Page 76 of Battle with a Billionaire

Kyle perched on the edge of her bed. Julia’s features registered upset and confusion as she glanced between the two of them.

Grant’s jaw clenched tight, his fists balling at his sides as he spotted Kyle’s hand around Julia’s. A surge of protectiveness flooded through him.

Why had his son sneaked back into the room when his back was turned? If he had told her about their contract, Grant couldn’t be responsible for what he did to him. They’d come to physical violence once over Julia. Would this be the second time?

“What are you doing in here?” he barked.

Kyle rose from his seat, twisting to face him. “Checking on Julia. She shouldn’t be alone.”

“I stepped out for a call,” Grant growled, his fingers curling into fists.

“That’s always the case with you. It’s always about you.”

“Do you really think this is the best time and place to do this?”

Kyle glanced at Julia who looked overwhelmed again. He reached for her hand. “No. It’s not. I’m sorry, Julia.”

“It’s okay,” she murmured.

“Get out, Kyle.”

“I’ll leave when Julia asks me to,” he answered. “We were in the middle of a discussion.”

Grant’s jaw flexed. The coward had thrown the decision on his amnesiac wife. She didn’t need more pressure on her.

“Maybe it’s best if you left, Kyle. We can talk another time.”

Kyle slid his other hand around hers before he leaned closer. “Okay. Try not to stress about it, okay? It’ll all make more sense soon. Try to get some sleep, Julia.”

She offered him a tentative nod as he let go of her hand. With an icy glare at Grant, he strode past him and through the door.

She slid her eyes closed as Grant closed the gap between them and eased into the chair next to her.

“I’m sorry about that,” Grant said. “Kyle is…not good with boundaries.”

Julia glanced at him. “I’m afraid that’s my fault.”

“No, it isn’t. Don’t take the blame for his bad behavior.”

She chewed her lower lip as she twisted the blanket in her hands.

Grant reached forward to take her hand with a sigh. “The family dynamics are…complicated. I wish it was easier, but it’s not. Kyle and I never get along. In fact, the only thing holding us together is you.”

She snapped her gaze to him, her features registering surprise and concern. He offered her a warm smile. “Don’t worry, I don’t expect you to play peacekeeper during your recovery. I’ll try my best to get along with him.”

He was eager to share the sordid story with her, but he feared it might overwhelm her. She seemed on the verge of her breaking point, weighed down by everything that had transpired since she woke up.

With the Senate race off his plate, he’d have plenty of time to fill her in when she was ready.

Despite his words, her tension didn’t seem to ease.

“I’m sorry, Julia. I wish I could do something to help.”

She took a deep breath and slouched further down in the bed. “You have nothing to be sorry about. It’s hardly your fault that any of this happened.”

Grant pressed his lips into a thin line. Wasn’t it? He’d tracked her down and convinced her to marry him for show. Then he’d done it again, the second time almost trapping her into staying with him when he’d made the surprise announcement naming her CEO of Harrington Global. If he hadn’t done that, she’d be living a quiet life somewhere far from all of the trouble he’d brought to her doorstep.

“I just wish I could make things go back to the way they were.”

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