I Do...: Her Accidental Engagement / A Bride's Tangled Vows

“Perfect,” her mother said then asked the young woman, “They’ve done a temperament test?”

She nodded. “He’s a big sweetie.” The walkie-talkie clipped to her belt hissed. “I’ll finish the paperwork with Julia as the foster.” When Vera nodded, the woman smiled and walked out of the office.

“It’s settled.” Julia was going to make sure this dog found the perfect home. She straightened. “Charlie will be thrilled.”

She turned to her mother. “I need to get Charlie from Ethan and drop him to the sitter before heading to the salon.”

“I’ll take him today,” her mother said, in the same no-argument tone she’d used earlier.

“Really? I’m sure your schedule is packed after your trip.”

“I’d love to.”

Julia gave her mother a quick hug. “Thank you.” She turned to Lainey. “Both of you. It helps to know I’m not alone.”

“You never have been,” Vera told her.

“And never will be,” Lainey added.

* * *

As she gave Charlie a bath later that night, Julia had to admit Sam had been right. Talking about the situation with Lainey and her mother had made her feel more hopeful. She might have flitted from job to job and through a number of cities during her twenties, but now she’d settled in Brevia. She was close to the point where she could make an offer to buy the salon, assuming this custody battle didn’t wipe out her meager savings.

She wrapped Charlie in a fluffy towel, put on a fresh diaper and his pajamas, Casper at her side the whole time. She didn’t mind the company. She’d taken him for a walk with Charlie in the stroller earlier, after the dog had spent the day with her in the salon.

A few of the clients had been shocked at his wide grin, but his affectionate nature had quickly won them over. It also made Julia feel more confident about his chances for adoption.

When the doorbell rang, Casper ran for it and began a steady bark. Carrying Charlie with her, she put a leash on the dog. A part of her hoped Sam was making another unexpected evening call.

Instead, Jeff Johnson stood on the other side of the door. Casper lunged for him but Julia held tight to the leash. She stumbled forward when the shock of seeing her ex-boyfriend combined with the dog’s strength threw her off balance.

“Watch it,” Jeff snapped as he righted her.

Casper smiled.

“What the...? Is that thing dangerous?” Jeff stepped back. “He looks rabid. You shouldn’t have it near the baby. Are you crazy?”

“Casper, sit.” Julia gave the command as she straightened. The dog sat, the skin around his mouth quivering. “Be careful, or I may give the attack command.” She made her voice flip despite the flood of emotions roaring through her.

For a satisfying moment, Jeff looked as if he might make a run for it. Then his own lip curled. “Very funny.”

“Good doggy.” Charlie pointed at the canine.

“He talks,” Jeff said, surprise clear.

“He does a lot of things,” Julia answered, her eyes narrowed. “Not that you’d know or care since you beat a fast escape as soon as you found out I was pregnant.”

Jeff flashed his most disarming smile, a little sheepish with his big chocolate eyes warm behind his square glasses. That exact smile had initially charmed her when he’d come in for a haircut at the salon where she’d worked in Columbus, Ohio.

For several months dating Jeff had been magical for her. He’d taken her to the theater and ballet, using his family’s tickets. They’d gone to poetry readings and talks by famous authors on campus. Some of what she heard was difficult to process, and in a moment of vulnerability, she’d told Jeff about the extent of her learning disabilities. He’d been sympathetic and supportive, taking time over long evenings to read articles and stories to her, discussing them as if her opinion mattered. It was the first time in her life Julia felt valued for her intelligence, and she became committed to making their relationship work at any cost.

Soon she realized what a fool she’d been to think a well-respected professor would be truly interested in someone like her. It was clear that Jeff liked how his friends reacted when he’d shown up at dinner parties with a leggy blonde on his arm. He’d also gotten a lot of use out of the way she’d bent over backward cooking and cleaning to his exacting standards when she’d moved in with him. If she couldn’t be on his level intellectually, she’d fulfill the other roles of a doting girlfriend. She’d wanted to believe that a baby would make him see how good their life together could be. She’d been dead wrong. Once she wasn’t useful to him, he’d thrown her off like yesterday’s news.

“Come on, Julia,” he said softly, his grin holding steady. “Don’t act like you aren’t glad to see me.” She’d been fooled by that smile once and wasn’t going to make the same mistake again.

She flashed a smile of her own. “I don’t see anyone throwing a ticker-tape parade. You can turn right around. I’ve got no use for you here.”

“I’m here to see my son,” Jeff said, as any trace of charm vanished.

Charlie met his biological father’s gaze then buried his face in Julia’s shoulder, suddenly shy.

“Why now, Jeff?” She rubbed a hand against Charlie’s back when he began to fidget. “Why all of this now?”

He sighed. “The custody request, you mean.”

Jeff’s IQ was in the genius range, but sometimes he could be purposefully obtuse. “Of course the custody request. Do you know the hell you and your parents have put me through? We’ve barely scratched the surface.”

“Invite me in, Jules,” he said, coaxing, “and we can talk about it. I have an offer that may make this whole mess go away.”

It had felt different when Sam stood at her door waiting to be invited through. Her stomach had danced with awareness and her only doubt had been worrying about her heart’s exhilarated reaction to him. Still, Julia relented. If she had a chance to make this better, she couldn’t refuse it.

Jeff stepped into her apartment but froze when Casper greeted him by sticking his snout into Jeff’s crotch. “Get away, you stupid mutt.” Jeff kicked out his foot, hitting Casper in the ribs. The dog growled.

“Casper, no.” She pulled him back to her side with the leash then leveled a look at Jeff. “Don’t kick my dog.”

“It was going for my balls. What do you expect?”

“I wouldn’t worry too much. As I remember, your mother keeps them on her mantel.”

Jeff gave a humorless laugh. “Always one for the quick retort. I miss that about you.”

“Good doggy. Charlie doggy.” The boy wiggled in her arms and Julia put him on the floor. His chubby finger pulled the leash from her hand and he led the dog toward the kitchen. “Doggy nice.” Casper followed willingly.

“You trust that beast with him?”

“More than I trust you.” Julia folded her arms across her chest. “For the record, there’s nothing I miss about you.”

Jeff’s eyes narrowed. “He’s still my son. Whether you like it or not, I deserve to be a part of his life. There’s no judge in the world who will deny me access.”

“I never wanted to deny you access. I called you after he was born, emailed pictures and never heard one word back. You haven’t answered my question. Why now?”

His gaze shifted to the floor. “Change of heart.”

“You need a heart for it to change. You made it clear you never wanted to be a dad. What’s the real story?” Before he could answer, Charlie led the dog back into the family room. He pulled a blanket off the couch and spread it on the floor. “Mama, doggy bed.” She smiled as her son took a board book from the coffee table and sat on the blanket with Casper, making up words to an imaginary story.

Her gaze caught on Jeff, who yawned and looked around her apartment, obvious distaste written on his face for the kid-friendly decorating style. He didn’t pay a bit of attention to his son. Since she’d opened the door, he’d barely looked at Charlie. It was the first time he’d laid eyes on his own flesh and blood. She realized he couldn’t care less.

Unable to resist testing her theory, she said, “He’s about to go to sleep. Do you want to read him a story? He loves books.”

Jeff held up his palms as if she’d offered him a venomous snake. “No, thanks.”

“I’ve got paperwork that says you want joint custody of my son. You act like you’d rather be dipped in boiling oil than have any interaction with him.”

“I told you. I’ve got a proposition for you.”

“What?”

“Marry me.”

Julia stared at him, disbelief coursing through her. He couldn’t have shocked her more if he’d offered her a million bucks. “Is that a joke? It’s sick and wrong, but it must be a joke.”

“I’m serious, Jules. You’re right—I have no interest in being a father in any sense of the word. Ever. In fact—” he paused and ran his fingers through his hair “—I got a vasectomy.”

“Excuse me?”

“After you, I was determined no woman would try to trap me again.”

“It takes two. I’m sorry, Jeff, that I ever believed we could be a family. I know how wrong I was. But I don’t understand why you’ve changed your mind now?”

“Are you kidding? I love my life. I’ve been on two research expeditions in the past year. I make my own schedule and can teach whatever classes I want. Why would I want to be tied down to a woman or a baby?”

“Then why are you suddenly proposing? Why the custody suit?”

Jeff had the grace to look embarrassed. “My parents found out about my surgery. It made them interested in our kid. You know I’m an only child. They expected me to marry and ‘carry on the family line.’” He rolled his eyes. “Whatever. But my dad’s company is a big funder of my grants. If he wants a grandchild, I need to give him one.”

Julia’s gaze strayed to Charlie, who was snuggled against Casper’s back, sucking on his thumb. His eyes drifted closed. She felt a wave of nausea roll through her. “You need to give him one? And you think you’re going to give him mine?”

Jeff shrugged. “Technically, he’s ours. When my parents want something, they don’t stop until they get it.”

“How is anything you’re saying good news for me? Why don’t you get the hell out of my house and out of my son’s life?”

“Not going to happen.”

“When the judge finds out your plan...”

“No one is going to find out. I’m the father. You can’t keep him from me.”

“I want to keep him safe and protected.”

“That’s why you should marry me. Oh, I heard all about your engagement to the cop. He’s not for you. I know you. You want someone who’s going to make you look smart.”

Julia sucked in a breath. “You have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Does he know about your problem?”

When she didn’t answer, Jeff smiled. “I thought so. I’m guessing you don’t want him to. It hasn’t come up in the court proceedings, either, but that can change. Here’s my proposal. Marry me, move to Ohio. My parents’ property is huge. They have a guesthouse where you can live with the boy. All of your expenses will be covered.”

“Why would I agree to that, and what does it have to do with us being married?”

“A marriage will seem more legit to my parents’ precious social circle. They’ll get off my back with someone to shape and mold into their own image.”

“Like they did you?”

“My parents are proud of me.”

“I thought your father wanted you to give up the university and take over his business.”

“Not going to happen.”

“Instead, Charlie and I should spend our lives at their beck and call?”

“They’ll keep fighting until they take him away from you. We all will.”

Her temper about to blow, Julia yanked open the front door. “Get out, Jeff.”

“On second thought, maybe I should read the kid a story. Get to know him before he comes to live with us.”

“Get out!”

Jeff must have read something in her eyes that told him she would die before she let him touch her son tonight. He hesitated then turned for the door.

She slammed it behind him. The noise startled the dog and woke Charlie, who began to cry. She rushed over and cradled him in her arms.

“It’s okay, sweetie. Mama’s here.” Tears streamed down her face as she hugged Charlie close. “No one’s going to take you away from me. No one.” She made the promise as much to herself as to him, wanting to believe the words were true.

Chapter Eight

Julia stepped into the afternoon light and put on her sunglasses, more to hide the unshed tears welling in her eyes than for sun protection.

Frank Davis, her attorney, took her elbow to guide her down the steps of the county courthouse. They’d spent the past two hours in a heated session with Jeff, his parents and their lawyer. She couldn’t believe how much information they’d dug up, from the details of her finances, including the business loan that had yet to be approved, to her credit history. Thanks to a loser boyfriend who’d stolen her bank-account information, her credit was spotty, at best.

They knew all of the dead-end jobs she’d had over the years, including those she’d been fired from or quit without notice, and had a detailed record of her habit of moving from city to city for short periods of time.

They’d brought in statements from one of her ex-boyfriends and a former employer stating she was flighty and irresponsible. Her old boss even said that she’d threatened to set fire to her hair salon. No one mentioned the woman had skimmed Julia’s paycheck without her knowledge for over nine months after she’d discovered Julia’s learning disabilities. Torching the place had been an idle threat, of course, but it hadn’t sounded that way today.

“They made me seem crazy,” she muttered.

Frank clucked softly. “It’s all right, darlin’. A lot of mamas in the South are a bit touched. No one around here’s gonna hold that against you.” He checked his watch. “I got a tee time with some of the boys at one. Give me a call tomorrow and we’ll plan our next move.” He leaned in and planted a fatherly kiss on her cheek, then moved toward his vintage Cadillac parked at the curb.

Frank had known her since she’d been in diapers. He’d been one of her father’s fraternity brothers in college. Not for the first time, she questioned the wisdom of hiring him to represent her. It was no secret Frank was close to retirement, and from what Julia could tell, he spent more time on the golf course and fishing with his friends than in his office or working on cases.

Lexi Preston might look like a pussycat, but she was an absolute shark. From her guilty expression every time they made eye contact, Julia knew Lexi was the one who’d researched her so thoroughly. Julia would have admired her skills if they hadn’t been directed at her.

She glanced toward the courthouse entrance. Jeff and his parents could come out at any minute and she didn’t want them to see her alone and on the verge of a breakdown. She wished now that she’d let her mother or Lainey come with her today.

She turned to make her way to her car and came face-to-face with Sam.

“Hey,” he said softly and drew the sunglasses off her nose, his eyes studying hers as if he could read what she was thinking. “How did things go today?”

“I told you not to come,” she said on a shaky breath.

“I don’t take direction well.” He folded her glasses and pulled her into a tight embrace. “It’s okay, honey. Whatever happened, we can make it better.”

She tried to pull away but he didn’t let her go. After a moment, she sagged against him, burying her face in the fabric of his uniform shirt.

As his palm drew circles on her back, her tears flowed freely. She gulped in ragged breaths. “So awful,” she said around sobs. “They made me seem so awful.”

“I don’t believe that,” he said against her ear. “Anyone who knows you knows you’re a fantastic mother.”

“What if they take him from me?”

“We’re not going to let that happen. Not a snowball’s chance.”

Julia wiped her eyes. “They’re going to come out any minute. Jeff can’t see me like this.”

“My truck’s right here.” Sam looped one arm around her shoulders, leading her away from the courthouse steps. He opened the passenger door of his truck then came around and climbed in himself. He started the engine but didn’t make a move to drive off.

Julia kept her face covered with her hands and worked to control her breathing.

“Is that him?” Sam asked after a minute.

Julia peeked through her fingers as Jeff, his parents and the attorney walked out of the courthouse. Shading his eyes with one hand, Jeff scanned the area.

“He’s looking for me so he can gloat.” Julia sank down lower in the seat. “Jerk,” she mumbled.

The group came down the steps.

“They’re heading right for us.”

“Sit up,” Sam ordered, and she immediately straightened. “Smile and lean over to kiss me when they come by.”

The urge to duck was huge, but Julia made her mouth turn up at the ends. “Here goes,” she whispered as Jeff led the group closer, his father clapping him hard on the back. She waited until he noticed her through the windshield then leaned over and cupped Sam’s jaw between her hands. She gave him a gentle kiss and pressed her forehead against his.

“That a girl,” he told her. “Don’t give him the satisfaction of seeing you upset.”

“I can do this,” she said, and Sam kissed her again.

“They’ve passed.”

Julia stayed pressed against him for another moment before moving away. She leaned against the seat back in order to see out the side-view mirror. Jeff and his parents headed away, but Lexi trailed behind the group, looking over her shoulder every few steps.

“This isn’t going to work.”

“Yes, it is.”

She shook her head. “I told you before, I made a lot of stupid decisions in my life. It’s like they’ve uncovered every single one of them to use against me.”

“Did you kill someone?”

Her head whipped toward him. “Of course not.”

“Armed robbery?”

“No.”

“Do you know how many people I meet in the course of my job who do bad things every day? Their kids are rarely taken away.”

“Maybe they should be,” she suggested, too unsettled to be comforted. “Maybe if they had people with buckets of money and tons of power going after them, they’d lose their babies.”

He wrapped his fingers around hers. “You aren’t going to lose Charlie. Stop thinking like that.”

“You don’t know, Sam. You weren’t in that room.”

“A mistake I don’t intend to repeat. I should have been there with you. For you.”

The tenderness in his voice touched a place deep within her: an intimate, open well of emotion she’d locked the lid to many years ago. She wanted to believe in him, to trust that he could protect her the way she’d never been willing to protect herself or even believed she deserved. The part of her who’d been hurt too many times in the past wanted to run.

She excelled at running away. She’d practically perfected it as an art.

That was what she’d been thinking in the courthouse. People disappeared all the time with no trace. She’d wanted to slip out of that room, gather up Charlie and whatever would fit in her trunk and drive away from the threat looming over her. She could cut hair anywhere. Why not start over in a place where no one knew her or her insecurities or all the ways she didn’t measure up? She had friends around the country who’d help her if she asked.

The weight of trying to make a new life in a place that was as familiar to her as a worn blanket seemed too heavy. Of course trouble had followed her to Brevia. This was where it had started in the first place.

Sam’s faith had made her feel as though things could work out, the same way Charlie’s birth had renewed her hope in herself and her desire to really try.

What was the use? This morning was a cold, harsh dose of reality and she didn’t like it.

“Stop it,” he said quietly. “Whatever’s going through your mind right now, put it out. It’s not going to do you or Charlie any good for you to give up.”

Because she couldn’t help it, she met his gaze again. “I’m scared, Sam.” A miserable groan escaped her lips. “I’m terrified they’re going to take my baby and I won’t be able to stop them.”

“We’re going to stop them.” He took her hand. “What did Frank say?”

“That all Southern women were crazy, so it wouldn’t be an issue, and he needed to make his tee time and we’d talk tomorrow.”

“Tell me what happened in there.”

“I can’t.” She bit her lip again and tasted blood on her tongue. “I put my mistakes behind me. Or I thought I did. Their attorney knew things about my past I hadn’t even told Jeff. They went after my character and I had nothing to offer in my defense. Nothing as bad as me killing someone, although the urge to wipe the smug smile off of Maria Johnson’s face was almost overwhelming. They made me seem unstable and irresponsible. Two things I can’t afford if I’m going to keep sole custody of Charlie.”

“Then we’ll come up with something.”

“This isn’t your problem, Sam.”

“Hell, yes, it’s my problem. You’re my fiancée.”

The lunacy of that statement actually made her laugh. “Your fake fiancée. Not the same thing.”

“For the purposes of your custody case it is. You’re not alone, Julia. We both get something out of this arrangement. My dad has talked about heading back home before the wedding. That’s huge for me. Dinner was a big success. It’s my turn to repay you.”

Sam knew there was more to his interest in her case than wanting to repay her. Yes, his dad had backed off, but it was more than that. Sam cared about Julia and Charlie, about keeping them safe. No one should be able to make her feel this bad about herself. He also knew it was dangerous territory for him. He’d let his heart lead him before, with disastrous results.

His father might be the king of emotional diarrhea these days, but Sam remembered clearly the months after his mother’s death. He’d fixed lunches for his little brother, made sure they both had baths at night and taken money out of his dad’s wallet to buy groceries on his way home from school. He’d walked a mile out of his way once a week so no one at the local grocery would recognize him and be concerned. When he wasn’t at work, his father had sat in the darkened living room, paging through photo albums, a glass of amber-colored liquid in his hand.

That was what loving someone too much could do to a man. Sam had learned early on he wasn’t going to make that mistake. When he’d caught his brother, Scott, with his ex-fiancée, he’d been angry and embarrassed, but mainly numb.

When he’d broken off the engagement, Jenny had told him the entire situation was his fault. He’d been too cold and distant. She wanted to be with a man who could feel passion. She’d thought seeing her with someone else would awaken Sam’s passion. Talk about crazy, and she wasn’t even Southern.

He’d known he didn’t have any more to give her or any woman. Even though his pattern of dating hadn’t been deliberate, the look a woman sometimes got in her eye after a couple of dates scared him. The look said “I want something more.” She wanted to talk about her feelings. Sam felt sick thinking about it.

As far as he was concerned, a pretend engagement suited him fine. He cared about Julia and he wanted to help her, but their arrangement was clear. He didn’t have to give more of himself than he was able to, and she wasn’t going to expect anything else.

“Jeff asked me to marry him,” she said, breaking his reverie.

“During the mediation?” he asked, sure he must have heard her wrong.

She shook her head. “Last night. He came to my apartment.”

Sam felt his blood pressure skyrocket. “You let him in? What were you thinking?” Especially since Sam had practically had to hold himself back from making the short drive to her apartment. He’d had a long day at work, and as he was pulling into his driveway, he’d realized how much he didn’t want to be alone in his quiet house. He’d resisted the urge, telling himself that he shouldn’t get too attached to Julia or her son. They had boundaries and he was a stickler for the rules. Now to find out that her creep of an ex-boyfriend had been there?