1Love Redesigned (Lakefront Billionaires, #1)(44)

Arguing? Yes.

Teasing? Of course.

But sincere admissions? Abso-freaking-lutely not.

To be honest, it might be unnatural, but it is also kind of… nice?

Fuck me. My heart feels like Julian wrapped his ginormous hand around it and crushed it.

“As much fun as this has been…” I reach for the rolls again with shaky fingers, only for Julian to clasp his hand around my wrist.

“Wait.”

Blood pounding in my ears makes me second-guess what I heard. “What?”

“I’m sorry.”

I’m not sure how I keep my voice neutral as I ask, “Two apologies in one week? Are you dying or something?”

“Feels like it,” he grumbles.

“Well, figure out if that shit is contagious before you pass it on to someone else.” I attempt to pull my wrist free from his grasp, but his hold tightens.

“Apologies aren’t contagious, Dahlia.”

No, but feelings are, and I sure as hell don’t know what to expect if Julian keeps stepping up to be a decent man. I can deal with him being angry after spending most of our lives slinging insults at each other. But him maturely apologizing after hurting my feelings and admitting when he is wrong?

I’m better off not getting to know this Julian, for both of our sakes.



Nico devours his lunch at a disturbingly fast rate before taking off for the living room to watch his favorite show, leaving the adults alone.

“How’s the house going?” Josefina takes a sip of her water.

“Dahlia and I are meeting with the team on Monday,” Julian speaks up.

“Which Founder’s house did you buy again?” Lily asks.

I turn to my sister. “The blue one.”

“Oh.” Her gaze drops.

“What?”

The skin between her brows scrunches from how hard she frowns. “I heard that place is haunted.”

“Same,” Rafa says.

Julian glares at his cousin. “Not you too.”

He shrugs. “I said I heard about it. Not that I actually believe it.”

I throw my good arm in the air. “See! I told you everyone knows about the ghosts there!”

Julian’s eyes roll in a way that almost makes him appear human.

“Dear Lord. Is it too late to sell the place?” My mom makes the sign of the cross while Josefina laughs.

“People say there’s a reason it gets put back up for sale.” Lily props her elbows on the table.

“It’s true.” Josefina nods.

“Tell us everything you know.” I motion for her to continue.

My sister’s voice drops as she says, “Flickering lights—”

Julian cuts her off. “Faulty electricity is normal with a house this old.”

“If you’re going to give me a hard time, I won’t say anything,” my sister huffs.

With my uninjured arm, I elbow Julian hard enough to make him grunt. “Let her finish.”

He glares at me out of the corner of his eye.

Lily stares Julian down for a few seconds before focusing back on me. “Anyway, during high school, a few people from my class spent the night there on a dare.”

“And?”

Rafa and Julian share a look from across the table.

Lily ignores them. “Supposedly one of them still sleeps with the lights on to this day. The other one moved away and became a priest.”

My eyes widen. “You’re joking.”

“Nope. His mother begged for the town to demolish the house so her son could move back, but obviously that didn’t happen.”

Julian’s eyes shine brighter than a neon warning sign. “Perhaps we should make the town happy and tear it down.”

“I thought you didn’t believe in ghosts.” My molars grind together.

“Maybe I can be convinced after all.”

Asshole. I stomp on his foot. At the speed of a viper, his hand wraps around my thigh and squeezes hard enough to have me choking on my breath.

“Are you okay?” Mom asks.

“Yup. Got a piece of steak in my throat.”

“Here.” Julian’s hand abandons my thigh before shoving my glass of water toward my good hand.

I take a slow sip while staring him down. Once I’m done, I trace my bottom lip with the tip of my tongue to wipe away any remaining droplets.

He breaks eye contact, although the way he thickly swallows gives him away.

Men.

Lily’s eyes ping-pong between us before landing on me. “You can ask anyone in town about the house, and they’ll all have a different story to tell.”

I turn to face the nonbeliever. “Do you think it’s Gerald?”

“No. It’s probably old plumbing, outdated electrical wiring, and materials rubbing together at night while the house cools.”

Lily’s eyes roll. “Of course you’d say that.”

“Either way, I’ve dealt with a haunted property or two in San Francisco, so I’m not afraid of a few ghosts,” I say.

She laughs. “What are you going to do? Hire a priest or something?”

“Or something.”

Julian peeks over at me through his thick lashes. “What are you planning?”