Marry Me Read Online Free Page B

Eric teased.
    At this, Seth and Julia both laughed, and it seemed to lighten the moment.
    â€œAre we almost set up here?” Eric asked, gesturing to the field.
    Seth swiveled his head around, grateful for any excuse to look away from Julia and try to regain his sanity. “Almost. We’ll be ready to go in a few minutes.”
    â€œI’ll go check with the guys.”
    Seth started to go after him, to escape, but Eric waved him off. “No, no, I can go. You two catch up. I’ll be right back.”
    Seth fought back a surge of panic. Now what? Was he supposed to talk to Julia? Like they were long-lost friends? He barely knew her anymore. Plus, he couldn’t look at her without swallowing his tongue, which made conversation pretty difficult.
    Julia was the one who tried to break the ice. “I saw Sarah.”
    â€œGood. I’m sure she was thrilled to see you.”
    â€œNot half as thrilled as I was to see her.”
    The comment finally broke through the haze of attraction. He swiveled his head and stared in amazement. Julia was pretending to care about Sarah now? “Surprising, considering you haven’t bothered to come back in fifteen years.”
    She reared back a little. “Well, I’m here now, and I’m going to be here awhile. I’m going to help Sarah with Marry Me.”
    The surprises kept coming. Seth would have laid odds the prospect of planning weddings would make Julia run away fast enough to leave skid marks. “She talked you into it?”
    Julia’s mouth pinched into a straight line. “I’m happy to do it.”
    â€œI thought you weren’t a big believer in love and marriage.”
    â€œYou barely know me,” she said, through gritted teeth. “Where’d you get such an idea?”
    â€œRemember when we had to read Romeo & Juliet in school? You said Juliet was an idiot for killing herself over Romeo. If she’d given it a few weeks the feelings would have gone away.”
    Julia didn’t have anything to say.
    Having made his point, Seth changed the subject. He didn’t want to get into an argument with her. “I assume you saw Grace, too?”
    â€œOf course,” Julia said. “I didn’t realize how much I’d missed her, until I saw her come out of the house.”
    Again, astonishment made him curt. “It would have been nice if you could have shown you missed her, by maybe coming to see her.”
    Julia turned on him, blue eyes flashing, her glorious red hair practically standing on end like the mutant who could control the weather. “Look, I’m having a hard enough time dealing with my own guilt about Grace and Sarah without you heaping on a big helping of it. So, why don’t you back off? Aren’t you supposed to be this compassionate minister? Isn’t it in your job description to show mercy and forgiveness? If so, you missed a few classes.”
    Seth’s jaw dropped.
    She swiped a hand across her face and seemed to deflate before his eyes. “I’m sorry I lashed out. My only excuse is I drove all night, and I’ve been worried sick about Sarah and the baby. Plus, I haven’t had any decent sleep since I lost my job.”
    Regret lanced through him. He cleared his throat. “No, I’m sorry. You’re right. I am supposed to show mercy and forgiveness. My excuse is I’ve become protective of Grace and Sarah. I know your relationship with them is complicated, and it means a lot you would put your life on hold to help them.”
    You’re such a liar, Seth Graham. You lashed out because prickly, bitter, keep-your-distance Julia Richardson made you remember you’re still alive.
    His apology seemed to knock the wind out of her sails. “All right then. Umm, I see Eric waving for you. It must be time to start.”
    Seth started to open his mouth and try to explain, but what could he say? I’ve lusted after you since the ninth