“That’s what I was told. But last night, the Senate committee got some new information. They think it’s enough to subpoena you.”

“I don’t understand.” Will’s hands were shaking. They couldn’t force him to testify.

“Neither do I. Zevalos certainly didn’t give you up. Neither would anyone else involved. Especially since it would only implicate them. The only other people who know about this are you and I. And I certainly didn’t say anything.”

A roaring sound commenced in Will’s head. His fingers were tingling where they gripped the countertop and his breath was sawing through his chest.

“Jesus, Will.”

He could hear the panic in Roscoe’s voice, but his eyes wouldn’t focus any longer.

“Tell me you didn’t tell anyone else. Tell me you didn’t tell her!” Roscoe demanded.

Will didn’t need his agent to clarify who he meant by her. The only person he had told was Julianne. But she wouldn’t tell her brother. Not that. She’d said she loved Will. Certainly, she wouldn’t betray him.

Roscoe’s voice sounded like it was coming through a tunnel now. “Damn it, Will! I told you not to trust her. Her brother is on the freaking Senate committee, for crying out loud!”

Will tried to swallow around the lump in his throat. Could she have broken his trust? He refused to believe she had. Unclenching his fingers from the countertop, he staggered over to the small desk she’d been using. Yesterday, she’d been awfully secretive about what she was working on. He pulled a folder from the desk, stunned by the doodling he saw on the outside. Her brother’s name was there, with a pair of devil horns along with a star surrounding the notation of seventy-five thousand dollars. The folder dropped from his hand as if it burned him. Sketches of babies rained down on the kitchen floor.

Roscoe crouched down to sort through the papers. “It looks like she’s starting another company.” He whistled through his teeth. “And guess who’s providing the financing?”

The question was rhetorical because Will already knew the answer.

“She sold you out to her brother to get herself back in the design world. Looks like she plans to use Owen, too.”

“No!” Will roared, slamming his hand against the stainless steel fridge.

“How much more evidence do you need, Will? Jesus! She tried to steal your son from you. The woman must be a sexual sorceress in the bedroom if you can overlook all that.”

Will lunged at him, but Roscoe was adept at avoiding his clients’ punches after all these years.

“Settle down!” Roscoe yelled at him. “I’ve only let one of my clients actually deck me and only because I owed it to him.” Roscoe pulled a kitchen chair between them. “You pay me to watch out for you and to tell it like it is, but you don’t get to shoot the messenger.”

Will felt a great weight settle in his chest as he slumped into the desk chair. He wanted to wail. Had her love been a lie, too? His gut rolled just thinking it. All of his life, he’d been the kid looking in the window from the outside. Watching his friends love and be loved. His mother loved him, but she’d been too busy making sure they both survived to notice those painful moments when all the other boys played catch with their fathers or went on father-son campouts together. Or the dads who wouldn’t let their daughters date him because of where he lived or his parentage. The kids in school who’d cozied up to him to get help with their homework but made fun of his Goodwill clothing behind his back. Even in college, he’d stood apart from the rest, the poor scholarship kid whose mother could barely afford even a bus ticket for him to go home for the holidays while they were jetting off to tropical destinations.

But finally, he’d thought he’d found true happiness with Julianne. She and Owen would be his family. They would belong to him and he would belong to them. Could it all have been just a lie?

“Will.” Roscoe’s voice permeated the fog. “We need to get back to Baltimore. Ron can fly us back as soon as we can get over to the airport.”

“Not until Julianne and Owen get back.”

Roscoe sighed. “Okay, yeah. You need to say good-bye to your son. We can go over custody scenarios on the flight back.”

Will didn’t want to think about how this was going to impact his son. He just knew he needed to speak with Julianne. To ask her directly if she’d done what Roscoe thought or if it was just a big misunderstanding.

“Maybe you could throw some things in a bag while we wait,” Roscoe prodded him.

“Yeah.” Will slowly stood. “They can’t compel me to testify, can they?”

Roscoe didn’t respond immediately. “No. But the league has made it clear you’ll be suspended if you don’t.”

Will’s legs felt like wood as he climbed the stairs to his bedroom.

* * *

Julianne sang along to the U2 song on the satellite radio. It had been a beautiful day. They’d found two potential mill sites, both well within the price range Sebastian had specified. Patricia had been a pit bull, hammering the owners with construction questions Julianne wouldn’t have thought of. Annabeth had been a bit subdued all day, but she’d kept Owen occupied and happy. She’d left the two of them at the inn with Patricia while she’d come home to find Will. Although she’d only been gone for the day, she missed him.

The purpose of their fake marriage was so Will could bond with his son. But the real bonding had been between Will and Julianne. The potent attraction that had pulled them together on Sea Island was now a fierce connection. She’d told him she loved him the other night, and he hadn’t run screaming into the ocean, which she took as a positive sign. They still hadn’t talked about their future, however. It was as if neither one of them wanted to broach the subject, choosing to live in the moment instead, enjoying what they could of each other. Julianne hoped they could sustain whatever it was between them, because she now knew she couldn’t live without Will.

She cautiously steered the SUV up the drive when she noticed another car parked near the house. There was a rental car sticker on the bumper, but nothing else to identify its owner. Pulling her car beside it, Julianne turned off the ignition and hopped out, quickly striding up the steps.

“Will!” she called as she entered the kitchen. His large form sitting stonily at the kitchen table startled her.

“Hi,” she said warily as she placed her purse on the counter. She took a couple of steps toward him, but something stopped her. He was back to being formidable and unflappable in his business suit and tie. His face was the same stoic one that had greeted her in the hospital over a month before.

“Where’s the baby?” he asked. Something about his tone made her stomach drop.

“Umm . . . he’s with your mom. She’s going to walk him back in the stroller. The ladies in the yarn shop like to pinch his cheeks.” She sashayed her hips a little and smiled at him, but he didn’t see the joy in little old ladies cooing over their son. Her smile vanished as unease began to grip her.

“Will, what is it? What’s wrong?” Her voice shook slightly.

A movement out of the corner of her eye captured her attention. Will’s agent emerged from the shadows.

Julianne’s gaze darted from one man to the other. “Hello.”

Roscoe acknowledged her with the briefest of nods before turning to Will. “I’ll wait outside.”

Her palms were sweating now. “Will?” she pleaded.

He stood from his chair and closed the gap between them. She wanted to reach up and wrap her arms around him, but there seemed to be an invisible force field in place keeping them apart.

“I have to go to Baltimore tonight.”

Julianne shook her head in confusion. “I thought we were together this weekend. Is something wrong?”

His eyes were full of anguished fury. “I’m going to be subpoenaed to testify.”

Her hand shot to her mouth. “No!” she cried. “You said”—she pointed toward the door where Roscoe had slipped out—“he said it was finished. You wouldn’t have to testify. Everything was going to blow over.”

Her heart ached for him. This had to be devastating for Will. She reached a hand to his face, but he recoiled slightly. Julianne’s chest constricted and the breath caught in her throat as her hand hung there in the air. Unshed tears burned behind her eyelids.

“It’s not over. I’m being yanked in front of a Senate committee investigating racketeering charges.” His words were like hard blows to her stomach.

“Se—Senate committee?” Black dots swam before her eyes. This was the point where Will had always stepped in, his big hands holding her, comforting her. But he made no move to help her now, and her heart nearly shattered. With weak knees, she backed up against one of the bar stools and leaned against it.

“Yes, Princess. You’ve heard of those, haven’t you? I’m sure you must have, since your brother is on the committee that subpoenaed me.” His voice was cold and her body shivered involuntarily. “I have to know, Julianne. Why did you do it?”

Oh, God! What had she done? She’d ruined everything. “I didn’t,” she cried. Except she had. A gasping sob escaped and she placed both hands over her mouth.

“All this time, you’ve been here collecting information for your brother. Was it fun, talking to him every day sharing my secrets, Princess?” The look on his face was savage now.

“It wasn’t like that! I didn’t mean it, Will! I didn’t!”

“Save it.” Will’s words cracked like a whip. Then he slammed her file folder down on the counter. “How much did he pay you? Was that what this was all about, Princess? Money?”