“Hello, Michael,” she said, smiling at the man who was a younger version of Heath. He was as tall as his father, with the same color eyes, which seemed to lock on her. And narrowed.
Frowning, Michael glanced from her to his father. For longer than seemed comfortable, he ignored her outstretched hand before shaking it.
“Michael?” Heath asked, and seemed stunned by his son’s rudeness.
“Dad,” he said tightly, dragging his eyes away from Julia. “I can see I came at an inconvenient time. I’ll come back later.”
Heath followed him to the door. “Michael, what’s wrong?”
“We can talk later.”
“Is it about Julia?” he asked.
Although Heath and Michael had both lowered their voices, Julia could still hear them.
“Not now, Dad.” Before Heath could object, Michael was out the door.
The sound of it closing echoed through the room, sounding ten times louder than the music.
“What was that about?” Julia asked. “Did I do something wrong? Should I not have been here?”
Heath looked as perplexed as she was. “I don’t know, but I’m going to find out,” he said emphatically.
Julia wasn’t sure what was happening. What she feared, though, was that her nightmare was about to become real.
Chapter 10
After Michael left Heath’s place, the atmosphere between Heath and Julia changed. Earlier, Heath had been laughing and dancing around the kitchen island with Julia, acting like a man thirty years younger. She made him feel young again. And then his son had arrived, and everything changed. The shock of it had yet to wear off.
Heath didn’t understand it. Didn’t know what to make of it. Since he had been seeing Julia, he’d excitedly mentioned her several times to both Michael and Adam. When they’d come to see the changes in his condo, they’d been impressed, and rightly so. Julia had worked her magic. Both boys seemed genuinely pleased Heath had found someone for companionship. They’d never had a problem with him dating. In fact, they had encouraged him to try again, even after the disastrous results of his earlier attempts.
Something was very wrong, and Heath was determined to find out what it was.
Julia finished putting together their dinner. They ate in near silence, the mood altered, as if a dark cloud hung over them. Heath knew Julia was upset and did his best to reassure her.
It didn’t help that she’d had that silly dream. As she described it, he could see how much it had upset her. The nightmare that predicted he would walk away from her. When she’d mentioned it, he’d nearly laughed. He couldn’t think of a single thing in the world that would cause him to leave this incredible woman.
Heath hadn’t been looking for love, hadn’t sought out another relationship. Julia was a precious gift he’d been given, and by all that was holy, he refused to let her go without putting up one hell of a fight.
* * *
—
Even before Heath could get in touch with his son, he woke up to a text from Michael.
Dad, can u meet for lunch. Noon at Mama Sofia?
Heath sent back a thumbs-up. He was grateful Michael took the initiative, as he was anxious to clear the air. Whatever it was that had caused his son to react negatively to Julia needed to be settled, and the sooner, the better. After lunch, he’d seek out Julia and reassure her, confident whatever it was could be easily fixed.
Julia arrived for her workout, and it looked like she hadn’t slept the entire night. He yearned to tell her not to worry, but hesitated, unwilling to speak too soon before talking to Michael. It distressed him to see how concerned she was, and he again blamed that dream.
“If you don’t mind, I’d like to skip coffee this morning,” she said when she’d completed her routine.
“Sure,” he said, and then, because he couldn’t resist, he gave her a reassuring squeeze. “Don’t worry, Julia. I’ll settle this with my son. We’re good. Nothing is going to change the way I feel about you.”
She responded with a weak smile, and he could tell by her expression that she didn’t believe him.
He hated knowing this dream she’d had continued to upset her. Heath was confident everything would work out for the best. Really, what could Julia have possibly done to earn Michael’s ire? She was a gentle soul, honorable, kind, generous, forgiving, and so much more. Not a day passed when he didn’t thank God for sending her into his life. She was far more than he deserved.
* * *
—
At noon, Heath arrived at his favorite Italian restaurant, the very one he’d taken Michael to for his birthday a few weeks earlier. It was close to his office, and convenient for Michael, as well. To his surprise, he saw that both his boys were seated at a table, awaiting his arrival.