“Where the hell have you been?” He gripes, hands on his hips. “Do you have any idea how long I’ve been waiting for you?”
I make a show of checking my phone. “Huh. No missed calls or messages.”
The corners of his mouth tighten with irritation. “It’s Wednesday night, and I know you weren’t at your office. I checked. So where the hell have you been?”
I stare back at him. “It’s funny that you think I owe you answers, Thatch. Maybe next time, check with me before showing up at my place.”
“Whatever.” His expression turns petulant—an expression that doesn’t suit any kind of man, especially one in his late thirties. “I need to talk?—”
My phone interrupts him, and I look down,My Lynneflashing across the screen. “Sorry, man. Gotta take this.”
His eyes bulge, his mouth already opening to protest,but I’m gone, disappearing into my bedroom and shutting the door behind me.
“Lynne?” I bark as soon as I get it to my ear.
She lets out a breathy sound of amusement that curls through my body like smoke, and some of the tension seeps out of my shoulders. “Hi.”
“Are you okay?” There’s a rough demand in my voice, and I try to rein it in. “Where are you? Do you need me to come back?”
“No,” she rushes to say. “I’m sorry it took me so long to call. I’m fine.”
I hesitate, but I want honesty with us always. “I was pretty worried. I wish you hadn’t done it on your own.”
“I’m okay,” she promises, her tone softening. “I’m sorry for worrying you.”
“As long as you’re alright.”
She lets out a ragged sigh. “I am, even though I walked into a mess. It was a lot to process.” She pauses a beat. “I don’t think I really want to talk about it tonight. I wanted to thank you for meeting me, and for helping me. I’m not sure I would’ve been able to get through this without you. Not this quickly, anyway.”
Satisfaction fills me, enjoying her appreciation, even if I don’t need it. “I was glad to help. And I’m going to keep helping.”
“This isn’t your mess,” she insists. “Christopher isn’t going to let go easily, and I don’t want you to get caught up in it. If he realizes he can file a suit against you… Maybe it’s best that we keep our distance.”
“No,” I say shortly, shrugging out of my suit jacket and dropping it onto the end of the bed.
“Grafton—”
I clear my throat, cutting her off. “Thought we already covered this, darling. We’re past the point of distance.”
Her breath hitches in a way that has my mouth twitching. “It’s not as simple as you’re making it out to be,” she protests, but it sounds like it’s something she thinks she should be saying, rather than anything she actually feels. “I come with so much baggage, and I need to think about Mase and Ginny.”
I make a small noise of agreement. “I’d like to meet them soon.”
“It’s like that, is it?” she asks, clearly amused at my deflection.
“Yeah, Lynne. It’s like that.”
For a long moment, she doesn’t say a word, only the sound of her even breathing filtering down the line. I wait her out, staring blindly ahead, imagining her standing in front of me.
Finally, she whispers, “You terrify me. I never expected to meet someone like you.”
“And you never will again. The search is over, Lynne. I’m gonna show you the world you were always supposed to have.” She doesn’t reply, and I ease off, changing the subject. “We aren’t talking about it, but did you record what went down tonight?”
She hums. “Yes. All of it.”
“Good girl.” There’s a little gasp, muffled like she slapped a palm over her mouth, and a wicked grin tugs at my mouth. “I want you to hang up and send a copy to your lawyer, okay? We don’t want to take any risks of losing it.” A pause. “I’m assuming that what you walked in on will only help push the divorce forward.”
“Oh, yeah.” The words are dry and filled with meaning.
