Project Runaway Bride(41)
It was time to get back on her feet and set herself up as the strong, independent mother she would need to be when this baby arrived.
Decision made, she hopped off the bed, reached for her discarded clothes and started to pack.
* * *
Packed and ready to go, Juliet made her way downstairs. Reid wasn’t on the second floor, so she knew he had to be down here someplace, she just wasn’t sure where or whether or not he’d want to see her.
He might not be in the mood to deal with her again so soon. Maybe he regretted what they’d done or was still upset that she’d turned down his knee-jerk proposal.
But she wouldn’t feel right sneaking out and leaving only a note, so she left her bag by the front door and went searching for him. She found him in his study, the lights off, a fire roaring in the fireplace, and a bottle of liquor on his desk that looked as though he’d been nursing it for several hours.
A pang of guilt went through her at the sight. Had she done that to him? Driven him to empty an entire bottle of...whatever strong alcohol it was with her secrets and dropped bombs and refusal to let him step up and save the day?
But she didn’t want him to rescue her, not out of obligation.
Steeling herself for the confrontation that she suspected was about to happen, she tapped on the doorjamb to get his attention.
His head snapped up and he turned away from his computer screen to face her. She caught a glimpse of his knit brow and the lines of displeasure bracketing his mouth before he realized he was scowling and cleared his features.
“I’m sorry to bother you,” she said, taking a single step into the room, “but I wanted to let you know that I’m leaving.”
“Leaving?” The knit brow and frown lines reappeared. “Why?”
“I’m going home. It’s time. I can’t hide out here forever, any more than I could have hidden up at the lake house forever. I need to face up to my mistakes, come clean with Paul and let my family know what’s going on.”
Her fingers found the knob of the open door and wrapped around the cool brass. “Thank you for everything. Back at the cabin and...here. You were more patient and understanding than I probably deserved, given the circumstances.”
“You don’t have to do that,” he said gruffly, his own hands curled into fists on the flat surface of the desk before loosening again. “Leave or thank me.”
She smiled softly. “Yes, I do. But I’ll be in touch. And you know where to find me. I won’t disappear again, I promise.”
Juliet didn’t know what kind of reaction she’d expected, but it wasn’t the complete and utter silence that followed her final statement or the blank, verging on annoyed look on his face. When a couple more minutes ticked by with no further response from him, she decided this must be his way of dismissing her.
The alternative was that he was too furious with her to speak. Either way, she figured exiting stage left as quickly as possible was probably her best option.
Inclining her head in one last goodbye, she slowly backed out of the study and walked toward the front of the house, where her bag and a car from the service she’d called were waiting.
* * *
Not sure what kind of reception she would receive when she arrived home, Juliet let herself into the loft with her key. She wasn’t sneaking, exactly, but she was trying to be relatively quiet.
She needn’t have bothered. Lily and Zoe were both standing at the kitchen island. Zoe’s back was to the door as she leaned negligently against the countertop, one knee resting on a stool and her sparkling, bejeweled stiletto dangling from the tips of her toes. Lily, however, was facing Juliet’s direction, a large bowl in front of her as she tossed what looked to be salad ingredients.
At the sound of the front door softly clicking closed, both of her sisters’ heads popped up and their eyes went wide.
“Juliet!” Lily cried, dropping the utensils and coming around the island.
At the same time, Zoe uttered a typical “Oh, my God” before stomping her foot back into her shoe and clicking along behind Lily as they made a beeline for her.
For the next several heartbeats she was surrounded and smothered and hugged within an inch of her life. And despite the inability to breathe, Juliet cherished the sensation, tears prickling behind her closed eyelids.
No matter what she ever did, how much trouble she might get herself into or how crazy she might act at times, she knew her sisters would always be there for her. They would accept her, support her and, just like now, welcome her with open arms.
There was a lot of sniffing and blinking and happy laughter from the three of them as they separated, but it didn’t take long for her sisters’ expressions to turn accusatory. Lily even put her hands on her hips.