Page 54 of Hate to Crave You
Julianna
“I almostdied.”Moira’s eyes danced with laughter as she finished recounting her tale.
Julianna pressed her lips together to keep from bursting out into giggles but after a moment, it became too hard to hold them back and she pressed a napkin to her mouth to stifle the sound.
The quiet, elegant French restaurant they’d chosen for lunch might not have been the best choice for a midday meal for them, considering they hadn’t seen each other in a couple of months and even then, it had just been for a few minutes the night of the charity gala.
At first Moira gave Julianna an affronted look, but after a few seconds, she started to laugh as well.
Once it faded, Julianna reached over and brushed her fingers down Moira’s hand. “We have got to stay in touch better than this. I always have so much fun talking with you.”
“Tell me.” Moira turned her hand over and they clasped their palms together for a quick moment. “Listen, I’ve been wanting to ask…how interested is your father in Dad’s sale?”
Uneasy now, Julianna drew her hand back. “We’ve got a meeting set up to talk to Edgar in a few days. We’ll see what happens.”
“Come on…give me an idea.” Moira leaned forward in her chair, her voice lowering. “I’ve got good insider info that there’s a London hedge fund group that’s making noises about offering for the whole package. I hear they’re going to offer about what Dad wants, too. But I know it’s not just the money that he’s looking for.”
Julianna wanted to clap her hands over her ears and started humming, anything to cut off the flow of information coming from Moira, but…well, that would look silly.
“We’ll just see what happens, okay?” She summoned up a determined smile and Moira opened her mouth once more, but Julianna shook her head. “I’ll talk to my father, but I don’t want to discuss it. It doesn’t seem fair.”
Moira’s gaze turned speculative and she looked like she wanted to press.
“Julianna! Moira!”
At the sound of her mother’s voice, Julianna turned. Seeing Janice Castle, she rose and went to hug the woman. She spied Abigail Mendoza as well. The two of them worked together on a breast cancer awareness campaign and usually had lunch together several times a month. After giving her mother a hug, she hugged Abby as well then introduced her to Moira.
Abigail, always eager to find possible new donors, beamed at Moira and started to chat her up. As they spoke, Julianna smiled at her mother. “How are you? You weren’t there when I came by this weekend.”
“Spa day.” Janice smiled, a good humor showing in her eyes. “If I’d known you were coming by…well, I wouldn’t have canceled, but I would have invited you along.”
“Oh…I could use a spa day.” Julianna sighed in envy, trying to remember the last time she’d completely pampered herself. It had been a while, that was certain. She couldn’t even remember the last time.
“We’ll have to do one together soon,” Janice told her, catching her daughter’s hands and squeezing.
Julianna nodded. “That sounds lovely.”
Janice went to say something, but her face froze. A few seconds later, she blinked and shook her head. She spoke, but her voice sounded stifled. “I’ll…we’ll get in a touch and work something out, okay?”
“That’s great.” She eyed her mother closely. “Is everything okay?”
“Oh, yes.” Janice laughed. “Everything is fine.”
But Julianna knew her mother. And the sound was strained, forced even.
“Come on, Abby. Let’s leave these two to their meal.” Janice wiggled her fingers at her daughter then waved at Moira before hooking her arm through Abigail’s and leading her away.
Lowering herself back into her seat, Julianna stared after her mother with a frown.
“What’s wrong?” Moira asked.
“Maybe nothing,” she said with a shrug, reaching up to worry with the necklace she wore. “Mom just…did she seem a little off to you?”
“I was talking to Ms. Mendoza more than anything.” Moira shrugged and flashed a card. “I get the feeling she’s going to hit us up the next time she needs a corporate sponsor.”
“We’re a corporate sponsor,” Julianna said, distracted. She glanced up and saw the table where her mother and Abigail had been seated. Her mother had been watching her. Their gazes locked and Janice gave her a dazzling smile.
Weird…
