“I’m worried if I back off and give you too much time, you’ll decide divorce is the only option for us.” His words shimmered in the air between them—a softly spoken gauntlet. “The one thing I am certain of in all this bloody mess is that I’ve never stopped loving you. I want you in my life.”
Some of the tension left her shoulders, and she angled her body toward him. “I didn’t realize marriage was so hard.”
A bark of laughter escaped him. “Ditto on that, sweetheart.” Their shared grin, brief as it was, released some of the pressure in the lounge.
“Just a few days,” Julia said. “I promise I won’t run away or do anything stupid.” This time Julia’s manner was easier, and when he closed the distance between them, she didn’t remind him of a wild animal, intent on escape.
He took her wine glass and set it and his bottle aside. “A few days, but we talk every day.”
“I promise.”
Relieved she’d conceded that much, he tugged her into his arms, ignoring the sharp darts of his headache. She relaxed against him and some of his dread dispersed. Something about this woman called to him. Even when his memory had let him down, he’d known she was there, waiting for him. After all that, he didn’t intend to walk away and lose her, but he wouldn’t reject his son either. Alex was the innocent in the middle of the mess, and he had to do right by him.
