Page 87 of Battle with a Billionaire

“Julia?”

“Well, I…didn’t think it was appropriate to say anything when I thought I was married.”

“You are married.”

“For love, I meant.”

The words crushed him, though he tried to remember that she didn’t recall anything of their lives together.

“The memory…as soon as I saw Kyle…”

Grant narrowed his eyes at her as a sinking dread started to fill him.

“I remembered him kissing me. I couldn’t figure out why I would remember that. Why is that the one memory I have?”

He swallowed hard, trying to compose himself. He hated that this was her single memory. He’d hoped she’d just had fleeting memories of Kyle treating her when she’d come into the emergency room in critical condition. Instead, she recalled a moment that incensed him and nearly brought them to blows.

He tried to remain calm. Amnesia is an odd thing, the doctor said. But one question loomed in his mind and clenched his heart. Did this memory stick in her mind because she had feelings for Kyle and not him?

CHAPTER 20

JULIA

Julia’s heart hammered in her chest, a cacophony of dread and uncertainty echoing as she ventured into murky waters with her question. The inquiry felt alien on her tongue, directed toward a husband who was more a stranger than a partner.

Kyle had dodged the question last night. She wondered why. Maybe she’d made a mistake telling Grant. But if their marriage was only a contract, did it matter?

“I’m sorry,” she said. “That’s not a fair question for you. And…I’m sorry if you didn’t know about this–“

“I knew,” he said, the words slicing through the air with an unexpected sharpness. His eyes flickered with a storm of emotions she couldn’t decipher, making her question the nature of their contractual relationship.

“You two don’t get along. Yeah. So, it was a stupid question.”

“No, it wasn’t. And I do know a little about what happened. Why this is the one memory you have, I’m not sure, though.”

She pinched her eyebrows together. He knew? Of course, he knew. It didn’t matter who she kissed. As long as she didn’t get caught and ruin their image, probably. “What happened? I only remember the actual kiss. Kyle wasn’t helpful.”

“You asked him about it?” His voice carried a note of surprise, laced with something else she couldn’t place. Concern? Jealousy? The undercurrents of their conversation were as difficult to navigate as her memory.

She nodded at him. “Last night. He wasn’t very forthcoming, though I suppose he didn’t want to explain our marriage.”

“Well, he certainly didn’t mind doing that today,” Grant grumbled. “Sorry. He really pushes every button of mine.”

Grant sucked in a deep breath before he continued. “As far as what happened…you and he were having a discussion in which I think he told you he had feelings for you. I’m not sure what transpired, I just know you came down the stairs telling him to stop and he grabbed you and kissed you.”

“I told him to stop,” she murmured.

“Yes, definitely. You were a little stunned by the kiss. I pulled him away from you, we argued, I asked him to leave, you told him the same. When we talked, you did feel bad for him, but we both agreed he needed to leave.”

“Have I talked to him since?”

“Oh, yes, he showed up the next morning at Harrington Global. He’s really good at crossing the line. You are equally good at managing his poor behavior, though.”

She let her shoulders slump. Kyle said he didn’t know how she felt, yet Grant seemed to infer the relationship was one-sided.

“Did he tell you something different?” Grant asked.

“Not really,” Julia said with a shrug. “He said he had kissed me, that he wanted me to know how strongly he felt about me. But he did say he didn’t know how I felt about him. I wasn’t sure if there was something between us, and that’s why I remembered that kiss or what.”

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