Foolish Games(108)

Owen!

“Where’s Owen?” The words came out raspy because he was still struggling to catch his breath.

She looked over her shoulder at him, and something flared in her amber eyes. He thought it looked a little like seduction, but he figured that was just wishful thinking on his part.

Her full lips curved slightly. “He’s at the party. The one your friends and teammates threw for you.”

Nope, definitely not seduction. Will flinched from the bite of her sarcasm. His teammates would take his absence as another affront, but he hadn’t felt in the mood for a party after realizing he couldn’t hold her in their marriage.

“He was happily ensconced in the heavily tattooed arms of someone named Mongo, who was introducing your son to his first beer.” She tucked the Elmo doll to her breast and moved toward the windows.

She was goading him. Will wasn’t sure if that was good or bad.

He decided to play along. “You shouldn’t have left him with Mongo. He’s an offensive player.”

Julianne tsked. “Just because he has a few tattoos doesn’t make him offensive.”

Will stifled a groan as he rubbed the back of his neck with a hand that was less steady than it had been before she arrived. “I assume my mother was there.”

“Yep.” She kept her back to him. “But she’s too busy playing kissy-face with Hank to watch over Owen. Mongo will have to do.”

Ah hell, he should have gone to the party. But he didn’t want to go because he’d been certain that his mother would ensure Julianne would be there. And he’d made up his mind about giving her her freedom. From now on, the choices would be up to Julianne. Seeing her again would just tempt fate.

Except she’d left the party and was standing in his loft. The wedding band on the counter indicated she’d made a choice. His body ached to take her in his arms and persuade her to change her mind, but that was how this whole mess started. They needed to talk.

“Julianne . . .”

“You said there was a view of the harbor here.” She quickly turned from the window. “I don’t see the harbor.”

He’d misread her eyes. They weren’t seductive, they were anxious and maybe a little angry. Her chest was moving up and down rapidly as she drew in quick short breaths. Elmo was clutched in a death grip to her breast. Will wanted to soothe her, but he didn’t dare touch her.

“Um.” His mind tried to wrap itself around her question. “Upstairs. The view is from the bedroom.”

She pointed to the stairs at the side of the room. “Up there?”

No! He couldn’t sleep up there as it was. If he let Julianne up into his bedroom, he’d have to freaking move out. Instead he nodded, like an idiot. “Uh-huh.”

His body throbbed as he watched her sashay up the stairs to his bedroom. Clearly still in idiot mode, he followed her. When he got to the landing, she was standing with her back to him, the glory of the Inner Harbor silhouetting her. He leaned a shoulder against one of the pillars supporting the ceiling, shoving his hands into his pockets to keep from hauling her to the bed.

“I’d like you to explain something to me.” She didn’t bother turning to face him. Her ramrod-straight spine and tense shoulders were his only indication that this was difficult for her. “How is it that you can be so fierce on the football field, never stopping until the play is dead, but you run away from a relationship at the first opportunity?”

An abashed sigh escaped his lips. “It’s not like that, Julianne.”

“Really? It seems that way to me. But then this marriage wasn’t exactly a relationship, was it? Just an arrangement to benefit our son.” He watched her struggle to swallow. “So I guess it really doesn’t matter, does it?”

“It may have started out that way, but it quickly changed to something more for me.” His voice was hoarse as he tried to work around the lump in his own throat. “Hell, maybe deep down I always felt that way and that’s why I pushed for the marriage.”

Slowly, she turned from the window, her eyes shimmering. Will wanted to close the distance between them, but he knew that wasn’t the best course of action.

“So,” she hesitated. “It came down to you not trusting me.”

Will rubbed a hand over the back of his neck. He was ashamed to admit he was guilty of that infraction. “I didn’t want to believe you’d sold me out. But I guess I was trying to sabotage the relationship just like you said.”

Julianne nodded resolutely. “And today?”

His gaze connected with hers. Obviously she’d figured out he’d been by her place earlier. Honesty was the cornerstone to trust, so he led with the truth.