Mission Happy (A Texas Desires Novel Book 3) (24 page)

“We are,” Connor said, then chuckled at the older woman’s obvious excitement. Linda acknowledged the answer with a sharp nod, then turned away to walk through the living room toward a screen door that led out back. Before she ever made it outside, Julia could hear Linda scolding both Reed and Ty for keeping her in the dark.

“You two are in so much trouble! You have news like that and don’t share with your mother? You should be ashamed!” The screen door slammed shut in her wake.

“She doesn’t like to be the last to know things,” Jerry said, walking with them through the living room toward the back porch. Jerry held the door open for them. Linda had the full attention of the occupants on the patio. Reed’s loud voice boomed over everyone’s as he tried to understand why Linda was mad at him.

Connor moved aside, letting her go through first. Their hands never broke contact as he followed her out the door. Not more than two steps outside, Julia stopped, Connor coming in right behind her, his hand circling her waist.

Oh no. This was worse than she’d thought. Her stomach roiled as she thought of all the times she should have told Connor about her celebrity status. Everyone on the patio had turned, and their shocked faces stared at her, then shifted to Connor, then back again. The moment of quiet surprise transformed into chaos when Cole darted across the patio and headed straight to Connor.

Confusion ensued as Cole took Connor, breaking his handhold with Julia, and pushed him several feet to the side. Cole got right in his face.

“Oh my fucking God! Are you kidding me, McDaniel?
You’re dating someone
? Are you fucking serious?” Cole pushed at Connor’s chest, bumping him back another foot and into Jerry Bryant, before Cole went for a huge bro-hug with a hard whack on the back. “Good job, man. I didn’t know you had it in you!”

Kenzie came to Julia’s side, giving her an excited smile and a hug as Connor looked at her, over Cole’s shoulder, in utter confusion.

“What’s going on?” Lara asked, coming outside from a side door. Julia didn’t care about anyone or anything except Connor. Her fear grew with each passing second, and she needed to get him alone to explain. Cole released Connor and turned to Julia.

“I was just staring at your beautiful face, thinking I needed to get Kenzie to make an introduction,” Cole said, extending a hand toward her while using his other arm to teasingly shove Connor back a step. “Cole Willis. Connor’s very best friend, but don’t let that stop you from getting to know me better. I know we made a connection all those years ago.”

Cole’s hand then swept toward the wrought-iron patio table where her face graced the cover of the most current People magazine. She hadn’t even known it was out yet. Oh God, no. This was the worst possible scenario. Her alarmed gaze darted to Ty coming to his feet. The acute concern on his face was clear. He got that Connor had no real idea, but she didn’t have time to worry about that. Panicked at such an in-his-face revelation of her notoriety, she went for Connor as he moved forward to reach for the magazine.

“Connor, what’re you thinking, man?” Ty asked, coming around the table. She paid Ty no attention as she reached for the magazine, trying to pull it from Connor’s hands. She’d truly talked herself into believing this moment wouldn’t matter; how big a movie star she was didn’t change anything between them. Connor knew the real person under the façade—the person almost no one else in the world really knew—but based on the look on his handsome face, she’d been very wrong. Ty moved toward Connor, taking the magazine from his hands when his grip had tightened on it, but Connor ignored him, only looking toward her as if he’d never seen her before.

The intensity of his gaze took the dread in her gut to an all-time high and caused her heart to stutter then pound in her chest. He had it all figured out and wasn’t happy. Instead of saying a word, Connor turned abruptly, heading for the side door that Lara had just come through. Julia immediately took off after him.

“Connor, stop!” Julia called out, entering the kitchen. He jerked around, looking formidable in his anger, stopping her in her tracks. He seethed at her. His hands fisted at his side as he whipped back around and took two steps to another outside door. He yanked it open, letting it fly wide. The door slammed against the wall, bouncing back as he stepped outside, then he pivoted around and came back through the threshold to face off with her.

“Why?”

She had never heard that tone of voice from him, but it was the look on his face that slowed her down, stopping her halfway through the kitchen. The anger had given way to hurt. She didn’t want him hurt.

“Connor, please. Talk to me,” she said, taking slower steps toward him.

“Julie Banks? Really?” he accused, taking two more steps toward her.

“That’s my name. That’s my real name. You’ve known the real me,” she said and tried to reach out to him. He wanted no part of that. Connor jumped backward as if her hands would scald him.

“It is, son. That’s the truth.” They both turned to see Mrs. Bryant and another woman standing at the sink, facing them. Mrs. Bryant lifted a hand that held a wooden spoon toward the other woman. “This is Kenzie’s mother. She’s been dying to meet you, Julia. She thinks they’ve seen every movie you’ve been in.”

Kenzie’s mother smiled warmly, and helplessness took over as Julia quickly turned back to Connor whose anger levels had just risen again if the look on his face counted. He flipped around, stalked out of the house, slamming the door behind him. She bolted after him. Connor had made it around the side of the house before she got down the steps of the wrap-around porch.

Hiking her skirt up, Julia ran to catch up with him.

“Connor, stop! Please, I can’t keep up. Stop!” She saw Bruno getting out of the rental. Julia quickly threw out a hand in his direction to stop him from interfering as she ran through the pasture along the driveway, following Connor to his truck. “Connor, please.”

At the cab of his truck, he whirled around, stopping her in her tracks. Her breath was heaving, and she reached out, steadying herself on the hood of the truck parked right beside Connor’s.

He pointed his finger toward her, and in a voice strained with anger, he said, “Were you playing me? And so help me, if you lie to me anymore…”

“No, of course I wasn’t playing you! No!” She started toward him again, stopping, even taking a step backward as he stalked toward her.

“Then what is this?” he yelled, throwing his arms out wide, glaring at her while waiting for an answer. His question wasn’t clear to her, but since she suspected nothing she said would be believed, she furrowed her brow as she frantically tried to find a soothing response.

“You didn’t remember me—” she started, and he immediately cut her off.

“So you lie?” Those words were yelled as he threw his arms in the air, then brought his hands to his hips, still glowering at her.

“No! No. I didn’t lie. You didn’t remember me, and it seemed like you liked me for me.” She mimicked every one of his actions, becoming frustrated herself. This man knew her on every level. He had to know she wasn’t the kind of person to play him.

“Of course, I liked you for you. What the hell does that even mean?” He pivoted on his heels, stalking toward his truck, his disgust more than clear. Did he truly plan to leave her? She took several steps forward and paused when he stopped and placed both hands on the hood, his shoulders slumped forward, and he ducked his head. She hated she’d caused him more grief. The need to give him comfort drove her forward, but she stopped within inches of him, trying not to crowd him.

“When we first met, you wouldn’t look at me twice. I know that because I watched you all night. I never forgot you. I was…overly interested. I’ve told you that. Then when I saw you at the club, I thought what the hell? You’d already completely shot me down. Then you didn’t shoot me down again, and I liked it—and you—even more.”

Connor turned toward her, his hands going to his virtually non-existent hair as he bent his head, staring down at his boots. “You lied to me.”

“I didn’t lie one time. That’s unfair to say,” she said, stepping in.

His gaze lifted, boring into hers. The anguish had her heart breaking in two. His eyes said what he hadn’t yet: she’d hurt him, cut him to the core, and he wasn’t going to get past it. Integrity was everything to Connor. She’d been such a fool.

“You let me walk in there with everything going on with me and be blindsided,” he said dejectedly.

“I’m sorry, Connor. That wasn’t my intention.” She went for him, but he threw out a hand, stopping her as he backed away.

“Don’t crowd me.” The venom in his voice couldn’t be denied. Instinctively, without taking her eyes off Connor, she shot out a hand toward Bruno, stopping him from coming forward. The tone Connor had used would have drawn Bruno closer to her.

A tension-filled silence hummed between them until he dug a hand inside his front pocket for his keys and again started for his truck door. “I’m leaving.”

“Connor, stop! I love you! I’m sorry. I liked being liked for me. It’s the first time in my life I knew someone liked me for me, not what I could do for them.” She tried to explain, following him as he rounded his truck toward the driver’s side. He never stopped eating up the gravel as he opened his truck door and climbed inside. Julia forced herself to stop, even took two steps backward as tears stung her eyes.

As much as she wanted this relationship, if he freaked out over this, then he’d never hold up in her world. Her heart shattered into pieces when the truck engine roared to life. She could feel the tears slipping from her eyes. She’d thought Connor was the real deal. They’d fit together so well. He grounded her, gave her purpose and hope. She watched him move the gearshift and the truck gave a slight shift backward. He was leaving. She’d ruined Lara’s shower and drove the best thing that ever happened to her away. Her tears flowed freely as her thoughts turned frantic. She couldn’t believe Connor was leaving her.

His face crinkled as he stared at her. Connor dropped his head on the steering wheel, banging his forehead a couple of times before he finally looked back at her. She forced herself to stay rooted in that spot. Everything in her wanted to run after him, beg him for forgiveness.

His gaze slid past Julia, causing her to look over her shoulder toward the house. Framed in one large living room window, the guys laughed their asses off. Kenzie and Lara stood on the front porch, looking concerned and crushed. She turned back to Connor who was shooting the finger at his buddies.

Slowly, with lots of reluctance, Connor cut the engine and got out of the truck. When he slammed the door and started toward her, she wiped at the tears and took a step toward him. They came to a stop less than a foot apart.

“I don’t like you crying.”

She gave a small sob as she tried to smile. Next, she managed a hiccup with a huge sniffle. Connor stepped closer.

“It took me a second to realize it didn’t really change anything. I knew you were successful because of him.” He absently pointed in Bruno’s general direction where he still stood a few feet away on the other side of the truck. “But I didn’t get you were Ty-level successful. I should have.”

She nodded and lowered her head, moving her hands under her eyes and then her nose.

“I’m more successful than Ty,” she finally said, lifting her head enough to give him a crooked grin amidst all the tears that wouldn’t stop falling. Her emotions were all over the place. The relief of him being reasonable was almost as staggering as the thought of him leaving her. “I’m sorry—too early for a joke. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to lie to you, Connor. I talked myself into believing you truly wouldn’t care.”

The tears welled again then poured down her face as he wrapped an arm around her to draw her to his chest. His hand encased the back of her head, pushing it toward his shoulder.

“Don’t cry.”

She fisted her hands in his shirt as minutes passed before Connor spoke again.

“You complicated my life even more.”

“I know. I’m sorry.” Julia lifted her head, threading her fingers behind his neck. “But Connor, I can help. You can come stay with me. I’ve got enough resources to give you the…”

He placed his hand on her mouth, silencing her. “No. Shh. That’s what complicated things. I live by what I make.”

She nodded, her face turning solemn as she looked down at his shirt and lifted a hand to wipe again under her nose. “You’re sexist. I didn’t think you were.”

He lifted her chin, giving her a small smile while he used a thumb to wipe away the tears on her cheeks. “I see what you’re doing.”

“Is it working?” she asked on a hiccup.

“I don’t know. Do you wanna go back in or go home?” He lifted his chin in the direction of the house. “We have a full crowd watching us now.”

She looked over to see all fortyish people standing on the front porch.

“I don’t wanna mess up your time with your friends.”

His hand went to her neck, gently pulling her head up.

“Do you want to go or stay?”

Her tears were drying, but she had a look a mess and desperately needed to blow her nose.

“We can stay. I need to clean up,” she said and loosened her grip on his shirt. It was very much a death grip designed to make sure he stayed right there with her.