He told her. “I thought you decided to step back from work.”
Her hand cradled the disposable coffee cup a bit harder than necessary, causing the top to spring free. She reached for it and replaced the lid, all while avoiding eye contact. “I wasn’t at the office.”
He studied her, and his gaze slowly narrowed. “Can you tell me why you look incredibly guilty? Julia?” He looked away and stiffened, his features tightening with doubt. “You’re making me nervous…”
She covered his hand with hers, needing to reassure him. Naturally, her meeting another man would be his first thought. It would be hers, in light of how their spouses had betrayed them with an affair. “I have my faults, Heath. However, I would never cheat on you. That is one promise I can categorically make.”
He instantly relaxed. “Then why did you look like a kid caught with her hand in the cookie jar? Something’s up, and apparently, whatever it is, you’d rather I not know.”
“True enough,” she admitted. “Amanda suggested it would be better if I told you, and I agree.”
“Well, then perhaps you should.”
Shifting uneasily in the chair, she drew in a deep breath. “I’ve been in contact with Laura.”
His eyes widened with surprise. “My ex-wife?”
She nodded.
“Why? Hasn’t she brought enough pain into your life?”
She found it heartwarming that he immediately mentioned her loss and not his own. It was almost verbatim what Amanda had asked.
“I’ll admit the first couple times we talked it was uncomfortable, but it’s gotten easier.”
“You mean to say you’ve been meeting on a regular basis. What the hell for?”
He wasn’t taking to this the way she’d hoped.
“Laura’s concerned about Eddie and his relationship with the girls.”
“Eddie,” he repeated, as if even the name of her ex put a bad taste in his mouth. “He made his own bed and he can lie in it. You’ve done enough for him, far more than he deserves.”
She didn’t disagree. “True enough. He’s put me in the middle, and I’ve repeatedly told him I wasn’t comfortable standing between him and our daughters.”
“Then why are you doing this?”
“It’s not for him, Heath, it’s for Hillary and Marie. As angry and upset as they are with their father, they continue to love him and need him. Can you imagine how difficult it would be for you if Michael and Adam wanted nothing more to do with you because of me? Can you imagine how miserable that would make you? It’s a step in the right direction and might lead to a time when your sons are comfortable with me.”
He had the good grace to take her words to heart. “I would do anything to make that happen.”
“Eddie would, too, only his efforts haven’t helped the situation. His pride has blinded him. He’s eager, and thoughtless, and I’m convinced he doesn’t mean to be. He so badly wants his daughters to accept Laura. Even his ridiculous taking over of the wedding was his misguided attempt to help. He actually thought his seating plan was offering a solution to a delicate situation.” It was everything else he wanted that had upset Hillary, and rightly so.
“The girls are dead set against having anything to do with Lee,” Heath commented, and unfortunately, he was right.
However, Laura had been making inroads. “Don’t be so sure. Laura and I have been working on a few baby steps with the girls. She’s been texting them with little things.”
“Such as?”
“Quotes and little jokes, and while the girls haven’t responded, they haven’t blocked her, either.”
“You’ve been advising Lee?”
Julia nodded.
Heath looked as if he disapproved. “Do the girls know about your involvement in this little plan of yours?”
“Heavens, no.”
“That’s what I thought.”
They had made progress, though, and she was pleased by the small chips in the concrete wall her daughters had built up against the other woman. “Laura recommended her cousin who owns a florist shop to Hillary. Hillary still doesn’t have the florist booked for the wedding, so I suggested it wouldn’t do any harm to check it out, and even went with her when Blake had to cancel at the last minute. The florist specializes in wedding arrangements, and despite Hillary’s willingness to dismiss the woman out of hand, she was impressed.”
“Is she going with her?”