As soon as Carly and Nicky entered the hospital, she wrenched herself free of his grasp and scrambled for the chair Nicky had vacated, rushing to get her point across before he could raise a hand to stop her. “First things first, this is a marriage in name only.” She wrapped her arms around her as a cool breeze blew through the courtyard. Her body instantly missed the warm heat of Will’s, and she shivered involuntarily. “There’ll be no touching like that again.”
Will’s mouth tightened into a straight line before he spoke. “True that, Princess. From now on, even the Heimlich maneuver is off-limits. Like I said before, my only interest in this relationship is one with my son.”
His words were a vicious reality check. Julianne tried to get a handle on the roller coaster of emotions she felt about Will. One minute she hated him. The next, her body was shuddering over the loss of contact with his. She needed to keep her wits about her. To set up barriers to ensure she survived any and all close encounters with him.
“I’m not doing your laundry or cooking your food. I’ll take care of Owen and myself. You can spend as much time with him as you want, but I’m not pretending we’re one big happy family.”
She thought she heard him grind his teeth. “I don’t care what happens inside the house, but when we are out in the town, no one knows this is a sham.”
“Oh, come on! They’ll all know it’s a sham when Owen and I pop up out of nowhere.”
“I don’t care! My son will not go through what I did as a child living in that town!”
Julianne felt a moment of fear. Where was he taking them? What would Owen be exposed to?
She felt a measure of distress, too, for the man sitting next to her. He’d obviously had a tough childhood growing up without a father. One that left scars. She didn’t want that for her son. Maybe he was right to want her to pretend. But marriage?
Sighing, she rested her head in her hand. “Will, this is crazy. I know you’re angry with me for . . . lots of things.” It wasn’t hard to admit she was guilty on so many levels. And she empathized with his desire for Owen to live a respectable life, but she suspected her calling out Nicky’s name while they were making love was the trigger for this unorthodox marriage proposal. “But a marriage just doesn’t make any sense.”
He arched an eyebrow at her. “Actually, it makes perfect sense. It’s the only scenario that gives Owen exactly what he needs.” His tone turned lethal. “Unless you and the priest had other plans? Shall I call him back out here to discuss it?”
Julianne lunged from the bench to grab at Will as he started to rise. “Absolutely not!” She couldn’t let Nicky ever know what she’d done. It was mortifying enough that Will knew.
His next words were ruthless. “I’m taking Owen to North Carolina as soon as he’s able. If you want to come with us, you’ll come as my wife. The other option is you get back on the bus to crazy town and wait for a custody battle that will air all your dirty laundry.”
Julianne’s whole body trembled. She’d brought this mess on herself with her behavior and lies. If Will’s intent was to punish her, he’d hit the bull’s-eye.
But Owen was hers and she wouldn’t give him up no matter how hard Will bullied her. He’d said it was only three months until the season started. By then, Owen would be completely recovered, and that was all that was important. She could do anything for the sake of her son. Even spend a few months married to a Neanderthal.
“For crying out loud, we don’t know anything about one another,” she whispered.
“So do a Google search on me.” He stood up, towering over her. She couldn’t see his face with the sun shining behind his head, but she felt the derision rolling off him landing like heavy rain in her lap. “Roscoe can draw up a prenup and send it over tonight. We can have a civil ceremony as soon as I get a license. I’ll make the arrangements. Don’t bother with one of your gowns, though. This isn’t going to be a party.”
Later that evening, Julianne sat on the hard sofa in the waiting area, her bare feet tucked beneath her. Sebastian, Nicky, and Stephen were seated around the table, debating the prenup forms Will had sent over. His lawyers had worked quickly. Still, they’d have to wait forty-eight hours for a marriage license, even with her brother pulling strings.
“It’s a pretty straightforward agreement,” Sebastian explained to her brother. “When they dissolve the marriage, both leave with the monies they came in with. Until then, Will provides for Owen’s everyday care while Julianne provides for her own expenses. He’s establishing a trust for Owen for his education and so forth. As prenups go, it’s really standard.”
“I really don’t like the way you keep saying when they dissolve their marriage. You’re dooming it to failure before it even begins.” Nicky had been singing the same tune all day.
Sebastian refrained from commenting. Like Carly, he’d never been a big fan of Nicky. Besides, they all knew the marriage was a farce and destined to end in divorce. She and Will just hadn’t gotten around to discussing that part of their ridiculous plan.
“I really don’t like the way no one told me she’d sold the company.” Stephen had not taken that news very well.
“It is . . . was . . . my company. I didn’t need your approval to sell it.” Julianne was getting tired of this whole discussion.
Stephen turned in his chair to face her directly. “Julianne, after you pay everyone off, you won’t have that much left to live on. A couple of years, tops. Then what are you going to do?”
“I’ll worry about that later. Right now, I just need to take care of Owen.”
“That’s my point! Seriously, Julianne, you have such a Scarlett O’Hara complex.” Stephen pinched the bridge of his nose. “Will’s agreed to take care of Owen, but how are you planning to take care of yourself if you don’t have any money? Are you willing to start another design business from scratch?”
Julianne doubted she would design again at all, since she hadn’t been able to sketch anything worth producing in nearly a year. If she told Stephen that, he’d have a coronary. “I have Mom’s paintings. I could sell them if I needed to.”
Stephen’s face grew redder, if that were possible. “Your mom’s paintings? Are you kidding me?”
She never understood Stephen’s attitude about her mother’s art creations. “Nicky and I think they could sell for quite a lot.”
“You and Nicky? You two are the only ones who’d buy them!” Her brother’s voice was so loud, she was surprised security hadn’t come to investigate.
“Daria’s oil paintings are fantastic and incredibly unique. A knowledgeable collector might pay a great deal for them.” Finally, Nicky said something that made sense.
Stephen directed a frosty look at the priest. “You would say that.” He turned back to Sebastian. “As long as Owen is taken care of under this agreement, you can let her sign it. My sister is going to do what she wants. She always has.” He stood to leave.
“As long as your nephew becomes legitimate, you mean!” She and Stephen had never been close, but his contempt was more than she could emotionally handle tonight. “Heaven forbid my life interferes with your campaign!”
“For God’s sake, Julianne!” Stephen’s rant had Nicky clearing his throat. “This isn’t about me. It’s never about me. You’re my sister and I want to see you protected. Taken care of. Except you won’t let anybody do that for you. You make it impossible. I only hope Will Connelly knows what he’s getting himself into.” He pushed out a heavy breath before he leaned down to kiss her on the forehead. “Are you coming back to the town house tonight? Faith and the kids are there. They wanted to be here for your wedding.”