Page 70 of Accidental Fiancé

“Did I interrupt something?”

Nora laughed. “Yes. But when has that ever stopped me?”

“Can you put the filthy pig boy on hold so we can talk? I'm kind of in the middle of a crisis right now.”

“Of course.” She didn't bother to put the phone on mute. Her voice went dark. “You will lay there and think about what you've done. I'll be back when I'm back.” Then I heard the sound of a door closing. “Alright, doll, what can I help you with?”

“Before we get to me, what the hell are you up to?”

“Date night.”

“You're dating men again?”

She sighed. “I'm trying one out. You know they never last. So what is going on? What is this crisis you’re going through?”

“Julian admitted that he had a crush on me in high school, and that's part of why he attacked Grant Worthington.”

“How is this news?”

“Youknew?”

I could practically hear her eyes roll. “My dear, sweet Maggie. What did I say? I told you he had a crush on you. I told you that you had a crush on him. If people would just listen to me.”

“I thought you were just saying that! You make blanket declarations all the time, Nora!”

“And when have I been wrong?”

I hated to admit she had a point. “Okay, if you know everything, then what the hell am I supposed to do with this information?”

“Tell me what he said. How did all of this come out about Grant?”

I explained what Chloe had told me at the spa then what happened after I got back to the mansion. “I'm still not sure what to think. But apparently, he didn't tell me any of this because he thought I would feel guilty. He admitted he attacked him in part because of the crush he had on me.”

“Do you?”

“Do I feel guilty that Grant Worthington finally got his ass kicked and for a good reason? No. Not even a little bit.” Maybe I should have. We were just teenagers back then. But Grant was the one who lied about me and got a man fired because of it.

“What about Chloe? What does she have to say about any of this?”

“Only what I told you. I haven't redressed or gone downstairs yet.”

“Hmm,” she muttered, more to herself than to me. “You mentioned that at the spa, you realized Julian had defendedyou back then, and then your voice went all soft before you continued. Why?”

My breath got locked in my chest for a blink. “Because when I realized that he did it for me, I… it uncorked something deep. And now I don't know what to do about it.”

“He fought for you and it turned you on,” she replied.

“No. I mean, yes, but no, that's not what got me. It was that he did something to protect me, and he didn't even try to take credit for it. He didn't do it to show off or brag about it later.”

“Most teenage boys would do anything for that kind of street cred, to fluff their feathers to the girl they were trying to defend.”

“Exactly! He did it because it felt like the right thing to do.”

“And because he was overwhelmed by his crush on you.”

I snorted a bitter laugh. “Yeah, that's in there too. He can have more than one reason for it.”

“I’d say most people have more than one reason for anything they do. I suppose the more important question at this point is, where do you go from here? He uncorked something deep, as you put it. You two have been banging your brains out and?—"

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