You intrigue me,” he explained then released her arm as he sat back.
Stevie turned to see him still staring at her. She sighed. “You aren’t going to leave me alone, are you?” she asked, already knowing the answer.
He pulled a boyish grin that disarmed her immediately.
Kill. Me.
“Julian,” he said as he sat forward and held out his hand. Stevie tensed as she hesitantly glanced down at the hand he offered.
Julian shook his head and chuckled. “Here’s what we’ll do, Blondie. We’ll be one of those types of friends, the holiday kind. No last names, no pasts or where we come from. We’ll just hang out on this beach. What do you say?”
He seemed so open and friendly. But Stevie had to be cautious. If they were just going to be friends, then he wouldn’t have to know a whole lot about her. This beach would be all that they had, and then they’d leave it behind and let it wash away with the water.
He doesn’t have to know who I really am.
He’d never look for me.
I won’t give him a reason to.
“Stephanie.”
Present day
“Son, are you on your way?” his father, Arthur, asked over the phone.
Julian Moors adjusted his black tie as he walked back towards his waiting taxi. Changing in the toilets of a McDonald’s wasn’t his ideal dressing room, but his late connection had given him no other choice.
“Yeah, Dad. I’m just walking to the taxi as we speak. Changed inside of Macca’s. I’m on my way to the wedding now. Have I missed much?” Julian held his phone tighter as he opened the taxi door. He placed his carry-on bag on the seat and slipped inside.
“Noel and Clara have just signed their marriage certificate,” his father informed.
Julian nodded at the driver to continue on, and the car pulled out of the busy car park and onto the freeway.
“How’s she looking?” he asked once he put on his seatbelt and settled into the worn leather backseat. The heavy smell of eucalyptus had him winding down the window for fresh air. The summer breeze instantly hit his skin and provided his nostrils with relief.
“No words will do Clara justice. She’s just too beautiful. It’s a shame you went to Sydney, son. You were both close when you were children.”
Julian groaned. “Dad, we were kids. I was never going to end up with Clara Parker.”
Clara Parker… It suits her.
There was a chuckle from his father. “I know, Julian. I can’t help but think Clara could have been the one who made you stay at home instead of moving away. I just miss you, that’s all.”
Looking out the window, his eyes roamed his vision of Melbourne. For four years, he had been away from his father and brother. For four years, he had been running. But now he was tired. Life in Sydney had become meaningless, and the excitement of Italy had worn off only hours after he’d landed.
“How’s Noel looking?” Julian asked, changing the subject.
“Like he discovered the Holy Grail. Never thought in a million years that I’d witness these two getting married. It’s nice to see how love pans out.” He heard the smile in his father’s voice. His father had been a firm believer of True Love and the sight of Noel and Clara was without a doubt giving his father some joy. But for Julian, love hadn’t panned out to his liking. The one woman he had ever loved left him to wake up alone in a Thai villa.
Love can suck my dick.
He had stopped believing in that damned word. That was until Noel and Clara. They had him believing that it could happen for him. Their love acted as a form of remedy to his poisonous hate for anything remotely related to love. Hearing that they got together was unbelievable, but witnessing them made him believe again. And believing was something he didn’t want to be doing. Four years of waiting for a woman who’d never return his feelings was far too long. Never getting a goodbye had made him a non-believer.
“Is Rob around?”
There was a hum from his father. “He’s with Stevie. I’ll just get him.”
Julian rolled his eyes at the sound of her name. What Rob found in a woman named ‘Stevie,’ he’d never know.
“Dipshit, hey! You on your way?” The playfulness in Rob’s voice had Julian’s mood improving.
“I’m about an hour and a bit away. Still chasing ‘Steven?’”
“Her name is Stevie. And no. She wants nothing to do with me.” Rob grunted. Julian couldn’t