She clenched her hands at her sides. “What’s unfinished about the pretense under which he went to the island and the lengths he went to get his story?” she asked.
But as she sat with her family, with the people she’d been closest to since birth, she wondered-what other awful things besides hunger had Doug endured on the street? What other events had shaped the determined, driven man he’d become? And she wondered too what role
Her father shrugged. “Only you would know what’s unfinished. Or whether what was said between you two is more important than what went unsaid.”
“What have you learned from your mother and my relationship?” her father asked. “The most important thing we’ve taught you girls?”
Juliette realized her mother and sister were listening intently but neither were interrupting. Quite a feat for Gillian, but she obviously realized the importance of the conversation and respected it.
“You taught us to follow our hearts,” Juliette said softly.
“And did you? With that guy in college? Or, more importantly, with Stuart? Did you follow your heart? Or what you thought your mother and I wanted you to do?”
A rhetorical question and they both knew it. With Stuart she’d been the dutiful daughter. But with Doug… Merrilee’s one regret in life came back to haunt her. Not having had the opportunity to follow her heart.
Juliette began to shake inside, unable to speak. With Doug, she had followed her heart and it had led her to a man she’d believed was outside the problems in her life. A man who’d enabled her to loosen up and be herself. A man who’d helped her overcome her fear of storms, she thought glancing out at the pouring rain and remembering the electricity they’d generated together. And the man she’d let in-not just into her body, but into her heart.
The man she’d let go. Did she honestly want to look back as Merrilee did and realize she’d let the opportunity to follow her heart pass her by? The trembling turned into full-fledged shaking as she wondered if it was too late.
“I want to take a look at this morning’s paper,” her father said. A lifelong politician, he knew how and when to beat a hasty, strategic retreat. He gestured to the countertop and the newspaper he’d picked up from the driveway earlier.
Juliette needed a minute away from her family’s caring but prying eyes. She swallowed over the lump in her throat. “Sit tight, Dad. I’ll get it,” she said, then padded in her heavy socks over to the stack of papers.
The morning headline shouted out at her, Doug’s byline prominent and clear. Retracted Retraction, side by side with Exposed! Congressman’s Dirty Dealings Revealed. Her stomach did a flip at the sight of Doug’s name and photo. In the body of the article was another picture-one of Stuart and Congressman Haywood, together.
Her reaction to seeing Doug, even in a small black-and-white photo-and more clean-shaven and conservatively dressed than she’d known him to be-told her how greatly he’d affected her life. Her skin blazed hot and fire licked at her soul.
If she thought she’d missed him before, the missing piece of her heart grew wider now. Problem was, she was facing not just Doug’s picture, but his article. He’d obviously used the information she’d shared with him. Her stomach plummeted in dismay and disappointment, but her pulse picked up rhythm.
Follow your heart, her parents had always said. And hers was refusing to give up on Doug despite the evidence in her hand.
She glanced over her shoulder, seeking her father’s support, but he was engrossed in conversation with her sister. She didn’t need his advice anyway. If she really loved Doug, she had to believe in him-in his last words to her on the island and what she’d seen in his face that final day.
She gathered her courage and handed the paper to her father.
“Aren’t you going to read it?” he asked.
Juliette shook her head. “I have all the answers I need in here.” She tapped lightly on her chest.
Her father rose and gave her a hug. “You made the decision with your heart. Now as your father, I’m here to tell you it’s the right one. When you do get around to reading that article, I’m sure you’ll fall for him all over again.” His voice sounded gruff and parental at the same time.
Juliette hugged him back and ran for the door. “Where are you going?” Gillian called after her.
“For a run in the rain.” And an exercise in overcoming her fears.
If Doug was up for another lesson.
Only after Juliette got into the car and pulled onto the road did she realize she had no idea where he lived. Though she knew where the
With her heart pounding hard in her chest, she reached for her cell phone and dialed information but, of course, Doug’s phone number was unlisted. So she did the only thing she could-she called Merrilee, the woman who made fantasies come true.
DOUG HAD BEEN exonerated as planned and his father was home from the hospital, recuperating and in high spirits.
So why did Doug feel so let down? He retrieved the newspaper from the front stoop of his condo and tossed the paper onto the table in the kitchen. The events of the past few days had culminated in the article of his career, thanks in large part to Juliette’s father.
Per Doug’s suggestion, Senator Stanton had approached Stuart Barnes, his protege, the man he’d groomed and cared for, and had talked him into turning himself in. He’d convinced Barnes that his self-respect was more important than a Senate seat, and whatever he’d done by joining with Haywood and his associates, could be undone. In return, the senator had promised to remain by Barnes’s side throughout-if he came clean now. The younger man had gone to the police and Doug was certain any high-priced attorney could turn Stuart’s willingness to give up his partners into a reduced sentence.
Doug wasn’t surprised how easily Barnes had been won over by Senator Stanton’s charm and sincerity. After all, hadn’t Doug been won over by the man’s daughter in a matter of hours?
Meanwhile Doug’s article had been an exclusive, redeeming him and exposing the Barnes-Haywood Mob-related corruption scheme-all without a mention of Juliette Stanton’s name. And without using the Runaway Bride angle of the story the other papers had been clamoring for.
Of course the answer to why Juliette bolted from the altar could be found by deduction but it wasn’t a subject Doug had chosen to bring up. He’d sacrificed that tidbit of news in favor of protecting the woman he loved. Sacrificed. When had Doug Houston ever sacrificed the meaty details to protect someone else? He had to admit, he felt damn good about himself now and could thank Juliette for teaching him to be more caring. And with an exclusive expose under his belt, under any other circumstances he’d feel sheer satisfaction.
Instead, all he experienced now was a profound sense of loneliness and frustration. For a man who’d always been on his own, who’d never even had a live-in relationship, he should be used to a solitary existence. But choosing to be alone and being forced into the state were two very different things.
Needing a change of scenery, he decided fresh air might clear his head. Doug grabbed for his keys and hit the street only to discover a walk in the rain-even a walk down Lake Shore Drive, far from Secret Fantasy-brought back a flood of memories. All of them good, none of them ever to be repeated again, because fantasies by definition were created by the imagination and not meant to be lived out forever.
And besides, he’d fabricated his fantasy in order to get himself paired with Juliette. He’d told Merrilee that by helping Juliette heal, he’d see he could put another person before himself. He’d said he wanted to make up for using Erin to further his professional aspirations. And he’d claimed he needed to be able to look himself in the mirror. The irony was, as he’d spoken aloud, he’d realized he was telling the older woman the truth.
Yet all he’d done was repeat his past mistakes. He’d used Juliette exactly the same way he’d used Erin, only this time, he’d also been hurt. He’d fallen hard and lost the woman he loved. Well deserved, Doug figured now.
The biggest irony was he’d achieved his fantasy and still wasn’t satisfied. The fantasy he’d woven for Merrilee had helped him become more human. Yet even looking back and understanding every place he’d gone wrong still
