Chapter 3 Meeting My Son's Bestfriend

• Julia
• Michael was right. I’d never been able to forget him. It had been a year since my one-night stand with that gorgeous stranger, yet he had haunted my dreams ever since. I never went back to that club—I couldn’t risk seeing him again. Not after he had awakened a dark desire in me that terrified me.
• It had been the best mistake of my life—but also a terrible one.
• I had to get used to my life now. No more wild nights, and Gilbert wasn’t coming back. I had been busy with work. More importantly, I had been focusing on being a mother.
• Olivia, my daughter, mentioned she was heading to the boutique for a change of clothes and would be coming home with Justin, my son. Surprisingly, Justin said he’d be bringing his best friend from college, who would be staying with us for a while.
• Lately, I had been working so much, paving my way to becoming Vice President of King Global. The last guy resigned, and now It was up for grabs. I had to impress the new CEO when he arrived—to show him I was the best person for the job. Losing George, our former CEO, to a heart attack a couple of months ago had been tough on the company. I could only hope the new CEO would continue the good work George had done.
• I had been pushing myself so hard that I knew I needed to take some time off before burning out. I planned to stay home more, spend time with Olivia and Justin, and get to know his friend—whom he clearly adored but whom I had never met. Even Olivia had only good things to say about him. I was curious to meet him.
• ***
• My children finally arrived, and I went out to greet them and welcome our guest.
• “Mom,” Olivia called out, hugging me with a giggle. “Thanks, you’re the best.”
• I noticed the shopping bags in her hands—my credit card must have taken a hit. “You’re back,” I said, returning her hug.
• My gaze shifted to Justin.
• “Hi, Mom,” he said, pulling me in for a hug. “Mom, this is Michael—my best friend. You remember, the one I always told you about.”
• What!
• My body tensed. He was the gorgeous stranger from my one-night stand.
• “Michael, this is my mom—”
• “Julia,” Michael cut in. He stared at me with intense surprise, clearly recognizing me too.
• “You know my mom?” Justin asked, his tone pleasantly curious.
• My heart thumped. I couldn’t let my children find out that I had a one-night stand with a stranger—who happened to be their friend. I held my breath as he stared at me, waiting for him to speak.
• “Yes,” he admitted.
• I knew I had to swoop in and fix this before it was too late.
• “Honey,” I said, clinging to Justin’s arm with a forced laugh, “he must have heard you mention my name one too many times. You’re best friends, after all.”
• “Oh… yeah, that’s true,” Justin agreed, suspecting nothing.
• Michael’s eyes stayed locked on mine as I forced a smile and extended my hand. “Pleasure to meet you, Michael. My son has told me so much about you. I’m Mrs. Jameson.”
• He hesitated for a moment, then shook my hand. And there it was again—our fingers touched, and an electric jolt shot through me.
• “Pleasure to meet you too,” he finally said.
• I withdrew my hand before it became obvious that our handshake had lasted longer than necessary.
• “Come on in, everyone,” I said, leading them inside—though my mind was already racing. Michael’s unexpected presence was about to make things a lot more complicated.
• “Welcome to our home, Michael. Justin will help you get settled in,” I added, flashing another forced smile before turning to walk away. I could still feel his gaze on me, and It made my stomach turn with anxiety.
• Later that evening, I was restless in bed. I put on my robe and went downstairs to the kitchen for a glass of water. I lost touch with reality as I remembered my night of passion with Michael. I didn’t notice that the glass was overflowing and water was spilling over the counter.
• “Rough night?” Michael’s voice came from behind.
• I gasped, startled and afraid to turn around to face him. I snapped back to reality and placed the jug on the counter. He moved closer until he stood right in front of me.
• “It’s good to see you, Julia,” he said. He called my name with such sweetness—Gosh, I loved it.
• “I should clean this up,” I said, quickly grabbing a cloth to wipe the water off the counter. He placed his hand over mine, seizing it.
• “I tried to find you after you vanished that night.”
• I summoned my courage and took a deep breath. I had to face him. Nip it in the bud once and for all.
• “What are you talking about?” I feigned ignorance.
• He moved closer, standing behind me. “You know exactly what I’m talking about, Julia.”
• Lord! He called my name again. Could he just stop? I waved away the sweet feeling his calling my name stirred in me.
• “I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about, and you’re standing too close,” I said firmly.
• “I don’t understand,” he replied, seeming genuinely confused.
• “Michael…?” I prompted, gesturing for his surname.
• “King,” he responded.
• “Mr. King, I believe you must be mistaken and have confused me with someone else. So, I would excuse your questionable behavior. Now… please step back,” I commanded, giving him a stern look.
• He had no choice but to move a few inches back, away from me. I could see the confusion in his eyes as he continued to watch me.
• “I’m sure you recognize me. We met at the Excel VIP club twelve months ago. Then we made love right after.”
• “That’s impossible,” I lied. “A woman of my standing would never have sex with a stranger. Especially not with a boy like yourself, Mr. King. Though, I hope you find the woman you’re looking for, so you don’t go on making false claims about uninvolved parties like myself.”
• “You’re right. We didn’t have sex,” he started, and I looked at him surprised. “We made love,” he continued, his eyes boring into mine. I bit my lip, memories of that night flashing through my mind. He let out a coy smile. Crap, he’d caught me.
• No. I couldn’t give up. I had to fake it until I nailed it.
• “Again, you have the wrong woman. I’ve never met you before or been to that club you mentioned,” I insisted, starting to walk away. But he grabbed my arm.
• “I could never forget you, Julia,” he said, cupping my chin just like he had the night we met. His full lips invaded mine in a hot kiss. I didn’t want him to stop, but I couldn’t get caught. I summoned every ounce of willpower in me and pushed him away.
• “I don’t know you. Quite frankly, I’ve been too indulgent. I am the mother of your best friend. You will treat me with respect or get out of my house!” I said, gesturing to the door with my hands.
• Something about the “him leaving” part seemed to put him off. “I apologize, Julia.”
• “It’s Mrs. Jameson to you,” I corrected. I almost touched my lips, remembering the kiss.
• “I’m sorry, Mrs. Jameson. I didn’t mean to disrespect you.”
• “I’m going to pretend this, right here, never happened—for my son’s sake. You’re his guest, and mine, while you’re in my house,” I said, gesturing around with my finger. “I assure you, I’m not the woman you think I am. How old are you, boy?”
• “I assure you, Mrs. Jameson,” the way he called me still sounded sweet in my ears. “I am very much a man, and I could show you if you’d let me,” he said, sucking his lower lip, shooting me an unholy look. He wanted me to know exactly what he meant. I felt a lump in my throat.
• “How old are you?” I asked, struggling to keep my emotions in check.
• “24,” he replied.
• Crap. He was way too young for me. I quickly did the math in my head—fourteen years younger. There was no way we’d work. It was bad enough that we had one night together.
• I considered fast and hard whether to stop the act, pull him close, and kiss him, continuing from where we left off, or…I took a deep breath.
• “Mr. King, if you’d like to spend your summer in this house, you’d better not make such vile accusations against me again. Especially not in front of my children. Do you understand?”
• “I do, Mrs. Jameson.” He took a step closer, his eyes searching mine. “Don’t you remember me at all?”
• I looked him in the eye and told the biggest lie of my life. “No.”
• His face fell, and it looked like I’d just crushed his heart. He went numb, not saying another word.
• “Good night, Mr. King.” I couldn’t trust myself around him. I had to run away.
• I walked away, hoping he’d believed me.
• Good job, Julia, I hailed myself. I nailed my performance tonight. But what about tomorrow? And the day after tomorrow?