The Allure of Julian Lefray - R.S. Grey Page 0,103
her in New York? She never acted like this when she lived here.”
I crossed my arms. “She’s never once been this drunk with me.”
Her eyebrows rose. “Oh, and is she with you a lot?”
“Nearly every day.”
She glared at me and I knew she wanted me to elaborate.
“We work together. I hired Josephine when she first moved to New York.”
She grunted and dropped Jo’s pajamas onto the corner of her bed. “So then why are you in Texas? Do you regularly follow your employees when they travel cross country?”
“Carrie, everything okay in there?” a gruff voice called from the back of the house.
Shit. Was I about to have to explain myself to Jo’s dad too? Lily is going to owe me so much.
“Yes. Go back to bed, Rick.”
She glared back at me and crossed her arms. “Why don’t you let me know what’s really going on between the two of you? You have my daughter’s throw-up all over you, so either she’s fired or you’re in love. Which is it?”
I had to hand it to her. I’d been in meetings with some of the toughest guys in business and I hadn’t sweat as much as I was in that moment. I snuck a peek at Jo and watched her chest rise and fall gently. She looked so angelic in her sleep, completely unaware of the havoc she’d caused.
“I’m in love with her,” I said.
There was a long pause as her mom and I stood and processed my declaration. I’d yet to admit my feelings aloud to anyone, not even Dean. Suddenly, my love had roots. There was no turning back.
When I glanced up at her mom, she was watching me with a wistful smile.
“All right then, I’ll grab a new shirt for you and then you can help me get her cleaned up. I think it’s time for you to experience all the joys of loving my daughter: the good, the bad, and the ugly.”
Chapter Fifty-One
Josephine
I knocked on the door of room 208 and inhaled the scent of coffee and donuts. It was a winning combination by anyone’s standards, but it’d take a lot more than breakfast from Suzie’s Sweet Shack to earn Julian’s forgiveness. My mother had delivered the Cliff’s Notes version of the night as soon as I’d stirred from my beer-induced slumber. I’d tried to ignore the sledgehammer banging against my brain as she spoke, but as soon as she’d broken the news of what I’d put Julian through, I’d known I had to make it up to him before it was too late, even if I couldn’t exactly walk straight.
I’d inhaled two Advil, two cups of coffee, and two glasses of water, and then finally felt semi-human once again. After a shower and some makeup, I felt nearly good as new.
I knocked on the motel door again and then heard someone stir in the room. A few seconds later, the door opened to reveal Julian: shirtless, disheveled, and squinting to keep out the harsh glare of the sun.
I smiled and held up the supplies in each hand.
“I come bearing gifts,” I said, tipping the donut bag left and right so that the aroma would hit him.
Who can pass up donuts? Seriously.
He ran his hand through his hair, grunted some form of greeting, and then opened the door all the way for me.
I stepped into his motel room and glanced around. The bed was a mess, with covers thrown to the side and pillows splayed out in random directions. He must have showered the night before because I could smell his body wash over the normal stench of the motel.
“Fitful night of sleep?” I asked with a perked brow.
He shot me a glare and then took the coffee from my hand.
“Okay, here.” I dropped the bag of donuts on the TV stand and pulled out a chocolate iced donut with a napkin. He was sitting on the edge of his bed, watching me as I turned and handed it to him.
“You just sit there and drink your coffee and eat your donut as I talk. Okay?”
The edge of his mouth lifted in a half-smile as he glanced down to the coffee. I was definitely winning him over, but he wasn’t going to make it easy for me.
“Okay, well first off,” I said, straightening my back and preparing myself for the speech I’d rehearsed in my dad’s truck on the way over. “I’m so sorry that I, uhh, threw up on you last night.”