care deeply for.

He grasped my hand in his before I could
pull away. His emerald eyes penetrated mine with what I interpreted as burning
desire.

“I’m sorry. I should’ve—”

My words were muffled as he flung his
arms around my body and hauled me in closer, pressing his lips to mine. Seven
kissed me hard, hungrily. His mouth conquered mine in the utmost enticing way
possible. It was the best kiss I’d ever experienced.

I tugged at his shirt and pushed deeper
into his chest, moaning as he lowered his lips down to my neck and ran his
tongue against my skin. Then he laid me down on the sand and braced himself
firmly on top of me. Our lips touched again—the kiss lit my soul on fire.

I yearned for him to touch me more, kiss
me even harder, when unexpectedly, Seven stopped. He eased up slowly and gazed
down at me, his forehead wrinkling in horror.