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When no one spoke, I bit my lip and ducked my gaze again. “You said you wanted to talk. If this is about my resignation, I’m sorry I didn’t give you any notice, but I thought it was better after what happened at the gala. I–”
“Julie, you didn’t do anything wrong.”
I shook my head at Grayson’s assertion. “No, I did. You don’t have to lie for me. I should have never–”
He sighed and moved to kneel in front of me, taking my hand between his. “I’m telling you, you didn’t do anything wrong. I realize now that you’ve asked before about people I preferred to avoid. I never mentioned my mother because I honestly didn’t think about it. That’s on me, not you.”
My brow furrowed as I stared at our hands. “I didn’t know she was your mother…”
He cupped my face, forcing me to look at him. “Even more reason why this was not your fault. I should have been clear that she was not to contact me in any way. There was no way you could’ve known that on your own.”
Tears slipped over my cheeks and my voice tightened despite my fight to stay calm and not cry on them. “I should’ve asked. You told me to cancel the meeting with her. I never asked who she was or why, and I was presumptuous. I-I’m sorry…”
The dam broke, and tears spilled heavily over my cheeks. I thought I would’ve run out by now, considering how much I cried all weekend, but apparently not. Grayson tugged my hand, pulling me into his arms, and it only got worse, deep sobs shaking my body. His hand brushed over my hair and when he spoke, his voice was hoarse.
“I’m the one who needs to apologize. This was my fault, not yours. I was taken off guard by her showing up and I took it out on you. That was wrong of me. You taking over tasks for me without asking has pulled me out of a downward spiral. I need you to do things like that for me. I’ll do better in the future about telling you who to avoid, but please don't quit. I need you.”
My body trembled as I cried my eyes out. I’d worked myself up all weekend and the relief was so overwhelming it was painful. Grayson never pushed me away, his hug borderline too tight. I liked it that way, though, so I didn’t push him away. I hugged him back, letting out a shuddering breath as I finally let myself relax.
“We need you,” Luka agreed. “I’m sorry I went behind your back. I should’ve talked to you about it first and–”
I shifted backwards, scrubbing at my eyes. “Wait. What?”
He was standing on the other side of the coffee table, his eyes on the floor. He looked uncomfortable and wouldn’t look at me even when I called his name.
“He’s talking about him and me,” Bennett grumbled.
Tipping my head, I frowned at him. “What are you talking about?”
Grayson looked confused too, looking between them. “Him and you…” When neither of them would look at him, he frowned. “Are you two… a thing?”
My eyebrows shot up, and I swung my gaze back to Luka. His face was dark red, and he looked almost ashamed, fidgeting where he stood. When I looked back at Bennett, his expression was darker, glaring at the coffee table.
“Bennett?”
He lifted a shoulder carelessly. “Don’t know. He won’t talk to me. Again.”
Luka shot him a dirty look. “I told you we’d stop if she wasn’t okay with it. You agreed.”
Bewildered, I shook my head, waving my hands. “Wait. Wait. When did I say I wasn’t okay with it?”
They finally looked up, and Luka frowned at me. “At the gala. I told you and you ran away from me.”
Realization hit me, and I grimaced. “I’m sorry. I remember you trying to talk to me, but honestly, I was so upset, I couldn’t really take in what you were saying. I don’t think I heard you.”
His jaw dropped, but I saw Bennett nod. “I noticed you looked upset, but he rambles when he’s nervous and I didn’t get a chance to tell him to wait.”
Luka whipped his head around. “Why the hell didn’t you tell me that?”
Bennett glared at him. “When, exactly? None of you answered my phone calls. Was I supposed to do smoke signals or something?”
Everyone was getting really worked up. I pushed to my feet, moving to stand in front of Luka. He turned his face away, still frowning, but when I cupped his cheek, he leaned into it with a sigh.
“I’m sorry I didn’t listen better. When did all this start?”
“A few weeks ago,” he mumbled. “It’s nothing. I don’t want to make you uncomfortable and–”
“It doesn’t make me uncomfortable, Luka. I just want to understand. Are you saying you’d prefer to be with Bennett or–”
