“It scares the s-h-i-t out of me.”
“Are you scared of me?”
“Terrified,” he said, smiling at her.“But you should be more afraid of me.”
“How come?”
“Denny told you I’m a risky bet, right?”
“He did.He said you go out of your way to avoid things like suddenly widowed single mothers with two very young children.”
He winced at the way she described herself.“I always have, and PS, you’re the first suddenly widowed single mom with two very young kids I’ve met, and if I had ever met a woman like you before you, I probably would’ve run screaming in the opposite direction.”
“So why are you taking my kids and me to Ojai?”
He shook his head as he grunted out a laugh.“That’s a very good question.”After a pause, he said, “All I know is that when I heard about what’d happened overnight, I needed to be with you.It was like a force bigger than me propelling me toward you.”He glanced at her again.“And trust me, that sounds as ridiculous to me as it does to you.”
“It sounds incredibly romantic to me.”
Julian scoffed.“I’m not romantic at all.”
“I think maybe you could be if you had the right inspiration.”
“Is that right?”
“Uh-huh.”After another pause, she said, “Will you do me another favor?”
“Anything.”
“Will you talk to me about how you’re feeling, even if it’s not what I want to hear?”
Julian had never had such an emotionally charged conversation with a woman, even Aimee.“Yeah,” he said gruffly.“I will.”
He was about to tell her there was nothing he wouldn’t do for her, but he decided he ought to save something for tomorrow.
Isla hadn’t expectedto feel so calm after receiving the news about Gabriel earlier.But knowing he was finally at peace had diffused the constant state of turmoil she’d lived in for years.And having Julian come running to her, wanting to be there for her… That was heady stuff from a man who’d avoided such things his entire adult life.
She wouldn’t be the one to make him want forever with one woman, but there was no reason she couldn’t enjoy a little swoon-worthy romance with a kind, sexy, interesting man for as long as it lasted.If anyone deserved that, she did, and after the years of pure hell she’d endured with Gabriel, she was going to enjoy it without feeling guilty.
Isla took in the mountainous scenery leading into the quaint town of Ojai, which she’d never visited before.“Oh, this is so pretty.”
“I love it here.It’s been a home away from home my whole life.We’d come up here with my dad on the weekends, and my brothers would want to surf, so he’d drive us out to Ventura.My sister Gillian always got car sick because the road is hilly and winding, so she got to sit in the front seat.She used to gloat about getting to sit in the front.”
“How did he move around with nine kids?”
“In a very large Suburban.Both my parents had them when we were all at home.”
“Your family required its own school bus.”
He laughed.“Pretty close.You want to get some lunch before we go up to the ranch?”
“Sure.”
“What do the kids like?”
Isla spotted a pizza place on the town’s main street.“That’d work.”
Julian parked in a public lot and went to help Theo out of his seat.
