Chapter Twelve
“Julia, visitors!” The jerk of Susan’s head indicated the entrance of the club.
Julia clicked off the music and her dancers came to an abrupt halt. The newest one at the end of the row gave a sigh of relief and bolted for a water bottle.
“Sorry to interrupt,” Ryan said.
Julia grabbed a towel. “Take five,” she said to her dancers and wandered over to join Ryan and Caleb. Alex clung to Ryan’s hand, trying to hide behind his legs.
Ryan leaned in to kiss her cheek. “I rang Mum this morning to tell her about Alex. She wants to see him, so I’ve decided to take him down for a visit.”
She’d wanted time, she reminded herself, biting back her instinctive protest. “For how long?”
“A week. Maybe longer,” Ryan said.
She gulped at themaybe longer, and he must have seen some of her anxiety.
“Our deal still counts. We talk via phone instead of face-to-face. What’s the best time to ring you?”
“Around ten in the morning. Around ten at night would work too.”
“Okay. I’ll talk to you tonight,” Ryan said.
She should say something, but her brain had turned sluggish. Instead she stared at him, one of those stupid blocks in her throat. Caleb made a sound, a sort of growl, and Ryan shifted his weight, his expression hardening.
“Mum is expecting us for lunch, so we’d better head out.”
Julia nodded. Ryan gave her a quick kiss on the lips, and they were gone.
“The kid looks like Ryan,” Susan said.
“Alex. Yeah, he does.” She clapped her hands for them to resume, shoving aside her fears she’d made a huge mistake in letting Ryan leave. “Let’s get back to work on the new routine.”
The next morning Julia sat at the breakfast counter, nursing a mug of coffee. Her apartment echoed with emptiness, despite the background music and the cheerful prattle of the breakfast radio jock. She’d gone to bed early for her— around three in the morning—and tossed and turned, finally falling asleep cuddling the pillow Ryan had used. His scent had both comforted her and made her aware of his absence, of how her request for time and space loomed like a mistake.
What if he decided not to come back? What if he gave up on them?
The two questions twisted together in the small hours of the morning, tangling into a multitude of scenarios, none of them ending well.
The phone rang. A glance at her watch told her it was ten, and her heart raced.
“Hello.”
“Hi, Julia,” Susan said. “I have a question.”
Julia hunched her shoulders and lowered her head.
“Julia?”
“Hit me with your question,” she said, forcing herself to focus.
“Since theFarmer Seeks a Wifecompetition is coming up and I’m fed up with working at Barker and Johnson, I might hand in my notice. Could I work atMaxwell’son a more permanent basis?”
“Of course you can,” Julia said, not even needing to think about it. A no-brainer since Susan was a natural. “I need help with the office work too. I’d be a fool to turn you down.”
“Really?”
“Yes, really. You can work for me for as long as you want. You’ll need time off during the contest, but I knew that already.”
