Page 33 of Hate On
Glancing over at her mother, Julianna frowned. “I already told you, I’m fine. Even though we were prepared, I still have no idea when they took the prototype. It was smooth. Although I’m not sure we should be celebrating already. Michael Montrose is a determined piece of work and I think he really wants those mines. We might not want to count our chickens before they hatch.”
“Hmmm.”
That drove Julianna nuts. Annoyed, she glanced at her mother. “I hate it when you do that.Hmmm.” She echoed her mom’s little humming sound, the one that could mean everything fromyes, honeytoI know something you don’t know. “What does it mean this time?”
Janice laughed. “Why does it have to mean anything?”
“Because it does.” She finished with the bread and added the last slice to the basket before turning to clean up the mess she’d made. “Italwaysmeans something.”
“Well…” Janice sighed as she turned away from the dish she was dealing with, a faint line between her brows. “Perhaps I am…concerned.”
“About what?”
“Roman.”
Roman…
A mental image of him flashed through her mind, but she banished it.
“Why are you concerned about him?” she asked her mother, bewildered.
“Because,” Janice said gently. “Every time his name is mentioned, you smile. Falling for him wasn’t part of the deal, baby.”
Blood rushed to her cheeks. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Oh, please.” Janice laughed and turned back to the dish. “Maybe you should have just forgotten your purse at dinner. He would have had to bring it back to you, probably in the morning. It would have been safer…for you.”
“I was perfectly safe,” she snapped.
When Janice turned back around, her eyes were a little sad. She held the dish in both hands and started forward. As she passed by Julianna, she paused and shook her head.
Brown eyes, so like Julianna’s, softened as they met her daughter’s. “It’s not your physical safety I’m talking about, baby. I’m talking about your heart. You didn’t have to sleep with the enemy to make this happen, sweetie. Now I’m worried you’ve gotten attached and it won’t end well.”
“You’re being a little dramatic, don’t you think?” Julianna grabbed the bread and moved to follow her mother.
At the door, Janice paused and looked back.
“You smile like a school girl just at the mention of his name, Julianna. I don’t think you realize that.” Janice sighed and glanced over her shoulder, clearly thinking about the man waiting on the other side of the door. “Nothing can come of this. That’s the only reason I’m warning you. There’s too much bad blood between the families...especially between your fathers. Yours. Roman’s.” She rolled her eyes and murmured, “Goodness, Roman’s father.”
Julianna cocked her head. “Are you forbidding me from seeing him, Mom?”
“Forbidding you?” At that, Janice burst out into laughter. “Heavens, no. That would be pointless. If I didthat, you’d wind up married to him by sunset tomorrow. You arethatbullheaded. No, darling. I’m not forbidding you. I’m just…trying to save you the heartache of learning things the hard way.”
Learnwhat? But before she could ask, Janice said, “Come on. Let’s eat before it gets cold.”
* * *
Julianna laywith her back propped up against the pillows, wearing a silk lounge set as she read a book.
It was late, but she wasn’t as tired as she’d thought she’d be.
Maybe it was the adrenaline of the day or maybe it was just her racing mind.
She kept thinking about Roman.
And the weird talk with her mother.
She wasn’tfallingfor him.