her into the mess that made up his early life. He got out of the chair and made his way toward her. She faced him, her eyes filled with tears. When she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and pulled him close, Troy held on tight. He swallowed back the feelings he’d kept buried for more than two decades.
Julie pulled back, held his face in her hands. The emotion in her eyes sucked the air out of his lungs. “I am so sorry you had to go through that,” she whispered. “If I could change it, I would in a heartbeat.” A hint of a smile curved her lips. “But you know what? You got through it and you turned into one of the best men I’ve ever met. You’re solid. Capable. You’re a good man despite what happened in your childhood.”
She stood on tiptoe at the same time she brought his mouth to hers. Her kiss destroyed him. Her soft lips caressed his in the sweetest gesture of consolation. Soft and slow, she kissed him until his lips parted and he took over the kiss, pushing his tongue into her mouth to take all the comfort she wanted to give. The kitchen heated up as the kiss got out of control, as his hands skimmed beneath her shirt and brushed along all the soft skin of her back and curve of her waist.
He could debate the merit of her words, especially since he’d lied to her. She might not think so highly of him when she found out. At the moment, though, nothing felt better than holding her in his arms, knowing she wanted him, knowing the comfort she wanted to give him came from the bottom of her heart. She cared about him.
He pulled back, aware of the lack of time he had to do the things he wanted to do to her. “I’d love to continue this,” he whispered at her lips. He grazed his mouth across hers one last time, barely a touch. “But if I keep doing this, you’ll end up without any clothes on in the kitchen and that’s not how I want you to meet my uncle.”
She chuckled and looked up at him, her eyes still a little glassy, but so beautifully blue. “How about I give you a rain check for when he leaves?”
“I’ve always been a fan of rain checks.”
Her smile dimmed as she stared up at him. The seriousness of his confession seemed to weigh on her mind. “You do know you grew up to be a fine man, right?” she said softly. “Despite what your dad did. You’re allowed to live your life and be happy.”
The statement surprised him and she must have seen it on his face.
Her eyes narrowed a fraction. “It’s not that you’re not happy. You’re just a very serious man. You’re allowed to leave the past behind you. There are people who will love you and not hurt you the way your father did.”
* * *
The setting fireball in the sky glared through the windshield as Carrie Ann picked up Al in front of the hotel. He had his bag ready to go and he tossed it in the backseat before she’d fully stopped. He piled in next to her with a giant grin splitting his thin face.
“Hey!” He didn’t make any move to kiss her and the annoyance she felt for him multiplied in intensity.
“Hi.” The more she thought about this trip, the more she’d wished she hadn’t asked him along. If he didn’t serve a couple of very important purposes, she’d make this trip solo. Solo was always the smartest way to go anyway. No one lets you down when you go solo. You only have yourself to rely on and she never doubted herself. She answered to no one but the one in the mirror.
Julie didn’t have that same luxury. Julie had half a dozen people to answer to. Agent, manager, publicist, financial planner, stylist, assistant and the list went on. She had people taking up her time and asking her questions, keeping the Julie Fraser Machine working without a glitch.
Although Cal enjoyed her independence and planned to always stay in charge, she looked forward to the day that all those people filled her life as well. She smiled as she thought about the pot of gold at the end of this particular rainbow...or road trip as the case happened to be. No one would know about it but the man sitting