Page 93 of The Husband Diet
‘You did the right thing, calling Mr. Foxham,’ I whispered as I kissed the top of his head, and he nodded against my chest, snuggling up to me like when he was little, only now his arms rested around me protectively.
‘He was going to kill you, Mom.’
‘Oh, honey, Daddy would never hurt us,’ I said. ‘He’s just not well at the moment, but he’ll get better soon, you’ll see.’ Ira needed both financial and psychological help.
‘Good thing Julian came,’ Warren said.
I wondered fleetingly when Warren had started calling his principal by his first name.
‘Julian’s cool,’ Warren whispered.
And as if summoned, Julian and Paul appeared with steaming trays of spaghetti and meatballs, grilled vegetables and cake. Plus a glass of red wine for me.
As I watched, Julian cut up Maddy’s spaghetti for her with a spoon, just the way she liked it. How did heknow? Maddy took her bowl and he tickled her until she giggled.
Julian had managed to reach their hearts in no time, so starved were they for a father figure. Julian was the alpha male. The protector. He’d sure won me over. Not only was he kind and considerate, but he was also warrior-like. Which was so, so sexy.
‘I always knew Ira was a shit,’ Paul whispered to Julian, who tilted his head to listen and nod.
I glared at them and jerked my head toward the kids.
‘As if they didn’t know,’ Paul said and got to his feet. ‘Sunshine, you’re in good hands here. Get some sleep – preferably in this gorgeous man’s arms, huh?’ he whispered in my ear and kissed my cheek. ‘I’ll call you in the morning.’
Julian and Paul swatted each other across the back like gorillas and nodded, then Paul headed for the door.
Sitting on the sofa with my children, I watched Julian’s back as he whispered something else to Paul. It was probably about Ira, but now I didn’t have to worry anymore. For tonight at least, there was someone taking care of me. I wanted to pull Julian to me and feel the stubble of his cheek against my face again. To be with him all the time.
‘Hey, Warren,’ Julian said as he came back into the living room. ‘You were very brave today. You’re a real champ, you know that? Want to do some throws tomorrow?’
‘Sure,’ Warren said, all proud of himself. And then added, ‘Can you stay the night? Please?’
‘Aw, champ, I don’t think—’ Julian began, and I said, ‘Stay, Julian.’
I didn’t care what people thought. From now on, I’d do things my way and not worry about others. This was our life now.
‘You’re sure?’ Julian asked dubiously.
‘We’d be happy to have you.’
‘In that case, I’ll be happy to stay.’
‘Cool.’ And with that, Warren, exhausted from all the emotion but knowing he was safe, was asleep on the sofa within minutes.
Julian grinned.
As we lay sprawled with my children between us, I listened to their breathing.
‘You hanging in there?’ Julian whispered, placing a finger under my chin to look into my eyes.
The unexpected contact made me shiver and I nodded.
‘Thank you,’ I whispered back, my eyes never leaving his face.
His own were solemn and dark in the evening glow of the fire he’d built. In our house it was always me who made the fire. Ira had never stuck around long enough to enjoy its warmth and now the flames seemed to be caressing me.
‘Thank you – for everything you’ve done for us.’
‘I want to do more,’ Julian whispered back.
