Chapter Two

Hazel's POV

I’d just reached the clinic entrance when Callie called after me again.

“Hazel, you really don’t mind him coming with me?”

I turned around. “If you’re still hurting tonight, have him stay over. He’s nice and warm to sleep next to.”

She tugged at the cuff of his coat, her face slowly turning red.

Julian motioned for the men by the door to step outside. He waited until only the three of us were left in the hallway before he spoke.

“I didn’t call before I left for Palermo. That was two weeks ago. Are you still mad about it?”

At least he remembered how long it had been.

It had been his birthday. I’d stayed late at the shipping company three nights in a row, checking the quarterly accounts so I could have that evening free. After work, I’d made it to the jewelry store just before closing to pick up the cuff links I’d had made for him.

I cooked two steaks. Mine went cold. His was still in the pan.

Just before midnight, Callie posted a photo from an airport tarmac.

Her hair was windswept, and she was laughing as she ducked behind a man. Only part of his shoulder was in the picture, but I recognized the shirt immediately. I’d straightened his collar before he left that morning.

When he answered my call, somehow the first thing I asked was, “Have you eaten?”

“On the plane. Why are you still up?”

I looked at the empty chair across from me. “You’re going to Sicily, and you couldn’t even tell me not to wait for you tonight?”

“They finally agreed to sit down and talk about the docks. I had to get over here while I had the chance. We’ll celebrate my birthday when I get back. Just pick a night.”

“Julian, why am I always the one who has to reschedule?”

Someone called his name. He answered them before remembering I was still on the line.

“When I’m back in Philly, we can talk as long as you want. Get some sleep.”

The next day, I signed the offer letter from the Locke Group in Seattle and placed my resignation letter on the general manager’s desk.

He was the family’s second-in-command and had run the docks for the Vaughns for over a decade. He read the date on the letter, then glanced at my engagement ring.

“If I accept this, you’ll be on the payroll in Seattle next month. Want to call the Don first?”

“Go ahead and accept it. I’ve already told them yes.”

Back when I was deciding whether to join the shipping company, I’d taken my acceptance letter for a master’s program to Julian. He was waiting for the family’s adviser to come brief him. He hadn’t even opened the envelope.

“You’ll be the one doing the coursework or staying here to balance the books. It’s your choice.”

I’d thought he respected my decisions.

But when Callie applied to college, he’d contacted every school she was interested in. When her acceptance letter was two days late, he’d personally called the school. He’d been more invested than her own father.

Her father had taken the fall for the old Don. Before he died, Julian’s father had asked him to look after her, and Julian had agreed. I’d never asked him to break that promise.

But some of the things Julian did for her probably went beyond anything his father had asked of him.

If Callie got out of class and decided she wanted cream puffs, Julian would buy them and deliver them himself. If I was rushing to work and asked for a ride to the corner, he’d say he didn’t have time without even checking his watch.

Then there were the Sunday dinners at the family home. So many times, I’d asked him which dress I should wear. The dresses always ended up back in the closet, unworn.

He said the family bosses talked business all evening and told me to make plans with my own friends.

But the first time Callie went, he introduced her to everyone at the table. When she got home, she could even tell me who didn’t drink.

All I asked was, “So you can bring someone?”

He was loosening his tie when he gave me a mildly amused look.

“She’s young, and she just moved back to Philly. Someone has to introduce her around. You’re wearing my father’s ring, and you’re going to compete with a kid over one dinner?”

She was twenty-two. I was twenty-five. The way he talked, I was supposed to help him look after her.

After our wedding invitations went out, Callie’s father had a heart attack in prison. Julian told me to call every guest and let them know we were postponing the wedding.

When someone asked for the new date, I covered the mouthpiece and looked at him.

“We’ll set a date when her father’s doing better.”

After that, whenever anyone asked, I said we hadn’t set one. I never asked Julian again.

As I left the clinic, he was still waiting for an answer about Palermo. I just said, “Go take care of your business,” and called a car to take me home.

I’d have surgery tomorrow, spend one more night here, then head to the airport. As long as he didn’t know about the baby, I could leave.

My friend Josie called just as I got home.

“I got the time off. I’ll be in Philly tonight. Tomorrow, I’ll be the first person you see when you come out of surgery.”

I could hear a boarding announcement in the background. I couldn’t help smiling.

“Your own wedding’s coming up, and you still have time to come look after my knee?”

“And my little eight-week-old wedding guest.”

Her voice softened. “How were you going to tell him? Let him open his birthday present, then show him the test results?”

I reached into my bag and touched the folded sheet of paper. I’d rehearsed what I would say several times that night. Now it hurt even to say it to Josie.

She didn’t press. “Just so you know, I’m going straight to bed when I get there. You got a bed ready for me?”

“Already made up. You said the guest room pillows were too firm last time, so I made sure to get you…”

I pushed open the guest room door, and the rest of the sentence caught in my throat.