“I don’t really care if you’re hungry or not, missy,” Ryan snapped. “We’re about to eat, so go wash up.”

Kate looked to him, saw the anger in his eyes. And felt the need to defend Julia. But before she could, tears filled the girl’s eyes, and she darted for the stairs.

“Ryan,” Kate said in the quiet that remained. “Don’t be mad at her.”

“I won’t put up with her treating you like—”

“Hi, dear.” Kate’s mother rounded the corner and shot her a beaming smile, oblivious to the tension in the kitchen. Kate’s father followed closely on her heels. “We didn’t expect to see you so early.”

Oh, crap. Her parents. Panic swamped Kate, and she tried to smooth her unruly hair with the arm not holding Reed. “Well, uh…”

She looked to Ryan for help, but he only tipped his head and grinned, as if to say, busted.

Some help he was. Kate scowled his way, then looked back at her mother. Dammit, what was she going to say?

“We have some errands to run this morning,” Ryan said to her parents, rescuing her when she’d thought he’d let her flail in the wind alone. “Any chance you two can watch the kids for us today?”

Roger settled onto a stool at the bar. He reached for a grape from the bowl. “Sure thing. Giants are playing this afternoon. Kids’d love it. You two want to go?”

“I don’t think we’re going to have time,” Ryan said, “but thanks.”

A door slammed upstairs before Kate could wonder too much about what he had planned. She watched as Ryan’s eyes shot to the ceiling and frustration settled over his handsome features.

The guilt Kate had gotten so used to over the last few days ramped up a notch. “I should go talk to her.”

“Let me.” He reached out and squeezed her arm. Warmth circled from that spot and spread straight to her heart.

“Come on, Reed,” Kathy said, reaching for Kate’s son as Ryan disappeared up the back stairs. “Let’s help your mom finish breakfast. My goodness, what happened to these eggs?”

One glance over confirmed Kate’s worst fear. The bowl she’d hit with her elbow lay upside down amidst a giant, goopy mess of shattered raw eggs.

She closed her eyes. Wished like hell she could just disappear into the background. Knew she couldn’t. Not only was her life a mess, but her daughter hated her, her parents had all but just walked in on her having sex with Ryan, and worst of all, she was pretty sure she was falling hard for the man.

A tumble, she feared, that would no doubt lead to nothing but heartbreak down the line, for all of them.

* * *

Ryan rubbed a hand over his chest as he made his way up the stairs. Hearing Annie say she needed him had sucked the air out of his lungs. But seeing her holding his son and the love that radiated between the two had nearly brought him to his knees.

He wanted his family back. He wanted the happiness they’d all missed out on. But mostly he just wanted her in his life permanently. Wanted to see her smile every morning, wanted to cuddle with her and Reed and Julia, wanted her looking up at him with those big green eyes heavy with desire and focused solely on him just as they’d been in the kitchen. And he wanted her telling him again and again that she needed him. That she wanted him. That she loved him in the same way he loved her. He didn’t care that she couldn’t remember what they’d once had. What was happening now between them…it was hotter than anything they’d ever had before.

He stopped outside Julia’s room, gathered himself. When he knew he wasn’t going to embarrass himself, he knocked gently on her door.

She didn’t answer, but he knew she was in there. He turned the knob and pushed the door open with his shoulder.

She was sitting on the window seat, leaning back against the wall, staring out at the trees in the backyard. Her arms were crossed, her brow furrowed in anger, her eyes so full of pain and anguish, for a moment he didn’t know what to say or do. She’d been his rock after Annie’s death. She’d been the only thing keeping him going. He ached with the knowledge that while he felt like he’d been given a second chance, she was suffering.

He eased down next to her. “Do you want to talk about it, or do you just want to stay mad?”

“I want to stay mad.”

“Well, I want to talk about it.”

She stared out the window. “I don’t like her.”

“You haven’t given her a chance yet.”

“I don’t have to give her a chance. I already know I don’t like her.”

Ryan massaged his forehead. “Julia, I don’t know what to do to make this easier for you. You have to try. I know this isn’t easy, but you have to at least try. The rest of us are giving it a shot.”

Her eyes darted to his. Eyes that were hard emerald gems, just like her mother’s, glittering with tears. “I don’t want to give it a shot. I don’t want to try to get to know her. I don’t want to be around her. And I don’t know why you do. She’s not the same. Why can’t you see that?”

“She is the same, deep down. You have to give her a chance to show you.”

“She’s fooling you, can’t you see it? She’s just going to mess everything up.” Julia jumped to her feet. “She doesn’t love you, she doesn’t love us, and when she figures that out, she’s going to leave again!”

“No, she won’t,” he said softly, hating that she had to deal with this.

“Yes, she will! And this time, it’ll be her choice. It won’t be an accident.” Tears streamed down her little face. She wiped at her cheek. “I don’t want to have that happen again. I don’t want it to happen to us again!”

“Oh, baby.” He pulled her close and wrapped his arms around her even though she struggled. “That’s not going to happen, I promise.”

But how could he be sure? Annie had all but told him last night she wanted to leave, to forget the whole mess. He couldn’t make her stay, not if she didn’t want to. But he wouldn’t let her go without a fight, either. Not after this morning.

When she stopped struggling, he eased back, swiped tears from her cheeks. “I love you, Julia. I’m not going to let you get hurt again. I promise.”

Her arms slid around his neck, and she rested her head against his shoulder. “Why do you have to date her? Why can’t you just be friends?”

“Because I love her, baby,” he said softly into her hair. “Because I have for a long time, since way before you were born. That doesn’t stop just because someone says it should. It doesn’t stop because time goes by. It’s always there.”

“But you don’t love her. You love Mom.”

He leaned back to look at her. She was so much like her mother. The same eyes, the same chin. The same silly dent in her cheek. That same stubborn nature. With gentle fingers he brushed back a lock of her hair. “She is Mom, baby.”

She pulled him back, hiding her face in his chest.

“Please, Julia.” Tears stung the backs of his eyes. “Please try, for me. I need you to at least make an effort. This friction is killing me.”

She sniffled and wiped her eyes, clinging to him as if he were her last lifeline. She was silent for so long, he didn’t know what to say or do. They had to get through this. They had to.

“Okay,” she finally said. “I’ll try, but not for her. Only for you.”

It wasn’t the answer he longed to hear, but it was a start. And it was more than he’d had yesterday.

When he moved back, he wiped her tear-streaked cheeks again. She was his everything, but even for her he couldn’t stop loving the only woman he’d ever wanted.

“Thank you, Julia.” He smoothed her hair back from her face. “Are we okay here?”

“Yeah, I guess so.”

She was lying. He could see it in her eyes. But he wanted to believe her words, needed to in order to stay sane. “Good.”

He rose and grasped her hand. “Come on. I’m starving. We need to get downstairs before Grandpa eats everything. You know how he likes eggs and pancakes.”

Julia followed him out the door, and as he headed toward the laughter coming from the kitchen, for the first time in months—years—Ryan felt that ice in his chest begin to thaw. For the first time in forever, he had hope.

* * *

Ominous gray clouds threatening rain hovered over the city. A thin fog settled on the ground, and a gentle breeze rustled leaves in the trees. If the weather was any indication of what lay ahead, Kate wasn’t sure she wanted to keep searching.

They’d gotten a later start than she’d hoped for. After retrieving her old laptop and purse from the attic where he’d stored it after her accident, Ryan had left for an hour to deal with a situation at work. Seeing her old things did nothing for Kate’s memory, but she hadn’t expected much. Still, it was weird to look at something that had once been hers. And to feel nothing.

Shaking off the melancholy that brought, she arranged for some time off from the journal at Ryan’s insistence. Tom’s secretary hadn’t sounded happy about passing on her request, but Kate wasn’t up for arguing with Ryan over this one. At least not until she found out who at the publishing house had been involved with her disappearance.

She checked addresses as Ryan drove along the waterfront. The car bounced over a speed bump along Harbor Drive, and she shifted in the leather seat. Ryan’s new Jag stuck out like a sore thumb down here, black and shiny, so unlike the rusted pickups and worn compacts parked in most driveways along this dilapidated stretch of road.

Glancing sideways at him in the fancy car, she was reminded of his success. There were moments she forgot he was practically a celebrity, forgot about his wealth and prestige. When they were alone together, he was just like any other guy. He didn’t live like a man who made millions, didn’t act like he could buy and sell you at the drop of a hat. But then there were moments she’d see a look in his eye or hear him on the phone with a business associate, and she’d remember how powerful he really was.