“Although I do think you should have told her that you got married. Why did you go so far to hide it?”
“I didn’t want her to know. I was afraid she’d insist on going to the courthouse that morning to fix it. I needed time, so I bought it by taking everything away, hoping she wouldn’t remember. Or that she’d think it was something that wasn’t true because she’d been so plastered.”
“She might be pissed,” Micah warned.
“Angry I can handle,” Julian answered with a smile. “This is Kristin we’re talking about. I think she’s been pissed off at me since the moment we met.”
Foreplay.
Julian had recognized their friction for exactly what it was almost immediately, some mysterious chemistry that drew them together, but that neither one of them was going to instantly accept.
“You love her.” Micah said it as a statement and not a question.
“Always have. I don’t think it took me long to realize she was the only woman for me. I knew I needed to go after her hard, but I still had obligations to fulfill.”
“How did you know? Even with Tessa, I was hardheaded enough that it took me a while. I thought we were just physically attracted at first. I thought we could screw it out of our systems.”
Julian shrugged. “Because fighting with Kristin was better than having sex with any other woman had ever been.”
“Okay. Then I’m not asking about the sex,” Micah said hastily.
He wouldn’t have told his brother about his sex life with his wife anyway, but Julian laughed before he said more seriously, “Since Mom and Dad died and Xander got so fucked up, I’ve realized just how important it is to seize the moment. Or in this case, seize my woman, I guess. Sometimes there are no second chances.”
Micah was quiet for a moment before he answered, “You know Mom and Dad loved you. They loved all of us.”
“I was a prick, Micah. I pretty much missed the last six years of their life because I never pulled my head out of my ass enough to realize that they didn’t care if I was successful or still struggling. They just wanted to see their son. I can’t get that time back, and I’d do just about anything to see them again just to tell them I loved them. I don’t want to have that kind of regret again.”
“You really want to give up your acting career? You sacrificed a lot to get where you are.”
“It will make my screenplays that much more in demand,” Julian replied. “I always wanted to create, but I just had the task all wrong. I’ve never been happier. Now I can tell the story instead of acting it out.”
“You’re talented at both,” Micah said. “Mom and Dad would have been proud of you. I wish that they’d lived to see your success, but you’re right. They loved you because you were their son. They understood you were busy, Julian. Don’t ever beat yourself up about that.”
“You and Xander both made time to see them,” Julian said remorsefully.
“We both had money and a private jet. That makes going anywhere a hell of a lot easier. We weren’t trying to live off what we made just to prove we could make it on our own. We used our connections to our advantage. You took your own path to success.”
“Xander basically called me a selfish prick,” Julian muttered.
“Yeah. Now it’s Xander’s turn to be a selfish prick,” Micah answered drily.
“I’m sorry I wasn’t there, Micah. When you needed help with Xander, I should have known.”
“You didn’t and it’s over. I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want you to know. Maybe you had the right, but you had worked so damn hard for your success that I thought you deserved your time.”
Julian’s chest ached at the responsibility Micah had willingly taken on to save him the worry during the pinnacle of his career. “Well, I’m here now. We’ll deal with Xander together.”
“I’m good with that,” Micah agreed as he pulled into the driveway of Julian’s mansion.
The house was dark, but the yard light was on. If Kristin was going to be here, it was long past time for her to be home. “I’m not sure she’s here.”
“You want me to come in with you?” Micah offered.
“No,” he told his brother. “I’m good. Whatever happens, this is where I want to be.”
“Don’t let go,” Micah advised. “Even if she isn’t here, keep trying to make it work if you know she’s the one.”
Julian was fairly certain he wouldn’t be trying anything else. He’d given her the choice, and she’d made a decision.
He nodded anyway as he opened the car door and the vehicle flooded with light, not trusting himself to say anything else at the moment.
Pulling the keys out of his pocket, he watched as Micah drove away, not sure he wanted to enter the house at all.
“I need to just fucking get it over with,” he grumbled, heading for the front door.
It was locked and he put the key in and shoved the door open, listening for any sounds of movement in the house.