More Than a Convenient Bride(16)

In all the time he'd dated her, he couldn't recall Amelia and his  mother having any more than a five-minute conversation. So why the need  to talk to her now? And what did she know about his "big house"? Had she  been snooping into his personal life?

He wondered where he would be now if she hadn't run off with someone  else. He'd been too proud to beg her to come back, but he'd wanted to.  Those first few months afterward he'd been beside himself. It was only  after he met Julie that he began to feel whole again. She was the one  who filled the empty place in his heart. Just by being a good friend.

"My mother isn't well enough for visitors," he told Amelia. "Her immune system is too vulnerable."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Amelia said. "Maybe some other time."

Doubtful.

"Please send her my regards."

When he was away from work, Amelia was the furthest thing from his  mind. And why would he think about her when he had Julie? Even though  they weren't a real couple, she was everything he could ask for in a  woman, and a wife. And especially a lover. Pleasing her, making her feel  good, was by far his favorite part of the day. There was only one thing  missing. After sex, she always went back to her own room to sleep. If  he had his way, she would be sleeping in his bed. Even if it was only  temporarily.

"Just the man I wanted to see," Luc heard someone say, and turned to  see Drew walking toward him, swooping in like an angel of mercy to save  him. He looked from Luc to Amelia, one brow raised slightly. "I hope I'm  not interrupting."

"Not at all," Luc said, pushing to his feet, picking up the tray with his half-eaten lunch. "I'm finished."

With his lunch and with Amelia. He didn't introduce her to Drew, nor  did he say goodbye when he walked away. Maybe now, after this chilly  conversation, she would take the hint and leave him alone.

He dumped the contents of his tray in the trash on their way out of the  cafeteria and asked Drew, "What brings you to the hospital?"

"I dropped off fresh flowers at the gift shop for Beth, then came in  here for a soda. Then I saw you and, frankly, you looked like maybe you  needed rescuing."

Now, that was a true friend. "Drew, you have no idea."

They stopped at the main bank of elevators. "Is that her?"

"Is that who?"

"Your ex."

Luc blinked. He'd made it a point not to say anything to anyone about  Amelia's being in Royal. Not even Julie. "How did you know she was my  ex?"

"Amelia...is that her name?"

Luc nodded.

"Well, she's been kinda broadcasting it all over town."

Disbelief stopped him in his tracks. "She's doing what?"

"Word is spreading fast."

Fantastic. Just what he needed. But was he surprised? Not really.  Amelia loved to be the center of attention. And he'd bet anything she  was pinning him as the bad guy. "What has she been saying?"

"She's making like you guys are getting chummy. At least, that's what I've heard."

He cursed and shook his head. "Nothing could be further from the truth.  Today was the first I've seen of her in a week. And it wasn't by  choice, believe me."

"Yeah, you looked pretty uncomfortable sitting there with her. What does Julie think about her being here?"

"Like I said, I haven't told anyone."

Drew looked pained. "Please, tell me you're joking."

"I prefer to leave work at work. Amelia is the mother of my patient,  nothing more. She has nothing to do with my personal life."

Drew's expression said that Luc was a sad and pathetic man. "Dude, I  hate to be the one to break it to you, but in a marriage, it doesn't  really work that way."

"But we're not really married, are we?"                       
       
           



       

"No, but she is your best friend. I thought you guys told each other everything."

Well, almost everything. And he could see Drew's point. If Amelia was  broadcasting the details of their past relationship, Julie was bound to  hear it from someone. He didn't want it to appear as if he was hiding  things from her. "I'll talk to her tonight."

"Smart move. The way it's spreading, it's only a matter of time before the entire town knows."

Luc cursed under his breath. He should have known that Amelia was up to something. He should have expected it.

Hadn't she done enough damage? Caused him enough pain. He was going to put an end to whatever she thought she was doing.





 Nine

Julie met Megan and Lark for lunch at the Royal Diner. There was a real  camaraderie among the three of them, a sense of genuine respect and  friendship. Only recently, as she'd grown so close to these women, did  Julie realize all that she'd missed out on being so sheltered as a  child, and having that inherent lack of trust. But it was never too late  to start living.

"The adoption fair seemed to go well," she told Megan after the waitress took their orders.

"And we're still bursting at the seams. It's like that every spring,  plus we're still feeling the aftereffects of the tornado. We have a lot  of animals coming in, but not so many getting adopted back out. I don't  suppose you would be interested in a puppy or a kitten? Or better yet an  older cat or dog?"

Julie had never had a pet before. Her father forbade animals of any  kind in the house, and at university, with a full class-load, there  hadn't been time. After that she'd moved around so frequently, spending  months abroad, owning an animal, even something as benign as a goldfish,  had been impractical.

Her condo in Royal had a no-pet policy, so adopting had never been an  option. But she no longer had that obstacle, did she? She wondered how  Luc would feel about adopting a small dog or even a cat. He spoke fondly  of the various pets his family had owned in their ranching days, so she  knew he liked animals.

"Maybe I'll come by and take a look," she said. "After I talk to Luc about it, of course."

"Speaking of," Megan said. "How is he holding up?"

"He's good." It had been touch and go with his mother all last week,  but now she was infection free, eating better than she had in months and  growing stronger every day. As they drew closer to April, and the days  grew warmer, Elizabeth had been spending time outside in the gardens  with her nurse.

"It must have been a shock for him," Lark said.

"Not really," Julie told her. "It's just a part of her condition."

"Condition?" Megan asked, looking confused. "I thought her son was the  patient. Is Luc treating her, too? And wouldn't that be a conflict of  interest?"

Julie frowned. Her who?

"Far as I heard he's only treating the boy," Lark said. "Which is bad enough if you ask me."

There were obviously some crossed wires here. "I'm a little confused."

"And that's perfectly natural," Megan said. "I would be, too, if Drew's ex showed up."

Drew's ex? Wait, what?

Before she could ask what the heck they were talking about, she noticed Stella approaching their table.

"Hello, ladies! Isn't this fantastic." She gazed around the diner.  "It's so inspiring to see things getting back to normal in our little  town."

"Are you here for lunch?" Lark asked her.

"Would you like to join us?" Megan chimed in. "We're giving Julie some much needed moral support."

They were? And what exactly did she need support for?

Stella sat in the empty chair next to Julie and with eyes full of  sympathy said, "I heard she was in town. How are you holding up?"

She who? "Guys, I'm really confused."

"Of course you are," Stella said gently. "Who wouldn't be under the circumstances."

"No, I mean I'm confused right now, by this conversation. I must have  missed something, because I'm lost. Who are we talking about?"

"Amelia," Stella said.

"Amelia who?" The only Amelia that she knew of was the one who'd broken  Luc's heart. The one he was still hung up on all these years later.  They couldn't possibly mean...                       
       
           



       

The three women exchanged a look, and Megan said, "I'm sorry. We just assumed Luc had told you."

Julie was beginning to get a very bad feeling. "Told me what?"

"His ex-fiancée, Amelia. Her son is Luc's patient."

Amelia was here, in Royal? Julie's stomach did an odd little flip-flop and a rush of heat flooded her cheeks.

As his wife, she should have known that. Even as his fake wife, a  heads-up would have been nice. Weren't they supposed to make this  marriage look legitimate?

"I guess it must have slipped his mind," Julie said. Though technically  Luc was her boss, it wasn't often that their paths crossed at the  hospital. On the average day, she rarely left her office. And though she  had seen a picture of Amelia from six years ago, she had no clue what  she would look like now. She could have passed her in the hall and not  even known it. "We're both pretty busy. Some nights we don't even see  each other."