“Me too,” he agreed. “Very boring unless you’re doing something fun.”
He was being so accommodating that it was nauseating. Funny, but she’d assumed a superstar like Julian would be happy lying on a beach somewhere. How hard was it going to be to truly think up things that he’d find tedious and annoying?
“Pearl Harbor memorial?” she tried desperately.
“Done. We’d have to hop to Oahu, but that’s not a problem.”
Was there anything she could say where he’d disagree?
She gave up. She’d have to think on how to make his life so miserable he’d divorce her. “Good night,” she said tightly.
He finally balked. “Wait. I’ll come up with you.” He grasped her hand to keep her from escaping.
Kristin looked up at him, noticing that his other hand was rubbing his forehead. “Are you okay? I’ll get you your meds.” He looked like his head was hurting.
“I took them upstairs. I’ll be fine. The only thing I really want is my wife,” he answered in a fatigued tone so genuine that Kristin couldn’t bring herself to argue.
Without saying another word, she led him to the elevator so she could get him upstairs without making his pain any worse, still annoyed with herself that Julian was so damn easy to forgive.
CHAPTER 14
“I can’t believe my baby is married. Let me see your ring.”
Kristin cringed as she and Julian entered her parents’ house. Her mom was standing right beside her dad, upright with her hands on her walker.
Julian nodded at her father. “Hello, Dale. Good to see you again.” The two men shook hands before Julian swooped in and kissed Kristin’s mother on the cheek. “Cindy, you’re looking as beautiful as ever. I still say I know where Kristin got her looks.”
As they all made their way into the living room, Kristin felt nausea rising up to greet her. She loved her parents, and she’d never lied to them, because there had never been a reason for her to make up falsehoods. She’d spent her youth with her mom, and she’d never gotten into trouble.
She listened as Julian smoothly told her mother that he had wanted to wait and let Kristin pick out the ring of her dreams.
She’d spent a tense night in Julian’s guest room, the same one she’d used to watch him over the weekend. Surprisingly, he’d kissed her tenderly and let her go to bed, but she’d slept very little.
Taking her place next to her mom on the sofa, Kristin put an arm around Cindy’s fragile shoulders, noticing that she wasn’t tremoring quite as badly today, and she seemed fairly steady with her walker. “I feel guilty for leaving,” she told her mom earnestly while Julian and her father spoke boisterously across the room.
Her mother squinted up at her in surprise. “Whatever for? I’m not dying. I just can’t walk straight.”
“I’ve never left you and Dad for very long—”
“No, and it’s past time you did, baby girl,” Cindy Moore told her daughter firmly. “You’ve given up enough of your life for us. Now that you’ve found Julian, he should be your priority.”
“He’s aggravating sometimes,” Kristin blurted out without thinking.
Her mom chuckled softly. “They all are, honey. Some are just worse than others. Your father fusses over me like I’m a child. He forgets my brain is still working. I just can’t always express myself right.”
Occasionally, her mother’s speech was slurred, especially when she was tired. Eyeing her parent carefully, Kristin could see the twinkle in the woman’s eyes. “Because he loves you,” she answered softly.
“I know he does,” Cindy replied. “I love him right back. But it doesn’t mean we don’t argue.”
Kristin swallowed hard as she looked over at her father, a big redheaded man who’d stood by his wife all of these years. Her father could be stubborn and proud, but he looked far less stressed out now that he had competent people running Shamrock’s. “He looks good.”
“Thanks to that young man of yours,” Cindy crowed. “You chose well, sweetie. He’s a keeper. I’m glad you saw that and married him right away. The way that he’s helped your dad is almost a miracle for us.”
Tears sprang to Kristin’s eyes. After all she’d done, it had never been enough to save her mom and dad from living a difficult life. But Julian had swept in and saved the day with an infusion of money and talent that had made Shamrock’s the hottest place in town. “I wish I could have done more myself,” Kristin murmured regretfully.
“Honey, you did. You kept the business running. Do you think your dad and I don’t know what you sacrificed for us? And what you’ve always given up for me,” Cindy said tearfully. “That’s why we’re so happy that you found Julian.”