Love Me Anyway by Jennifer Probst

Chapter Twelve

Jack stiffenedwhen he heard footsteps on the dock, but his senses told him it wasn’t the woman he loved coming back to beg his forgiveness. Even the air smelled stale in the presence of evil. He got up and met his cousin halfway.

“Bryce.”

“Hello, Jack. Figured you’d be here licking your wounds in private. Would you like to talk?”

Jack studied his cousin and relied on his gut instinct. Something else was going on, and he needed to find out what. His cousin had discovered his secret, focused on Julianna, and gotten her to agree to marriage. All to spite him? Or to beat him in the rush to claim the company?

“Come aboard. Drink?”

“Guinness, please. Thanks.”

They settled on the deck with their stout and pretended civility. Both of them were masters at the game from years of experience. Jack took a swig. “What do you want?”

Bryce threw his head back and laughed. “I have everything I want. I’m in the perfect position. I’m going to marry Julianna and inherit the company. Your time is up, and you’re no closer to finding your wife. The company will default to me immediately.”

Jack studied his cousin’s perfect profile and called his bluff. “No, it won’t. I’m sailing back to England and announcing my engagement.”

The other man’s lips tightened. “To whom?”

“Rachelle. The woman my mother had her hopes pinned on. So, you lose. Now you’re stuck with someone you don’t even love.”

Darkness stole over his features. Jack watched the tendril of loathing writhe from gun-metal eyes. “If I lose in this, Jack, I’ll make sure she pays.”

Jack didn’t move a muscle. “What are you talking about?”

Bryce relaxed again, assured he was back in control. “I’ll make sure she’s miserable. I’ll hurt her, Jack. Quietly, of course, but enough so she knows to be afraid of me.”

The breath whooshed out of him like he’d been clubbed. “If you hurt her, I’ll kill you.”

Bryce waved off the quietly spoken threat. “You won’t be able to stop me. There are delicate ways of torturing women. You remember my handiwork in the old days, don’t you, cousin? Of course, you were always a bit squeamish. I’ll start our honeymoon off by forcing her to tell me everything you’ve done together. Then I’ll do it to her and make sure she likes it better.”

Jack lunged for him but his cousin had already jumped out of his chair in anticipation of the move. “Calm down, I’m only kidding. Still, if you allow me to win this round gracefully, I’ll let her go. I have a long line of women in England I can marry in a heartbeat. You can be with Julianna and be second in command. We can run the company together like I’ve always wanted. Think, Jack. We can actually have it all if you’ll just think the whole thing through.”

“I’ll tell her the truth. She’ll never marry you.”

“We’re getting married on Friday.” Bryce clucked in mock sympathy. “You lied to her. I didn’t. I told her about my worthless cousin who sails in his free time and refuses to run the company. I told her why I want to marry, where I come from, and my real name. You just look like a scam artist. She’ll never believe you now.”

“I’ll make her believe me.”

Bryce grinned. “You had your chance.” His voice dropped to a whine. “Choose me, Julianna. Please.” His cousin laughed out loud. “I knew she’d choose the money over you. I waited for you to confess you had the money and the game would have changed. But you kept quiet, and she betrayed you. You were always blind when it came to women. Still, you have a soft spot for her which will be quite useful to me.”

Jack clenched his fists. “You bugged her room, didn’t you? You fucking bastard. You were listening to us all along.”

He raised a mocking brow. “Of course, how else was I to figure out the rules of the game?”

Jack shook off the rage and clawed for control. He needed to buy time. Time to figure a way out of this mess and save everyone. “Get off my boat. I’ll think about it.”

Bryce walked off the boat. “I’ll wait for your decision. Always nice talking with you.”

Jack grabbed for a shred of control to keep from beating the crap out of him. He promised vengeance later. His cousin would pay, but now he had precious time to come up with a plan.

He realized it was time for answers. And serious help.

Jack picked up his phone and dialed his mother.

Julianna sat on the soft grass and studied the graceful lines of the rock wall in her backyard. The job looked flawless. Heavy cut, colored stones climbed upward and set off a trickling waterfall. The rush of cool water spurted from the wall and trickled down into a clear glassy pool. Moss floated on the surface, and the sound of crickets and croaking frogs drowned out the voices in her head. She curled her bare toes into the damp soil and wondered again if she had made the biggest mistake of her life.

She never planned to fall in love with a gardener. He had stated his intention to take care of her, and Julianna could only imagine how she had stomped on his pride by saying it wasn’t enough. How could she ask Jack to sacrifice all of his money to save something he didn’t care about? And it could never be enough. A few thousand wouldn’t plug one hole in the overwhelmed financial dam. She couldn’t drag him down with her for a promise she’d made.

The future was reasonably certain with Bryce. He knew the truth about the money needed to save the Cliff House and had no problem with it. He needed to marry in order to inherit his family company, so they helped each other. She’d live in England the bulk of the time, and a few months at her family home.

Bryce wanted children and a family. She was good at appearances. She could be a proper companion and keep the family name pure. Everything she’d been training for from her past.

She’d have to give up teaching, another compromise to be swallowed. But at least she’d be safe. In another house, in another country, but the Cliff House would stay in her family. She’d have kept her promise. After all, what else could she do?

Her body ached for Jack. His image flickered behind her closed eyelids at all hours of the night, his fierce urging for her to choose him. What would it feel like to be a woman who followed her heart? Who threw caution and promises to the wind and went after what she wanted?

She’d never know.

Her future was set. At least, her husband was someone she may grow to love. In time. She needed to focus on the goal, because if her gaze strayed from the path, she’d jump over the stone wall and race right down to the marina and ask her lover to take her away.

Julianna closed her eyes and prayed for strength.