Page 76 of Storm in a D Cup

‘Nothing,’ I whispered. ‘There’s absolutely nothing you can do to fix this. You can’t fix my broken heart. Only I can. And I’ll try. But I offer you no guarantees that I’ll be able to.’

He lowered his head into his hands.

‘Julian,’ I whispered again. ‘Maybe, with some time—’

But Julian didn’t listen to me. Instead, he shot to his feet and bolted out the door.

Talk about making things easy for your rival.

18

Strange Families

‘It was just sex, Erica. And it happened years ago,’ Paul said to me over the phone as I crouched in the darkness of the study during a one a.m. sob session. He was in New York doing another rich wedding. ‘Although of course the bitch could’ve told him about the kid a little sooner.’

I snorted despite myself. ‘So you’d think. Iknowhe didn’t cheat on me, and I swear to you I already love Joey. I loved her the minute she walked through the door with that fake confidence.’

‘I know. And besides, it all happened years ago.’

‘Yeah, that’s what I keep telling myself, but I’m just not listening,’ I whispered as a thought hit me. Why was she telling him now? Should I be thankful she’d waited all these years? Because if Genie Stacie had told Julian she was pregnant at the time, he would have done ‘the right thing’ by marrying her and moving back to Los Angeles. And I would have never run into him. Would they have lived happily ever after? One thing was for sure – he never would’ve saved me from my Spider Attack in that restaurant nine years ago. The thought scared me. What would my life have been like without him?

Would I have found the courage to come out here and live in Tuscany? Or would I have hunkered down and tried to plow through my unhappy marriage with Ira? Or perhaps I’d have settled down with a colleague at the Farthington in Boston?

‘But what if it wasn’t just sex? What if Genie Stacie really had meant more to him? Don’t forget she was the one who dumpedhim.’

‘Yeah, for an older man,’ Paul said.

‘All the same, the damage has been done.’

Would I never get rid of her? She was detrimental to my family in every way – to Maddy, to Warren and to me. Even her own daughter suffered because of her. In any case, I would keep my promise to Julian and support him and Joey through all of this, no matter what my personal feelings were for Genie Stacie.

*

Q: Dear Erica Can Tell U,

My husband looks so much younger than me and I’m worried people will talk behind my back, calling him my toy boy or something. What can I do?

A: Buy yourself a pacifier and wear pigtails when you go out with him. Really, haven’t you got any real problems?

Like maybe trying to have a kid? Especially when your husband already has one by a supermodel he once loved?

What was happening to us? What was happening to me? Where did I stand, besides my affection for a vulnerable young woman whose mother was a flake and whose father had just been hit over the head with the newsflash of her existence?

*

It was official. The DNA tests returned with a ninety-nine percent probability that Julian was Joey’s father. It was more than enough. So now they would have no choice but to tell Joey. And I knew exactly how strong the blow was going to be for her. Being told that one of your parents is actually not your parent, and, by the way, here’s your real parent. I did not envy Joey in the least.

I steered clear of Julian’s office and waited with bated breath as he steeled himself to go and speak to Joey alongside Genie Stacie. They were both still staying with us because in the light of the news that was to be delivered to Joey, I didn’t want to send her to a hotel. I wanted her to feel at home when her world crumbled beneath her feet. Which meant I had to put up with Genie Stacie as well. My dad always says to respect the rabid dog for its owner. But for me it was the other way around.

A couple of hours later, Julian came downstairs to the kitchen where I was torturing a coffee cup.

‘How did it go?’ I asked, having bitten my nails down to the quick.

Julian signed. ‘Not quite like I imagined. She already knew, or had imagined it.’

‘So it was easier than you thought.’

He dipped his head. ‘Yes. And she wants me to officially recognize her as my daughter before she turns eighteen.’

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