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“Again, thank you for the window, but I’ve been out all day and have work to do this evening.” I couldn’t look at him because it made me sad. And I wasn’t in the mood to feel sad about some guy.
“Yeah, okay. I’ll get going then,” he said, his voice sounding strange.
Neither one of us was looking at the other. Robert jingled his keys in his pocket and then after another minute, nodded to himself and headed for the hallway.
I knew I should follow him and see him out at least. But I was tired and done with being polite. My heart was sore and heavy, and I just wanted to cry. I wouldn’t though. That wasn’t the Skylar Murphy way.
I heard the front door open and close with a click, followed the clunky roar of his engine as he started up his car. When gravel crunched beneath his tires as he drove away, I looked up at the gorgeous stained glass window and wondered what my instinct was trying to tell me now.
Because my gut had gone uncomfortably quiet.
Chapter Six
Robert
“What?” I snapped at the sound of someone knocking on my office door.
Adam poked his head around the corner. “Whoa, who pissed in your cornflakes?”
I rubbed at my temples, feeling the beginnings of a headache. I had been in a crappy mood all week. Ever since taking the stained glass window out to Skylar’s.
That had gone horribly, horribly wrong. I had actually thought my gift would mend the rift between us. I had naively thought she’d see the effort I put into getting something for her to express how I felt. That the ice would thaw, and we could go back to that easy, natural way between us.
For a smart guy, I really could be an idiot.
It was obvious I didn’t know Skylar at all. Not really. Because that woman could nurse a grudge, unlike anything I had ever seen. And she was right to nurse it. She was protecting herself. From me.
I felt like the worst kind of an asshole. I remembered all too well when she had told me about her ex-fiancé. I had been infuriated on her behalf. I wanted to rip the jerk’s head off and shove it down his neck. How could anyone treat this amazing woman so poorly? I had concluded that this Mac was a grade A idiot.
What I hadn’t realized was that the whole thing had been a test. Maybe not one Skylar meant to give me, but it was a test all the same. And I had failed. All because of my reticence to open myself up. To share anything about my life. Even if that person was someone I really wanted to get to know.
And I had screwed it all up. I knew from the finality in Skylar’s tone that any idea of a relationship between us was over. I hadn’t realized until she said it that I had been hoping for something. Even if it was completely illogical. Because Skylar was right. How could I have a relationship with someone I could never open up to?
Fear is a nasty, nasty thing.
So since then, I had been a giant ball of thunderous anger directed at everyone and everything. My partners didn’t know what to make of it. They had never seen much emotion from me before. I was even-keeled Robert Jenkins, after all. Bland and boring.
“Did you need something?” I barked at Adam who was gingerly creeping into my office.
He held his hands up. “Man, what is up with you? I have never seen you like this. Not even when you went over par at the golf course.”
I glared at him. “I have never gone over par. Shut your damn mouth, Decate.”
“Okay, okay. I must be mistaken. I guess I was golfing with that other partner of mine named Rob Jenkins.” Adam took another step inside. “Are you going to tell me what’s wrong or can I only assume it’s work-related? Word on the street is your hearing this morning didn’t go so great.”
I clenched my fists, wishing briefly I was the kind of guy who punched stuff. Because man, would I punch something right now.
Adam hadn’t heard wrong. I had a hearing for a custody dispute I had agreed to take on. I didn’t typically handle matters in family court, but Adam’s caseload was high, and he asked me to fill in as a favor. My client, a woman named Natalie Bishop, had filed for full custody because from all accounts her ex was a rotten piece of garbage.
I thought it would be a slam dunk case, but it seemed the garbage ex knew the judge and so now we had another hearing to determine financial status in three weeks. In the meantime, both parents were given joint custody. It had all the makings of a small town mess.
