Page 49 of Old Money

JULIAN

She makes even the craziest of days feel calmer. I’ve put out three different fires from my phone this morning all while she’s curled up, snoring on my other arm. I love when she snores. She doesn’t do it all the time, but I like to watch her while she does it. I love how deep of a sleep she’s in. How her whole body is relaxed. She knows, even in her sleep, that she’s as safe as she could be.

What I wouldn’t give to stay like this. To keep her all to myself. To show her things she’s never seen before. To take care of all her worries. For her to never know fear again. I met her in fear. And I want to be the one to take it all away.

But in just a few hours, the real test will take place. Not of whether or not my family likes her; I truly couldn’t care less what they think of her. In fact, in some ways, it would be easier if they didn’t like her. It would give me a reason to keep her away. But it’ll be the test of whether or not she really wants this life.

A few minutes later, she bats her long lashes a few times and stretches, and I lean over to kiss her as the blinds lift, letting the sunlight and city in.

“Good morning, pretty girl,” I whisper. She smiles against my lips, wrapping her arms around my neck and nestling into me.

“Good morning,” she says. She rubs her eyes and blinks a few times. “Do you not want kids?”

I choke out a surprised laughed. She forgets nothing and wastes almost no time getting the answers she’s looking for.

“I was wondering how long it would take before that came up, but I guess I have my answer.”

She shrugs.

“You knew I wouldn’t just let that go,” she says. I chuckle again as I kiss her forehead.

“Yes, I sure did,” I say. “I’d love to have kids one day.”

“But you’re all sewn up,” she says.

“It’s reversible,” I say. “I did it for protection more than anything else. Both for me, but also for my future children. I made a promise to myself at a young age that I’d never put a kid through what my brothers and I went through. I had to be absolutely sure that it was the right person I was making them with. That I could show them what love is.”

She just stares at me, wide-eyed. Then she nods, seemingly satisfied with that response.

“Are you ready for today?” I whisper against her. She nods.

“I was born ready, baby,” she says. I smile. And I know she’s right. I’m pretty sure there’s nothing she can’t handle.

A few hours later,we’re packed and in the Escalade, and Russ is headed in the direction of Bedell House. She’s still, but I can feel her nervous energy radiating through the car. I reach over and put my hand on hers, holding onto it tight—the same way I did that very first day she got into this car. I didn’t know her then. Or at least, I thought I didn’t. Some part of me did, though. Some part of me knew that I needed to get her out. I needed to save her the way she saved me. And now I know why. Because there is no life without her.

She looks down at our interlocked fingers, and a faint smile creeps onto her lips as she turns to me. There they are. Those big green eyes that suck me in and turn me into a complete puddle. I lift her hand to my lips and press a soft kiss to her knuckles. I don’t have to say anything. She knows what I’m thinking.

That it’s all going to be okay. That I’m right here.

A little while later,we’re pulling up to the gate, Russ is scanning his hand, and we’re pulling up the mile-long driveway onto the property. Russ pulls around to the front door, and the doormen greet us, shaking hands with Russ and grabbing all of our stuff from the back.

“Just to your suite, Mr. Julian?” an old man with wispy white hair asks. I clap his back.

“That would be great. Thank you, Thomas,” I say. “Always great to see you.” Thomas smiles and nods as he walks off with our things, another one of the younger doormen in tow. “Thomas has worked here on the property since my grandfather owned it. They met as kids. His father worked here before him, and my great-grandfather would let him bring his son to work so the boys could play. He never married, and though we tried to get him to retire, he refuses. My grandfather left him a significant amount of money in his will when he passed, but Thomas says working here keeps him young. So the younger guys try to lighten the load for him when he lets them,” I explain.

She smiles.

“That’s really cool,” she says. Just as we’re walking up the front steps, Angelina’s shrill voice shrieks my name as she clicks across the foyer and out onto the main landing toward us. She holds her hands up to my face, pulling me in and kissing my cheeks.

“Hey, Angelina,” I say, giving her a very low-effort hug back. “It’s good to see you again. Happy birthday.” She smiles up at me, slowly turning to Sawyer with surprise painted all over her perfectly made-up face.

Sawyer and I decided not to give anyone else in the family a heads-up. I had told her that the less people we told in advance, the better. It would give everyone less time to dig, pry, and focus on her. Plus, with the party tonight, there will be even less time for us to be the center of conversation.

“And who do we have here?” Angelina asks, trying like hell to keep her voice as light and airy as possible. I pull Sawyer into me, wrapping my arm around her waist.

“This is Sawyer,” I tell her. I freeze for a moment as all three of us wait to see if there is more to the introduction. A label. But none feel right.Girlfriendfeels too shallow, like it doesn’t cover enough, so I turn back to Angelina. “She’s with me,” I say simply. “Sawyer, this is my father’s wife, Angelina.”

Sawyer sticks out a hand, and Angelina takes it, the fakest of smiles spreading across her lips. She puts a manicured hand to her chest.

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