Page 68 of I Knew You
“Thank you,” Julianna said with a slight smile, wary. I should have told her that Mel was coming, but I wasn’t sure if Mel would be able to get away from the office, and I didn’t want to make Julianna extra nervous. It was unclear whether I’d made the right call.
As quickly as Mel had come, she was gone.
"Sorry, I didn’t tell you,” I blurted.
Julianna shook her head. “It’s okay. I, um…I saw a picture in your room, and I thought she might have been an old flame. I never thought about her being your sister.”
“It’s quite a story. I can tell you about it over lunch,” I said, ignoring the old flame comment, ushering her toward the door. The next couple waiting on the officiant was coming in as we walked out.
“Congratulations!” the woman cooed jovially.
“Thank you.” A blush had spread across Julianna’s face. It took so little to make her shy. It was something I loved about her.
“I can’t believe we did that,” Julianna said when we emerged into the sunlight. She twisted the small ring I’d given her on her finger. I picked up her hand as we walked out of the justice building and intertwined our fingers. It was a risk, but she didn’t pull away.
I brought her hand to my lips for a quick kiss. I heard herbreath catch, but I pretended I was doing the most natural, normal thing in the world.
“Julianna Winchester has the best sound to it.”
She reared back. “Not sure I want your Dad’s name. Umm…what about Bram East? I like it much better.”
I laughed. “Me too, honestly. Nothing would be better than if I had the same last name as Grams and not Vince Winchester.”
Her face scrunched. “I understand the sentiment, but it sounds gross. Please don’t repeat it. You’ll get Whit fired up a million miles away, and he won’t even know why.”
I laughed. “I don’t know why he’s not answering our phone calls or texts yet. It’s been two days.” I opened the Jeep door for her. “If I hadn’t seen the fucker on TV yesterday, I’d request proof of life.”
She sat in the bucket seat, adjusted her clothes, and then reached for the seatbelt. “I don’t know, either, but he hasn’t even checked my messages about the surgery from Monday. Hopefully, he’ll respond to one of us soon. What are we going to tell him?”
I shut the door and leaned into the window area. The top was off, and the windows were down, leaving hardly any barrier between us. The light breeze blew through her hair as the sun kissed her skin. Would I ever stop being mesmerized by her?
“Not sure, to be honest. He’ll have his opinions, but you’re getting insurance, and Mill Creek Aid will be $1.1 million richer. That’s what matters.”
“I guess so,” she replied.
“What do you think about lunch? And I’ll tell you all about Melanie.”
We droveinto Roanoke for food, away from the prying eyes and questions in Mill Creek.
“I want today to be comfortable,” she’d said, looking down at her ring. I knew that she would take it off once we were back in Mill Creek. I obliged her location request, as hard as it was. I wanted her to wear that ring in Mill Creek. I wanted everyone to know she was my wife.
The only people I did not want to know were my parents. I was going to have the entirety of my trust fund—a sum my father no doubt coveted—but I had used the one woman he told me not to touch to do it. He would be livid. I wasn’t sure how my Mom would react exactly, but she always sided with him.
Retaliation against my father wasn’t why I’d married Julianna at all, but it was a perk.
We ordered our pulled pork dishes, and I explained how Melanie came into my life.
“That is insane,” Julianna exclaimed, playing with the straw in her glass. “And your father still says she’s not his, even with the DNA test?”
“Yup,” I nodded. “Denies all of it. It isn’t surprising, since it’s Vince we’re speaking of.”
“Wow,” she mused. “That has to be hard for Melanie.”
“She takes it in stride. She never knew him, so she doesn’t have much to go on.”
Our food arrived, and Julianna doctored up her sandwich with various barbecue sauces that sat on the table. I smiled, remembering her doing that same thing when we were young.
“Are you going into work after this?” she asked, putting down a bottle of sauce.
