Page 121 of At His Beck & Call

“Alright, but then you and your mom need to go home and go to bed, alright?”

The disappointment I feel at those words nags at me as we all head down the street to a pizzeria right next to a high-end gelato shop that I’ve always wanted to try. I hoped Oliver might invite us back to his place again, but maybe I’ve ruined that.

We devour slices of pizza the size of our faces. Henry goes for classic pepperoni, I choose mushrooms and peppers, and Oliver orders what can only be described as a meat mountain—every protein the pizzeria offers stacked onto one glorious slice.

Then, at Henry’s urgent reminder, it’s time to move on to gelato.

I follow Oliver to our table, as Henry eyes the array of desserts on display. There is every type of gelato imaginable in metal troughs on the counter, but I get a little fizz of happiness as Henry looks at me with a grin. There’s only ever one choice for us.

Once we’re seated, Oliver orders dark chocolate for himself and raises his eyebrows at me.

“Stracciatella for Henry and me, please,” I say, “I think it’s best we share one or he’ll be high on sugar for the rest of the night.”

Oliver nods, giving our order to the waitress, and when the gelato arrives, Henry scoops it up happily.

“Did you have a good time?” Oliver asks, and I glance up at him.

“I think you know I did.”

“There are quite a few of those events in New York.”

He falls silent, smoothing his ice cream over with his spoon, but he doesn’t speak again as if he were going to invite me to another and thought better of it.

“Thank you,” I say sincerely. “It was magical.”

He gives a half smile, glancing at Henry before he places his spoon down, his expression changing from light-hearted to serious in seconds.

My heart lurches, wondering if this is the moment when he tells me everything needs to end between us.

“James is coming to the office on Friday.”

My eyes widen in shock as Oliver leans forward, spearing me with that intense stare I can’t look away from. Fumbling in my bag, I pull out Henry’s headphones.

“You want to listen to some music, baby?” I ask him, and Henry brightens, taking them from me and placing them over his head. I pull up Spotify and put on a playlist Henry likes, ensuring that he can’t hear any more of this conversation.

Oliver’s eyes haven’t left my face, and I’m breathless as I gaze into them. They’re the most gorgeous brown I’ve ever seen.

“I can get this dealt with for you, Lissa.” He says confidently. “It will finally be over. I promise. And if we act quickly, we’ll be able to beat him. He was given a forty-eight-hour window to sign off on his financial declaration. Once that’s done, we’ll be able to prove he’s lied about his assets.”

“Lied about them?” I ask, confused. “But won’t he just try to get around it? James has so much money in so many places… he’ll argue that he forgot, or something.”

“He may try,” Oliver says calmly, “but there are other things that are linked to it that I think he’s lying about, too. I’ve done some digging, and it’s imperative we act quickly. I know you don’t want to be dealing with this, along with everything else, but I told you I would help, and I will. I can win this for you if you trust me.”

There’s no hesitation in my mind as I nod. “I do trust you. Are you sure you can take it on, though? You have the Reynolds case, too, not to mention all the others you’re involved with.”

“I’ve got this. You won’t have to see James, either. I’ll make sure you’re kept entirely separate. We don’t need you in the room, and it’s probably best that you’re not there.”

I swallow the cold spoonful of ice cream, the pieces of chocolate sweet on my tongue as I lower my spoon beside me, my appetite gone.

“And if you’re wrong?” I whisper. “You’re a brilliant lawyer, Oliver, and I’m so grateful to you for your help,” his eyes soften, “but what if this goes badly, and he manages to take Hen from me?”

“I’m not wrong,” he says, with a confidence that steals my breath. “Trust me, Lissa. This will all be over very soon.”

The idea of James being out of my life for good is an amazing feeling. But I’m not sure what that sentence meant. Does Oliver mean that James will be gone, or that he and I will part ways completely? Suddenly, the generosity of the money, the fashion show, and the dress make far more sense.

Oliver is saying goodbye in his own way. Making sure I’m taken care of after he finishes things between us for good.

The thought of that makes the elation of the evening slowly fade away to nothing as I force a smile, going back to my dessert.