Julia’s smile faded. “What about your sisters?”
“Audrey won’t have anything to do with me. Kelly is wonderful, but she views my father in a very different light.” Gabriel grimaced. “I don’t know where the truth lies. Was he the loving dad she remembers or the man who hit my mother?”
“Maybe he was both.”
“Impossible.”
“I hope that he didn’t hit your mother or you, but it’s possible his relationship with his wife and other children was very different.”
“That isn’t comforting.”
“I’m sorry.”
Gabriel buried his face in her hair.
“Why didn’t he want us?”
Julia’s heart clenched.
“I think he wanted you, along with his other family. That was the problem. He wanted to have it all and he couldn’t. Any failure on his part is his, not yours.” She kissed Gabriel forcefully. “Will you tell me more about your sister? So much has happened and I’ve only been hearing pieces of it.”
“I will, but can it wait? There’s something kosher I’d rather do instead.” Gabriel rolled to his back, pulling her on top of him.
After room service had been delivered and eaten, Julianne returned to bed, covering herself with a sheet.
“Let’s just stay here all day and have sex.”
Gabriel sat at her feet, his eyes sparkling. “Now that’s the Julianne I know and love. But don’t you have a paper to finish?”
“I’d rather finish you.” She crooked a finger.
He was just about to pull the sheet from her naked body when his iPhone rang.
He glanced at it.
Then his eyes traveled to Julia’s.
“Who is it?” she asked.
Gabriel wore a sour expression. “Your uncle Jack.”
“Why is he calling you?” She sat up, tugging the sheet with her. “Do you think something’s wrong with my dad? Or the baby?”
“I hope not.”
He unplugged his phone and held it to his ear. “Hello?”
“Emerson. I’m standing in a Fed Ex depot in Washington, D.C.” As always, Jack came straight to the point.
“And?”
“I’m holding a flash drive that contains videos and photographs, some of which are of my niece. And they aren’t exactly G-rated.”
Gabriel sat down on the edge of the bed.
“You told me you got everything,” he growled.
“Thought I did. The girl must have had a backup hidden somewhere. She tried to send it to Andrew Sampson at The Washington Post.”
“Then fix it. This is your problem.”
“Know that. Just called to discuss the play.”
Gabriel’s eyes darted to Julia’s.
What’s going on? she mouthed.
He held up a single finger, indicating that she should wait.
“What do you suggest?”
“The girl is angry with her boyfriend because he dumped her to marry someone else. She wants to embarrass him and his father. I say we help her. I’ll copy everything having to do with the girl and her boyfriend to a new flash drive and send it.”
“Isn’t that risky?”
“It implicates them and keeps my niece out of it.”
Gabriel looked at Julianne—at the way her eyebrows were knitted together, a wrinkle forming in between them.
“Your niece is here. Let me speak to her about it and I’ll call you back.”
“I don’t have a lot of time.”
“I’m not making this decision for her.” Gabriel disconnected the call, tossing the phone on the bed.
He scrubbed his face with his hands.
Julia moved closer. “What’s going on? Why is Jack calling you?”
“Apparently Natalie had a flash drive of photos and videos hidden somewhere. She tried to Fed Ex it to The Washington Post.”
“What?” Julia screeched. “It’s going to be on the Internet. It’s going to be in the newspapers. Oh my God. Oh my God.”
She buried her face in her hands and began rocking back and forth.
Gabriel reached out to touch her shoulder. “Not so fast. Jack intercepted it. He wants to know what he should do with it.”
Julia dropped her hands. “Tell him to destroy it. Ask him to find all the copies and destroy them, too.”
“Are you sure? He can delete the photos involving you and send the rest. They’d get what they deserve.”
Julia pulled the sheet up to her chin.
“I don’t want revenge.”
Gabriel’s eyes glinted dangerously. “Why the hell not?”
“Because I’ve moved on. I rarely think of them and I want to keep it that way. I don’t want to watch their lives implode and know that I’m responsible.”
“You wouldn’t be responsible. They’re the ones responsible.”
“I’m accountable for my actions.” Julianne’s voice grew steely. “I don’t understand why Natalie is doing this now, after you and Jack sorted her out.”
“Simon is marrying someone else.”
Julia’s eyes grew round. “What?”
“I expect Natalie is hoping his fiancée will leave him if his past is exposed.”
Julia seemed shocked. “He finally dumped her. I would have thought he’d keep her on the side, but perhaps his father told him to cut her loose.”