Page 73 of Battle with a Billionaire

“Did I…Were you…married to Lydia when we met?”

His laugh replaced any of the worry that had crept back into his face. “No. Lydia left when Sierra was five. I wasn’t married to anyone when we met.”

She offered him a fleeting smile. So, she hadn’t broken up a marriage. Yet, her mind corrected. Her stomach clenched again as more unanswered questions poured into her mind. But she couldn’t ask them.

She slouched further down, tugging the blanket higher. The ringing of his cell phone interrupted the silence that stretched between them.

He glanced at the screen, his features pinching.

“If you need to take that, don’t worry about me. I’m just going to try to fall asleep.”

“I always worry about you, Juls. But if you don’t mind, I’m going to grab this.”

She offered him a reassuring smile and a nod as he pressed the phone to his ear and stepped into the hall.

Alone again, she blew out a long sigh. Unanswered questions threatened to be her undoing. Tears filled her eyes as she struggled to make sense of the limited information she had. As she grappled with the fragments of her memory, a nagging thought lingered at the back of her mind. There were secrets about her marriage, things just out of reach, that spoke to a complexity yet to unfold.

As she blinked them away, Kyle hurried into the room, crossing to her. “Hey, I see it didn’t take long for business to interfere, huh?”

She pinched her eyebrows. Did this happen often? Is that why…

“How are you holding up?” he asked.

She stared into his icy blue eyes, searching them for answers. “Not very well.”

He perched on the edge of the bed, taking her hand in his. “I’m so sorry, Julia. This can’t be easy, especially in this family.”

“It’s not. And what makes it worse is the memory I do have.”

“What memory? Didn’t you say you had a vague recollection of me? I did treat you in the ER. That could be why.”

“I don’t remember the ER,” she said with a shake of her head as she leaned closer to him. “And I don’t have a vague recollection. I didn’t tell the doctor, but I have a full memory of you.”

His features registered surprise. “You do? Julia, why didn’t you say anything?”

“I didn’t think it was appropriate under the circumstances. I needed answers first.”

“Answers?” His forehead creased. “What answers?”

Her heart thudded against her sore ribs as she stared at him. “I need to know why the only clear memory I have is of kissing my husband’s son.”

“That’s the memory you have? Our kiss?”

Her heart thudded faster, the beeping of the monitor increasing as heat washed over her along with guilt and upset. “So, it’s real? I’m not imagining it?”

“No,” Kyle said, rubbing her hand with his thumb. “You didn’t imagine it. We kissed.”

Her jaw fell open as she flicked her gaze to the ceiling. More thoughts than she could process swept through her mind. Why had they kissed? Had it been after her marriage to Grant?

The memory of the kiss with Kyle flickered in her mind, stirring a confusing mix of emotions. Did it signify a hidden longing, a betrayal of her vows, or was it just a moment of vulnerability? The uncertainty gnawed at her, leaving her adrift in the sea of fragmented memories. She squeezed her eyes closed as she planted her palm against her forehead.

“Julia, I can explain.”

“I wish someone would.”

“Calm down. You’re getting upset for no reason.”

“Are you joking? I’m married to a man I can’t remember, and what I do remember is kissing his son. Please tell me it was before I married Grant.”

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