#Chapter 118: A Reward of Tenderness

I stood very still, confused and surprised both by the very presence of Julian’s lips on my cheek as well as the tenderness of the affection he was showing me. Julian had always struck me as something of a playboy, and while I understood that much of how he acted was an act, he never seemed to connect with any woman, in any relationship, beyond a fleeting fancy. In our school days, he strung along many hearts, leaving a trail of broken ones behind him. He never seemed to care about the mess he made of girls’ emotions. Even Nicholas had warned me that Julian was a love them and leave them kind of guy. So the gentle way he kissed my cheek, and the way his hands hovered over my shoulders, close but not touching, was so bizarre to me, I was stunned speechless. Then he pulled away, walked around me, and continued up the stairs. After a few steps, he stopped to look back at me. “You coming?” I nodded, still too surprised to formulate words, and hurried along behind him. We walked in s