Fantasy Lover(28)

"It's not for the reasons you think," he said dryly.

Selena ignored him. "So, have you ever tried to appeal to Eros?"

"We're not speaking to each other."

Grace rolled her eyes at his flippant sarcasm.

"Why don't you try calling him?" Selena suggested.

Grace glared at her. "You know, Selena, you could try to be a little more serious. I know I've mocked your beliefs over the years, but this is Julian's life we're talking about."

"I am perfectly serious," she said emphatically. "The best way would be for Julian to summon him directly and see if he can help."

What the hell? Grace thought. Last night, she would never have believed anyone could conjure up Julian. Maybe Selena was right.

"Would you try it?" Grace asked him.

Julian gave a frustrated sigh, as if he were ready to shake both of them.

Looking greatly peeved, he leaned his head back and said quietly to the ceiling, "Cupid, you worthless bastard, I summon you to human form."

Grace threw her hands up. "Gee, I can't imagine why he wouldn't respond to that."

Selena laughed.

"Fine," Grace said. "I don't believe in this mumbo jumbo anyway. Let's go put this stuff in my car, get some lunch, and try to think up something a little more productive than 'Cupid, you worthless bastard.' Shall we?"

"Fine," Selena said.

Grace handed Selena the bag that contained the clothes Selena had brought over. "Here are Bill's things."

Selena looked into the bag with a frown. "Where's the white tank top?"

"I'll give it back later."

Selena laughed again.

Julian trailed along behind them, listening to their bantering, as they made their way outside the store.

Luckily, Grace had found a rare parking place right outside the Brewery.

Julian watched as the women put the bags in the car. If he dared admit it, he actually liked the fact that Grace was so interested in helping him.

No one ever had before.

He had walked the whole of his life in solitude with only his strength and his wits to save him. Even before the curse, he'd been weary. Tired of the loneliness, tired of having no one on earth, or beyond, who gave a damn about him.

It was a pity he hadn't met Grace before the curse. She would have definitely been a nice balm to soothe his restlessness. But then, the women of his time had been very different.

Grace saw him as an equal whereas the women in his day had seen him as a legend to be feared or placated.

What made Grace unique? What was it about her that allowed her to reach out to him when even his own family had turned their backs on him?

He didn't know for sure. She was just special. A pure heart in a world populated by selfish ones. He'd never thought to encounter anyone like her.

Uncomfortable with the direction of his thoughts, he glanced around the thronging crowd of people who didn't seem to mind the oppressive heat of the strange city.

His ears picked up on a couple arguing a few feet away, the wife angry over something the man had left behind. They had a small boy no older than three or four between them as they approached the sidewalk in front of him.

Julian smiled at them. He couldn't remember the last time he'd seen a family together, going about their routine business. It touched a part of him he barely remembered he had. His heart. And he wondered if they knew just what a gift they had in each other.

While the two parents continued to bicker, the child stopped, his attention focused on something across the street.

Julian held his breath as every instinct in his body told him what the little boy was about to do.

Grace closed the trunk to her car.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a blue blur headed for the street. It took her a full second to realize it was Julian running across the lot. She frowned at his actions, until she saw the small boy who was stepping off the curb into traffic.

"Oh, my God," Grace gasped as she heard car brakes squealing.

"Steven!" a woman shouted.

With a move straight out of Hollywood, Julian jumped over the low parking lot wall, plucked the child up from the road, and, holding the boy against his chest, he ran up onto the fender of the braking car, then turned a side flip, up, over, and away from the car.

They landed safely in the other lane a spilt second before a second car jerked around the first and plowed straight into them.

Horrified, Grace watched as Julian slammed into the hood of an old Chevy. He slid up it, into the windshield, and was then flung forward onto the street where he rolled for several yards before finally coming to a stop.

He lay on his side, unmoving.

Total chaos broke out everywhere as people screamed and shouted, and crowded around the accident.

Terrified, Grace trembled all over as she pushed her way through the crowd, trying to reach Julian. "Please be okay, please be okay," she whispered, over and over, praying both of them had survived being hit.