More Than a Convenient Bride(17)

Maybe Amelia and her son had just arrived and he'd forgotten to mention  it. And maybe seeing her again, talking things over with her, would  give him the closure he needed. So really, this could be a good thing.  Right?

"When did she get here?" Julie asked them, forcing a smile, trying her best not to come off as the jilted wife.

The women exchanged another look and the bad feeling grew.

"Last Monday," Stella said.

For reasons that escaped her, Julie's heart plummeted to the pit of her  belly and her appetite disappeared. She had been in Royal for more than  a week?

"I'm so sorry you had to find out this way," Lark said. "We all just assumed you knew."

As Luc's wife, she should have known. But as his friend and employee,  since that's all they really were, he was under no obligation to tell  her anything. He had his life and she had hers. But he'd put her in a  difficult situation.

She wracked her brain for a way to backpedal, to make herself look at  least a little less pathetic, but trying to explain something she had no  real answer for would only make things worse. Maybe Luc was trying to  protect her feelings, or maybe he figured she wouldn't care either way.

You're rationalizing, and for no good reason, she told herself. It was  what it was. An arrangement. After all that he'd done for her, how could  she complain? If he wanted to talk about it with her he would in his  own good time. And if he didn't, that was okay, too.

"He probably just didn't want to upset you," Megan said. "Her showing  up so soon after the wedding. Maybe he felt hesitant to tell you."

"Or maybe he's so over her that he didn't feel the need to say anything," Lark added.

Julie appreciated their efforts, but they were only making things worse. "Can we maybe not talk about it anymore?"

"Of course," Stella said with manufactured cheer. "Hey, did you guys  see in the paper that the coffee shop is set to reopen next week? And  construction on the hospital will begin next month. I'm not sure if it's  possible, but I'd like to have the new city hall building completed by  the first anniversary of the tornado. We've come so far already in our  rebuilding efforts."

"It's definitely starting to look like home again," Lark said.

The rest of the meal was awkward to say the least. No one brought  Amelia up again, but considering the occasional sideways glances and  sympathetic smiles from her friends, the subject was clearly on  everyone's mind.

It would have been easy for her to make some sort of excuse and leave  the diner, but Julie forced herself to sit there and pick at her salad,  pretending to follow the conversation, when inside she was all jumbled  up. She wondered how much time he'd been spending with Amelia. He'd come  home very late from the hospital the past two nights. Could he have  been with Amelia? Had they rekindled their romance? Was it possible that  he was sleeping with her?

The thought made Julie sick to her stomach, though it shouldn't have.  They never said they wouldn't see other people. Julie had just assumed,  in the spirit of making their marriage look legitimate, and because they  were intimately involved, that they wouldn't. And though she wanted to  put it out of her mind and let it go, her brain went into overdrive  instead.

She picked at her food and sipped her sweet iced tea, when what she  really needed was something big and alcoholic. Anything to loosen the  knots in her chest, to sooth her bruised pride.

The lunch seemed to go on forever, but Julie refused to be the first one to leave.                       
       
           



       

Claiming she had more establishments to visit, Stella left first, and  then Lark got a call from the hospital and had to rush back to work,  leaving just Julie and Megan.

"Julie, I am so sorry," Megan said the instant they were alone. "We never meant to embarrass you that way. We just..."

"Assumed that as his wife Luc would have told me. I would have thought so, too."

"I'm sure he had a good reason for not saying anything. And I'm sure nothing is going on between them."

"Are you sure? Really? If nothing was going on, why would he hide it  from me?" She heard herself and shook her head with disgust.

"As your friend, husband and boss, he should have had the courtesy to tell you. You have every right to be angry with him."

At this point Julie wasn't sure what she was feeling. Or what she  should feel. If the tables were turned, would she have done anything  differently?

Yes, she would have. She would have told him the truth. She wondered  how she could be so blind to what had been going on around her. Had she  just been lulled into a false sense of security? And why hadn't anyone  told her?

"What exactly have you heard about her?" Julie asked Megan.

Megan hesitated. "Maybe you should talk to Luc about it."

Oh, she would, but first she wanted the entire story, or as much as  Megan could tell her. "I want to know what you've heard. I thought she  was married."

"Divorced."

Swell. "What else?"

Looking pained, Megan said, "I heard they've been spending a  considerable amount of time together. But that could just be talk."

She doubted it. "How much longer will she be here?"

"I really don't know. Her son is having spinal surgery, so as long as it takes him to recover I guess."

At least a week, maybe a little longer. That wasn't too bad. "Did Luc do the surgery yet?"

Megan shook her head. "And I have no idea when he's supposed to do it. Soon, I would imagine."

Not soon enough as far as Julie was concerned. The faster they left,  the better. Unless it was already too late. Maybe he'd fallen back in  love with her. Which would mean what for Julie? Divorce? Deportation? Or  would she simply have to share him until she became a legal citizen?

What a horrifying thought.

For the rest of the day Julie walked around with a knot in her chest.  And though she had no right to, she felt angry and betrayed. She went  back to the hospital and tried to work, but she couldn't concentrate  worth a damn. What she wanted to do was confront Luc, but she was still  too hot under the collar. She needed time to cool off and put things  into perspective. Convince herself that technically, Luc had done  nothing wrong.

She left work early and headed for home, wondering how much longer she  would actually be calling this grand place home. Would Luc move Julie  out, and bring Amelia and her son in? Or would they all live there  together as one big happy family? The idea made her shudder.

She wandered the house aimlessly for several minutes, confused and  scared, her thoughts too jumbled to be rational, wondering what her next  move should be. Should she confront Luc, or let him tell her in his own  good time? And what if she didn't like what he had to say?

She wound up in the den, with its ceiling-high stone fireplace and  panoramic windows, staring blankly into the afternoon sunshine, feeling  as if the perfect life she'd had just this morning had completely fallen  apart.

"You're home early," she heard Elizabeth say, and turned to see her  wheeling her chair into the room. "How's my favorite daughter-in-law  today?"

She said it with a smile so filled with love and genuine affection, Julie burst into tears.

* * *

An emergency surgery came in just as Luc was about to leave the  hospital, so by the time he finally did get home it was after eleven. He  went straight to Julie's room to tell her about Amelia, but she was  already asleep.

"Julie," he called softly, but he didn't get an answer. He considered  waking her, but he figured the news would be much better received after  they both had a good night's sleep.

His stomach rumbled, reminding him that he'd skipped dinner, so he went  down to the kitchen for a snack. He foraged though the fridge and found  a pot of leftover stew.

"You're home late," he heard his mother say, and turned to see her  wheeling herself into the kitchen. She was in her pajamas, but clearly  hadn't been to bed yet.                       
       
           



       

"What are you doing up?" he asked her. "You know how important it is that you get your rest."

"Where have you been?" she asked.

"The hospital."

"Doing what?"

He frowned. What did she think he would be doing? "I had an emergency surgery. Why? Is something wrong?"

"Come here," she said, gesturing him to her.

He set the pot on the stove and walked over to her.

"Down here," she said, and he leaned over, thinking she wanted to give him a hug. Instead she whacked him upside the head.

Hard.

"Ow! Jesus," he said, seeing stars, rubbing the pain away. He could say  with confidence that her strength was definitely coming back. "What the  hell was that for?"