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“Please?”
She sighs but gets her book from her bag, as I set up the flashlight so she can see. As her body weight settles against my chest, a sense of peace surrounds me. Lottie is my peace and I’m never letting her go.
12: Lottie
“Areyou sure you want to go through with this?”
I’m sitting in the slick modern offices of my new lawyer, Hudson Carmichael. The furniture is all leather and polished glass and I feel so out of place here, but he’s kind to me, although I can tell he thinks this is a huge mistake, but what choice do I have? Every choice I had has been taken away until this is what I’m left with. “Yes, I’m sure.”
Hudson holds my gaze and I take the seconds to evaluate him. He’s good-looking, more than good-looking, he’s the kind of hot that would make any woman worth the name swoon at his feet. Yet all I can see is Linc and the way he looked at me in his office when I’d had him in my mouth.
“Well, in that case, let’s go over some of the details and see if you have any counter requests.”
We spend the next hour going over what Linc has asked for and what I’m prepared to give him. Some are ridiculous, and others are what I would’ve expected from him.
“He wants you to quit your job at Ruin and at the diner the second this contract is signed and for you and Eric to move in with him.”
“I’ll quit the job at Ruin, but I need to give Joe more notice so he can find someone. He has been good to me, and I won’t leave him hanging.”
“We could add something to the contract that benefits the diner financially if you leave without notice. That way he gets what he wants and the diner is compensated?” I think about the idea Hudson is suggesting. The diner needs money for a new kitchen and that’s chump change for Lincoln, and the reality is, Joe could fill my position easy enough. Hard up single moms who need money are everywhere.
I nod. “Let’s do it.”
Hudson grins. “Great and what about moving?”
“I won’t move in with him until we’re married.”
“That’s the other thing, he wants it this Saturday.”
“Yes, he told me that, too.”
Hudson leans closer, his lips pursed and I can tell he’s holding something back and I want to know what it is that he dislikes about Linc.
“Are you okay with that, Violet?”
“Yes.” I smooth the crease out of my dress and smile.
“Hudson, why do you dislike Linc so much?”
He sits back and his features melt into an unreadable canvas. “My feelings for Lincoln have no bearing on me being able to represent you.”
“On the contrary, I think it has plenty to do with it.”
Hudson places the contract on the desk between us and leans back in his chair. “It’s a family beef going back to our fathers. It just bled down to us in college, we were in different frat houses, and I guess the competition transferred to us.”
“So, Linc has never done anything personally to you that would make you think he’d hurt me?”
“No. I actually think the reason he hired me is because he cares for you. He knew I’d go over this contract with a fine-tooth comb.”
A laugh bubbles up my throat, but it’s strangled by emotion. “You’re mistaken. Lincoln doesn’t care for me. He doesn’t care for anyone but himself. If he did recommend you for the reasons you say, it’s only because he wants to feel better about himself.”
“Violet, can I ask you why you’re doing this? There’s clearly bad blood between you, and marriage and living together is pretty intense.”
“I know, but I need the money for my brother and it’s only a year. I can handle Lincoln for three hundred and sixty-five days.”
Hudson cocks his head and turns, his knees brushing against my own under the table as he faces me.
“If you’re struggling, I’ll loan you the money, Violet.”
