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He watched as something formed between Lyla and Max’s friend Gage. They had a barely there co
Having known Gage as long as he had known Max, Da
Da
“Knock knock.”
“Max.” Da
“I may not work here anymore, Dan, but I know damn well what goes on in this office.” Max chuckled. “Why do you think we all voted to have a second office added during the rebuild?”
Da
“Hey, Max. What’s so fu
Da
Julie’s gray eyes widened while a pale blush rose in her cheeks. Twenty-eight years and the woman still blushes. Always been a lucky son of a bitch.
“Hmm, can’t imagine what would give them that impression.” Her humor-filled answer had both men chuckling as she shimmied past Max and placed the food on her desk. Da
“You know what? Whatever you guys are doing is clearly the secret to success, because while my parents are still married, and I believe happily so, I’ve never seen them look at each other the way you two do on a daily basis,” Max said.
“I like to think we’re pretty damn amazing. So thank you for noticing. But I’m guessing you didn’t come down here just to talk about how Julie and I make our marriage work. What’s going on, son? Take a seat and fill us in.”
***
MAX STRADDLED A chair and looked from Da
Julie gasped. Her heart actually sighed.
“No…I’m going to tell her she has no choice but to marry me because I can’t imagine being without her,” Max said. “I want to start a family with that woman, have children… a forever. Christ, I’ve lived and loved long enough to know that every minute we aren’t married is a minute wasted.”
His impassioned speech left his emerald eyes sparkling and Julie’s heart beating a fierce tattoo. family. She wanted that for him, for them. Oh, how she wanted that.
“Max, sweetie, that’s wonderful.” Julie lunged forward and wrapped her arms around his wavy form. Her tears made it hard to see clearly.
“Good man,” Da
Chapter Twenty-Nine
The Perfect Day For A Party
IT WAS THE perfect day for a party. A bright azure sky promised lovely, warm spring weather, the caterer was in route, the band that Ryan had secured was doing their sound check, and Cate and Elliot were working their asses off to make everything look easy. Julie had refused to let desserts be brought in by caterers, so she had been baking for three days. She created hundreds of cookies, pastries, and a huge cake, all made with her hands and waiting to be enjoyed.
It was also the night Max was going to propose to Janie. After Julie and Da
Julie knew it was coming. Knew when it was happening. Had seen the ring. But when she watched Max go down on bended knee and saw Janie’s eyes widen first with surprise, then acceptance, Julie’s knees buckled. Thank God for Da
“That was…something else,” he muttered into her ear, his breath sending chills up her neck.
“Yeah.” Something in her gut felt off. She couldn’t have been happier for the couple—for all of the couples. But inside, she felt smaller, as if she’d been shrinking for the past few weeks, and she wasn’t sure why.
Inhaling deeply, her gaze landed on Janie and Max, dancing in each other’s arms as an aura of happiness glowed around them like a bubble. Releasing her breath, Julie also let go of the niggling unease that had been growing in her gut since Max had visited them in the office those weeks ago…at least, she tried to.
***
CHEST PUFFED AND proud, Da
He stalked to the back bar to find Ashley tending instead of the new bartender, Ando. “Where the hell is Ando?” A cursory glance showed that Kyle wasn’t around either. Hmm, maybe smoking in the alley?
“Dan, have you seen Lyla?” The concerned look on Gage’s face sent ice through Da
“Let’s find her.”
“Not me!” Kyle’s scream echoed through the metal door that led to the alley. “Ando, help Lyla. Now…”
Adrenaline surged through Da
CRASH! The metal door slammed into the cinderblock wall, and a roar—Da
Da
“Sebastian, stop!” Da
A nod. That was it. Then Gage knelt by Lyla’s side, and those hands that had been ready to kill gently tended to the broken woman on the ground.
***
FOR DAYS FOLLOWING Lyla’s attack, Julie and Da
After the initial twenty-four, the family did what it always did—swooped in and took over, leaving love and kindness in its wake.
For Janie’s sake, Lyla smiled brightly, turned on the charm, and laughed her way through days and weeks. But as they always said about Lyla Dalton, the woman couldn’t lie for shit. Even as her face was delighted, her eyes stayed dim. Unlike when Kyle was going through his rough patch and acting out, Lyla did the opposite. She kept everything in. There was no behavior to correct, no issues to discuss; she was just flat and gray behind the happy mask.