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feeling of despair creeping over her.
When the plane landed, she pushed her way through the lines, apologizing as she went,
and raced for ground transportation and a cab.
Methodist Hospital, she told the driver. And please hurry.
* * * *
The snowstorm demanded Luke s attention as he headed out of Boston, but not enough to
keep thoughts from clogging his mind. Julia s face kept floating in front of him. His lips were still
seared from their kisses, his skin branded by her touch. Watching her leave, walk away from him,
had been like having his heart ripped out of his chest.
Knowing Julia, sharing himself with her in more ways than the physical one, made
returning to his solitary life a difficult task. When he d walked away from his wreck of a marriage,
solitary had seemed like the best choice. It had taken him far too long to realize what a shallow
woman he d married. By then they had two sons and the chain around his neck was firmly in
place. He d stayed believing that whatever it cost him, no other man would raise his children.
But that hadn t worked out quite the way he d expected. His sons were in Alabama with
Patty and she d done her very best to ruin the relationship they d had. With Julia, he saw hope for
the future. A life he d never thought he d have.
Damn Charles anyway.
The closer he got to his condo, the more uptight he felt. Life had dealt him a harsh blow
and he needed to figure out how to deal with it.
* * * *
Julia paused at the entrance to the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit waiting room. Forcing
herself to breathe slowly, she slowed the accelerated pace of her heart, wet her lips, and
swallowed. For this, she needed to be in control of herself.
Every available seat seemed to be filled, but she spotted Claire in a corner, leaning back,
eyes closed. She walked over to her and touched her shoulder gently.
Oh! Claire startled, then focused her eyes as she recognized Julia. Oh, my God. Julia.
She stood and hugged her friend, and for a moment the two women took strength from each
other.
Why are you still here? Julia asked. You must be exhausted. Not to mention the fact
your husband is probably wondering where you are.
Brad s fine. He was here, too, as a matter of fact, but I finally sent him home. I figured
you d rather have just me here.
Thank you for that. Julia motioned toward the doorway with her hand. Can we go into
the hallway and talk?
Claire nodded. They walked to the far end of the corridor and paused near a tall window.
All my crises seem to occur on rainy days.
All right. She touched Claire s arm. Tell me everything.
Okay. I had to pry this out of that jackass he was with. Claire rubbed her forehead, an
effort to sort out her jumbled thoughts. He and Rod McGuire apparently had dinner at the
Downtown Club, then ran into a couple of clients and sat in the bar talking with them for a long
time. Charles got up to say goodbye, grabbed his chest, and fell down in terrible pain. McGuire
called an ambulance and they brought him here.
Julia looked around. Oh, God. Julia bit her lip. It s the divorce. I know it is.
Stop that. Claire s voice was sharp. Get this through your head. Nothing you did caused
what happened. Nothing. Are we clear on that? This would have happened whether you were
there or not.
And Rod McGuire, of all people. Damn.
Not only Charles s partner but his oldest friend. When Julia and Charles married, Rod had
made it patently clear that he thought she was a poor choice and had never bothered to mask his
dislike.
Julia took a deep breath. All right. Go on.
About three in the morning, McGuire finally figured someone should call the house and
let you and the children know what was happening.
Charles didn t know I was out of town, Julia said in a low voice. I m glad they came
here. Charles s doctor is on staff.
McGuire filled out the insurance papers. Told me bluntly he d handle everything and I
could go home. She made a sound of disgust. Said I didn t have any business here but it would
be nice if Charles s wife showed up.
He knows about the divorce. Julia was angry. They all do.
He was just being an arrogant ass. Ignore him.
I don t know how to thank you for coming down here. She hugged Claire again.
I didn t want you to walk into this by yourself with no one but the Ice Man for
company.
Julia hugged her. What have you been able to find out?
By the time Dr. Vinoy got here, they had him stabilized in Emergency. Then Vinoy
called in a top cardiologist. I have his card here someplace. She dug around in her purse,
produced a thin piece of pasteboard. Insisted that he give it to me. Rombauer. Ethan Rombauer.
He said for you to have him paged when you got here.
This is all my fault. Julia chewed at her bottom lip. God is punishing me, I just know
it.
Julia. Claire s voice, though heavy with fatigue, was sharp. I won t even allow you to go
there. God doesn t hand out heart attacks or anything else as punitive measures.
I never should have seen Luke again, she said in an anguished voice.
Stop that. In no way are you responsible for this. You get little enough pleasure as it is.
Don t destroy what s left to you. She shook her head. I was surprised to discover Charles had a
heart at all.
Claire! My God!
I know, I know. Don t speak ill and all that. But I will not permit you to take this on
yourself. Charles is a big boy. He knows enough to take care of his health. Whatever happened is
on him. And you deserve to have a good life without him.
But not this way.
She felt the weight of guilt pressing on her heavily. She had gone from one man s loving,
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