Page 65 of Secret Submission

“Hey! Didn’t you hear me?”

He didn’t look over his shoulder to see what John’s expression looked like, but he could hear the stupefied shock in the man’s voice.

“Yup.”

There was no point in talking to a blowhard like him. He was so wrapped up in his own self-importance, it wouldn’t matter what Connor said. So, he wouldn’t waste his breath. John didn’t matter; Julie did. If she still had feelings for John, she wouldn’t have started dating Connor. And she sure as hell wouldn’t have brought him to meet her parents just to prove a point.

All John had just proven was that he didn’t actually know who Julie was at her core. Didn’t matter that he’d been married to her. He clearly thought she was something she wasn’t.

Why he was so wrapped up in getting her back was no hardship—she was probably the best thing that had ever happened to him, then he’d lost her. Connor had sympathy but no patience for it.

Walking back out into the backyard, he found himself immediately mobbed by children, all showing him the veggies they’d gotten to eat.

“Wow! You’re all going to grow so big and strong!” he said, holding his hands out in front of him. Two of the kids grabbed his hands, and he found himself being pulled along. Which was fine. He loved playing with kids and didn’t mind at all being their personal playground.

Julie

“So… is everything… you know. Proportional?” Sandra asked in a low whisper, watching Connor getting mobbed by the kids.

“You. Are. Married.”

“I’m still curious. Not to find out for myself, but like… he’s a freaking mountain. Just because I’m not attracted doesn’t mean I’m not curious.” Sandra raised her eyebrow at her. “You’ve never seen a guy that you’re like, ‘well, I’m not into him, but I’d go for some curiosity sex?’”

The urge to facepalm was strong. That was Sandra, though. They weren’t particularly close in that they didn’t hang out or talk much outside of the family gatherings, but they were close in that during family gatherings, they tended to band together. Part of it was just being the same age and both girls. Part of it was that she normally enjoyed the outrageous things that came out of Sandra’s mouth.

If they’d been talking about anyone but Connor, Julie would have found this conversation much more entertaining. However, since they were talking about Connor, she wasn’t sure she wanted to think about how many women would want to have sex with him just out of curiosity.

It didn’t help that she was still annoyed with him and getting more so, even though she knew the emotions weren’t entirely rational.

Things would have been so different if John wasn’t here. If John wasn’t here, she would have enjoyed seeing her family slowly falling for Connor. She would have preened with how well he was getting along with everyone, would have been laughing at his antics with the kids, and would have felt pride at how he jumped to lend a hand.

In contrast, John was wandering around the backyard bragging about his recent promotion to each of her relatives in turn. He hadn’t lifted a hand to help with anything the entire time he’d been here—hell, for the entirety of their relationship. He definitely wasn’t interacting with the kids. He never had unless he had to, and most of the kids didn’t want anything to do with him.

She didn’t think he’d ever gotten either of her parents’ cats within five feet of him the entire time they’d been together.

The fact she couldn’t just enjoy how amazing Connor was being pissed her off even more.

Because they should have left.

But he’d pulled her outside because that was where he wanted to be. And now she had to question everything he was doing. Was he playing with the kids to make himself look good? Was he buttering up her parents to make a good impression? Or was he actually enjoying playing with the kids and was his first impulse to step in and help where he could?

Before today, she would have unequivocally said the latter.

Before he’d ignored what she wanted, before he hadn’t given her the time to think and make her own choice, she would have been absolutely certain of his motivations.

Now, she was second guessing everything. Second guessing how well she could read him. Second guessing how well she really knew him.

As her mother walked up to her, Julie stiffened. She was still righteously pissed at her mom for inviting John. Sandra coughed, obviously unwilling to continue the previous conversation with her aunt there.

“I’m, uh, gonna get something to drink. And then maybe see if Connor wants to be saved from being buried under a pile of kids.” Giving Julie a cheeky little finger wave, Sandra fled the scene. Just as well. If she was there, Julie would have felt obligated to be civil to her mom to help save face.

Because that’s what good daughters did.

“Go away, Mom,” she said through gritted teeth, pushing a smile onto her lips, so anyone watching them wouldn’t realize how angry she was at her mother. “I don’t want to talk to you.”

“Well, I want to talk to you. I’m sorry.”

The apology was so unexpected, it hit Julie like a blow to the stomach, knocking the breath and the retort she’d been about to sling back at her mother right out of her. She’d been about to say “no” and walk away, but instead, she stared at her mother, trying to remember the last time she’d heard her apologize.

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