“He was happily ensconced in the heavily tattooed arms of someone named Mongo, who was introducing your son to his first beer.” She tucked the Elmo doll to her breast and moved toward the windows.

She was goading him. Will wasn’t sure if that was good or bad.

He decided to play along. “You shouldn’t have left him with Mongo. He’s an offensive player.”

Julianne tsked. “Just because he has a few tattoos doesn’t make him offensive.”

Will stifled a groan as he rubbed the back of his neck with a hand that was less steady than it had been before she arrived. “I assume my mother was there.”

“Yep.” She kept her back to him. “But she’s too busy playing kissy-face with Hank to watch over Owen. Mongo will have to do.”

Ah hell, he should have gone to the party. But he didn’t want to go because he’d been certain that his mother would ensure Julianne would be there. And he’d made up his mind about giving her her freedom. From now on, the choices would be up to Julianne. Seeing her again would just tempt fate.

Except she’d left the party and was standing in his loft. The wedding band on the counter indicated she’d made a choice. His body ached to take her in his arms and persuade her to change her mind, but that was how this whole mess started. They needed to talk.

“Julianne . . .”

“You said there was a view of the harbor here.” She quickly turned from the window. “I don’t see the harbor.”

He’d misread her eyes. They weren’t seductive, they were anxious and maybe a little angry. Her chest was moving up and down rapidly as she drew in quick short breaths. Elmo was clutched in a death grip to her breast. Will wanted to soothe her, but he didn’t dare touch her.

“Um.” His mind tried to wrap itself around her question. “Upstairs. The view is from the bedroom.”

She pointed to the stairs at the side of the room. “Up there?”

No! He couldn’t sleep up there as it was. If he let Julianne up into his bedroom, he’d have to freaking move out. Instead he nodded, like an idiot. “Uh-huh.”

His body throbbed as he watched her sashay up the stairs to his bedroom. Clearly still in idiot mode, he followed her. When he got to the landing, she was standing with her back to him, the glory of the Inner Harbor silhouetting her. He leaned a shoulder against one of the pillars supporting the ceiling, shoving his hands into his pockets to keep from hauling her to the bed.

“I’d like you to explain something to me.” She didn’t bother turning to face him. Her ramrod-straight spine and tense shoulders were his only indication that this was difficult for her. “How is it that you can be so fierce on the football field, never stopping until the play is dead, but you run away from a relationship at the first opportunity?”

An abashed sigh escaped his lips. “It’s not like that, Julianne.”

“Really? It seems that way to me. But then this marriage wasn’t exactly a relationship, was it? Just an arrangement to benefit our son.” He watched her struggle to swallow. “So I guess it really doesn’t matter, does it?”

“It may have started out that way, but it quickly changed to something more for me.” His voice was hoarse as he tried to work around the lump in his own throat. “Hell, maybe deep down I always felt that way and that’s why I pushed for the marriage.”

Slowly, she turned from the window, her eyes shimmering. Will wanted to close the distance between them, but he knew that wasn’t the best course of action.

“So,” she hesitated. “It came down to you not trusting me.”

Will rubbed a hand over the back of his neck. He was ashamed to admit he was guilty of that infraction. “I didn’t want to believe you’d sold me out. But I guess I was trying to sabotage the relationship just like you said.”

Julianne nodded resolutely. “And today?”

His gaze connected with hers. Obviously she’d figured out he’d been by her place earlier. Honesty was the cornerstone to trust, so he led with the truth.

“Today I figured I’d let you make your own decisions.”

Her face was baffled as she continued to stare at him.

Will sighed. “It was something your brother said this morning.”

“Stephen?” she choked out. “You’re suddenly listening to my mercenary brother?”

“No! I mean, yes.” He held his hands up. “Let me explain. Your brother’s rationale makes sense. He felt guilty that he’d allowed me to force you into a marriage. So he used the information against me to help get you out of it.”

“What?” Her eyes got all squinty as she crossed her arms beneath her breasts. Will stifled a groan.

“Okay, the flaw in his plan was that he didn’t ask you how you felt about the marriage. Don’t you see? Neither of us asked you how you felt. We just took your choices away from you.” Will blew out a breath. “Today, when I saw you with your friends, I realized that if I hadn’t gotten you pregnant, then forced you to marry me, you might have been happy with someone else. And I didn’t want to force you again.”

She muttered something in Italian that sounded if not illegal, at least obscene. “That has to be the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard!” She was furious. Gorgeously angry. On the one hand, Will was grateful they were having this conversation upstairs, away from the kitchen and its ready supply of knives. On the other hand, her heaving breasts and flushed cheeks were really starting to turn him on.

“First of all”—she stalked across the room, ticking points off on her fingers—“there isn’t anyone else. Yes, I blurted out Nicky’s name that night, but not because we were in a relationship. It was because of some stupid crush I had on him for years. He’d been my fantasy lover for years. Until you.”

Will’s body went rigid as she drew to within six inches of him. “Second, no one forced me to do anything I didn’t want to do. It took both of us to have a baby. And I didn’t have to marry you. I could have contested you. But I didn’t.” Her voice softened to a near-whisper. “I felt a connection to you that first night on Sea Island. One that goes deeper than just our son. Something spiritual. Owen was created out of that connection.” A tear leaked out of her eye. “But I can’t risk my heart if you won’t fight for me. For us. You can’t just hide and ignore the hard stuff. You have to tell me what you want.”

Tentatively, he reached across with the tip of his finger and wiped her tear away. “All I want is for you to be happy, Julianne.”

“Prove it.”

It was all the invitation Will needed. Cupping her face in his hands, he pulled her closer for a kiss, his mouth feasting on hers as she arched her body to meet his. It wasn’t enough. He needed to be skin to skin with her. Without breaking the kiss, he reached between their bodies and tugged at the tie holding her dress on. Julianne pushed his jacket off his shoulders.

Will swore as he broke off the kiss and tore at the clothes on his body. Julianne seductively shed her dress, making him pant as she paraded toward the bed in her high-heeled sandals, bra, and panties. “If you want to be able to put those on again afterward, you’d better take them off before I rip them off,” he threatened as he stalked toward the bed. Her eyes went wide as she did as she was told with a renewed sense of urgency.

Once she was naked, Will tossed her on the mattress, a seductive smile alighting on her face as she landed. He collapsed on top of her, supporting himself on his forearms, bringing his nose down to rest gently on hers.

She traced a finger along his biceps. “You haven’t been sleeping here?”

“I couldn’t. It seems I can’t sleep without you in my bed.”

“Hmm. That’s going to make those away games awfully difficult.”

“Yeah, but I can’t think about that now. I need to tell you something before I totally lose my mind here.” His body was on fire pressed against hers. He needed to get the words out. “I love you, Julianne. I was going to tell you that day when I screwed everything up. But you have to know how deeply I love you.”

Her eyes glistened with unshed tears. “Like I said before, prove it.”

Will kissed her then, reveling in her hot, silky mouth as his hands found all his favorite places on her body. He took his time pressing his lips to her temple, her ears, her cheeks, her jaw, her neck before exploring the rest of her body. Julianne murmured words of love in a multitude of languages, her hands stroking his skin. A sheen of exertion covered both their bodies by the time he finally entered her. She tilted her hips to better accommodate him and they both abandoned themselves to the fevered lovemaking that was and had always been the foundation of trust for them. Only now, Will understood it.

They spent long, tender moments afterward lying intertwined, whispering to one another about their desires and dreams. Will texted his mother, making sure Owen was being taken care of. He got a smiley face texted back to him.

Julianne chuckled as she nestled in the crook of his arm, her naked body arousing him again. “You see, second chances aren’t so hokey, after all.”

“Speaking of second chances, Julianne, you don’t have to give me your design company.”

She crawled onto his chest, bringing her face to face with him. They needed to have this conversation, but the position was doing crazy things to his body.

“For someone so smart, you can really be obtuse sometimes. I’m not giving it to you. I’m giving it to the town. For you.”

He tried to speak, but she pressed her fingers to his lips.

“You don’t feel a part of the town because you don’t have a stake there. Despite the fact you grew up in Chances Inlet. I understand that. So I’m giving you a stake. Use it or don’t, but it’s there if you want it. You can have as little or as large a role as you choose. Whatever is going to make you comfortable living there.”