Julio in his Italian villa walked in carrying little Maisy, who was just a year.
“Julio, good to see you,” Jackson said with a grin. “As you can see, I have been on child duty.”
Gina snorted, “Jackson, you are a guest. I have told you that a dozen times. You don’t have to be the live-in nanny.”
“Wouldn’t that make him the manny?” Marco teased.
Jackson shrugged, “Who would have thought that I would like kids? Have you found Natalie yet?”
Julio nodded and began to explain. Over the course of the time it had taken him and Jackson to cross the sea and land in the United States, Jackson had a much clearer picture of what Julio wanted with his co-worker. He also learned that Julio wasn’t the horrible man he had thought him to be.
Julio warned that he had once been the person Jackson had feared and knew that Natalie had every right to run from him. But he was finished being that person. He wanted to know if it were possible to have one more chance with his wife or if things were truly over.
It was decided that Jackson would pretend to be still missing. It would be easier than showing up to work for Brian and facing Natalie. She would put the pieces together; she was an intelligent woman.
Jackson found that he had been enjoying his stay with Marco and Gina. They were loud, fought often, and loved each other fiercely. He knew that they had some tie with Julio, but it wasn’t discussed how they had become so close.
Gina had let slip that Julio was something of a matchmaker, but Jackson was left in the dark beyond that.
“She is pretending to want me gone or dead, but I can see in her eyes that she still cares.” Julio was explaining. “I have to find a way to woo her back to me. She loved me once. I know that she could again.”
“Have you tried telling her the truth?” Gina said as she sank into the soft cushions of her sofa.
Julio wrinkled his nose, “Why on earth would I try something as mundane as the truth? I was thinking of being abducted by aliens or, at best, a long-term coma.”
Marco snorted, “So you went with the truth, and she blew you off?”
Julio sighed. “She won’t even allow me to get near enough to her to speak the truth. There is so much she doesn’t know. So much that I wish I could explain.”
“Have you considered pulling in more people to help facilitate the ending you want?”
Julio frowned and looked at Marco, “It goes against my nature to share intimate details of my life.”
Marco nodded. “While I agree that it is difficult, I wonder if you were to get Sutton and her husband Mark on board. They might help you find ways you would be alone together. Heaven knows you have to have some ideas rolling around that brain of yours.”
Julio smiled briefly, “I do indeed have some ideas, but there is also the little matter of the sheriff she seems to have tucked into her back pocket.”
“He has a girlfriend or fiancé, doesn’t he?” Jackson asked.
“Yes,” Julio confirmed, “Her name is Celeste or Candice, something like that.”
“Women love happily-ever-after stories. And she is good friends with Sutton, isn’t she? If you can convince her you are only trying to save your marriage, I am sure that the fiancé will get on board. And trust me, there isn’t a man out there who would give up what the sheriff has in her. She’s one beautiful woman.”
Gina eyed Jackson. “I thought you were gay?”
Jackson scowled in response. “We call it pansexual these days. I am attracted to all types of people, regardless of gender. And besides, I wasn’t trying to poach her, only appreciating the goods on display.”
“Well said,” Julio snorted, “but keep the appreciation away from my wife.”
Jackson looked over to Julio and winked. “I appreciate what is right in front of me, Julio. I don’t need to see your wife. I already know her.”
And to everyone’s surprise, Julio blushed.
19
Brian blinked blearily at the clock, trying to see what the time was. He had been up most of the night and never had been much of a morning person. Unfortunately, whoever was pounding on his door either didn’t care.
He rolled over and stood, not bothering with grabbing clothes. Brian glanced into the mirror. His body was in perfect condition thanks to his history with the Marines and the gym in Mark