Page 115 of Battle with a Billionaire

“Me?!” Julia cried, her voice incredulous.

“She showed up after the explosion claiming she wanted to be a family again. She announced she was moving back in and, despite protestation from both Sierra and Grant, after the three of you talked, you agreed to let her move back in.”

Julia chewed her lower lip as she tried to make sense of the statement. Why had she allowed that to happen? Merely for Sierra’s sake or because she’d picked up on the connection between Lydia and Grant and expected the contract to end?

“Let me get you some water.” Kyle hurried to the kitchen to retrieve the glass, then eased onto the couch as he held it out to her.

She accepted it and took a sip. “Why does nothing ever make any sense?”

“I don’t think sense and Lydia fit in the same sentence,” he answered.

Julia sighed as she shook her head. “She says she and Grant are getting back together.”

Kyle’s eyes widened at the statement. “What’s he going to do about the contract?”

“I’m not sure it’s true. And before you say you believe it, she also accused us of sleeping together.”

Kyle rolled his eyes. “She’s always very accusatory.”

Julia took another sip of her water, feeling herself relax.

“Any luck with any other memories?”

She eased back into the cushions with a sigh. “No. At least I didn’t have any memories about Lydia because I’m pretty certain those would be disturbing enough to make me not want to remember anything anymore.”

“I hope you get them back eventually, though hopefully, you’ll have some better ones before that.”

“Me too.” She tapped her fingers against her glass as her features pinched. “Do you have any cookies?”

“What?” he asked.

“Cookies. Do you have cookies?”

“Uhhh…”

“Seriously? How can you not have cookies?”

Kyle pushed himself from the couch. “My father wasn’t kidding about your eating habits. I think I have cookies. Wait, I’ll get them.”

She rose, too, following him into the kitchen with a chuckle. “Do I eat a lot of cookies?”

“You eat a lot of ice cream, from what I hear,” Kyle said as he tugged open a cupboard and shifted a few items around. “Here we go.”

He spun to hand her the cookies. She grinned at him as she reached for them when something about his eyes twisted her temples into a knot. The smile faded from her features as scattered images floated by in her mind.

Cool air against her skin, the city in the distance, Kyle’s car parked on the side of the road as she paced near it.

Her breathing turned ragged as fear ramped up inside her.

“Julia?” Kyle asked.

Her eyebrows furrowed even more as the memory of a heated argument—one that had frightened her—marched across her mind. Memories flooded back of being kidnapped, rescued, but then forced to stay with Kyle. He’d frightened her as he’d threatened to destroy Grant.

“Julia?” Kyle repeated as he reached for her.

She gasped in a breath, snapping her eyes up to his. The glass slipped from her hand, shattering at her feet as the memory hit her with full force.

“Whoa, Julia, what’s wrong?”

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