by Dena Blake
“I’ll be fine.”
She moved to the middle of the couch. “Come sit over here where you always sit.”
Jillian took her cue and walked quickly into the living room. “Is there room in that chair for two?”
Blake looked up at her and smiled, then patted his thigh. “For you. Always.”
Suzie’s eyes darted from Blake to Jillian, then back again before she hopped up and flopped down in the opposite corner of the couch. Just then, the power went out, and everything was dark while Jillian’s eyes adjusted. The room slowly became lit by the glow of the moonlight.
“Not again,” Blake grumbled, and Jillian stood so he could go check the fuse box. Before Jillian heard the screen door slap shut, Suzie was on her feet and in Jillian’s face.
“Blake is my husband.”
“Not for long, right? From what Blake tells me, you’ve moved on.”
“Blake told you that?” The look on Suzie’s face was a mixture of anger and surprise. Either she didn’t want anyone else to have Blake, or she was still in love with him. “That’s none of your business.”
“Could be,” Jillian said evenly, not moving an inch. “Looks like you haven’t moved on. I suggest you stop being such a prima donna and let him know. Sooner or later he’s going to find someone else.” Jillian heard the back door close and sidestepped Suzie to meet Blake halfway as he came back into the living room.
“I’m going to have to get a padlock for that lever. Someone pulled it again,” Blake said as he entered.
“Again. Has it happened before?” Jillian hadn’t remembered that.
“Last week. I think you were out with Darcy.” He shook his head. “It’s just kids messin’ around.”
“That’s weird. The kids aren’t even home.” A slight shiver ran up Jillian’s back.
“Apparently someone doesn’t know that.”
JJ shook the feeling off and went back to the task at hand. She took Blake by the shoulders, lowered her voice, and whispered in his ear. “I’m going to bed. Here’s your shot. Sit on the couch, but play it cool.” She squeezed his arms before looking over her shoulder at Suzie and giving her a nod. She pushed through the kitchen door, rushed up the back stairs, then back down the front to the first landing. Jillian moved slowly as she peeked around the corner to make sure everything between the two of them moved in the right direction. She just hoped Blake didn’t fuck it up.
Blake took a seat in his usual spot at the end of the couch just as Jillian had told him, and it wasn’t long before Suzie was sitting next to him. “Ready for some action?”
Jillian had to pull back and put her hand over her mouth to stifle her laughter. He had no idea how loaded that question was. When she peeked back at them, Suzie had pulled her leg up underneath her and moved to face Blake.
“Can we talk for a minute first?”
“Sure, about David?” Blake said, and Jillian shook her head. The man was oblivious.
“About us.” Suzie looked down and was silent for a moment. Jillian suspected she was gathering her thoughts. “I’d like us to try again.”
Stay calm, Blake. Jillian thought the same words over and over in her head, hoping he remembered what she’d told him. His forehead creased. “Only if you’re sure you want this. It’s been pretty hard on David. I don’t want to give him any false hope.”
“I do…really want this.” Suzie took Blake’s hand and held it between hers.
Jillian’s job was done. She quietly went back upstairs. She only wished it were that easy to get her own love life in order. She thought about Amelia and how she would’ve loved to be with her the rest of the evening. Instead, she would spend another night in her room researching the foundation, which she loved. Her work had always been her passion, but remembering how Amelia had looked at her earlier and knowing she was just across town meant the pull to see her would be a major distraction tonight. She took her laptop out of the closet and got comfortable on the bed. Focus, Jillian, focus.
Chapter Seventeen
Kelly waited in her car until she saw Amelia Mathews come out of the building, get into her car, and drive off. She admired the woman’s taste in cars, she thought as she crossed the street and climbed the short flight of stairs that led to the family-practice law firm of Mathews and Mathews. Kelly pulled her brows together and remembered the information she’d read about Amelia and Julie Mathews. It had been a short marriage, just a little over a year, yet they still worked together. Odd relationship, she thought. Kelly couldn’t do it. She pulled the wood-framed glass door open and walked into the small office. The walls were unfinished brick, some would call the style rustic, quaint even, but Kelly wasn’t impressed.
No one was at the receptionist’s desk, but Kelly heard a faint mechanical hum coming from one of the offices. She looked inside to find an attractive woman with long blond hair, who appeared to be in her mid-thirties. She was running what Kelly thought to be a clothes shaver across her ass. She slipped past the door and headed to the next office, knowing it had to be Amelia’s. Surprisingly, the door was unlocked, so she slipped in and quietly closed it behind her. Kelly could tell by the furnishings that Jillian’s suitor was doing well in her profession. She pulled at the filing-cabinet drawer. Locked. She slipped around the desk and did the same with the drawers there, also locked. At least they had some sense of security. She picked up the computer keyboard and took a picture of the back before crawling under the desk and hiding her surveillance device.
It didn’t take her long, and she could still hear the humming of the clothes shaver as she exited Amelia’s office. She peeked around into the doorway to see the woman using the shaver across the front of her sweater now. She stepped into the room and cleared her throat, and the woman looked up.
“Sorry. I didn’t hear you come in.” Her eyes widened in clear surprise.
“Probably because of that gadget you have there.”
“Oh, yeah.” Julie flipped the switch and dropped it into her drawer before rounding the desk and holding out her hand. “Hi. I’m Julie Mathews,” she said with a broad smile.
“Sandy Mason,” Kelly said, shaking her hand.
She looked at her watch. “I was just about to head out the door for court, but I have a few minutes. What can I do for you, Miss Mason?” Julie motioned for her to sit down.
“Please call me Sandy.” Kelly took a seat.
“I’ll be happy to as long as you call me Julie,” she said, giving her a warm smile.
Kelly thought she might throw up. The woman was just like the rest of the people in this state—too polite and too happy. She had no idea why Jillian wanted to spend a day here, let alone a couple of months. Oklahoma wasn’t on the top of Kelly’s vacation list, but if she had to come here to get her woman and take her home, she would.
“Through an unfortunate accident, my girlfriend’s sister was killed, and now she has custody of her niece. We’d like to see what we need to do to adopt her.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry to hear about your girlfriend’s sister.” Julie sat behind her desk, took out a notepad, and began taking notes. “Was her husband killed also?”
Kelly nodded.
“Have you and your girlfriend been together for very long?”
“Eight years.”
“The child is how old?”
“Ashley just turned fifteen.”
Julie sat back in her chair. “First off, it sounds like your girlfriend already has custody, so I don’t think she’ll have any trouble legally. Are you worried about something specific regarding the child?”
“If something happens to my girlfriend, will I have custody of Ashley?”
“There probably wouldn’t be any question unless another family member contests it. If you’re worried, you should get married before starting the adoption process.”
“I’d already planned to ask her, but I’ve been saving for the wedding. I want to do it right.”
“You can always get married at the cour
thouse and have a larger wedding later. Just make sure you check with the courthouse you plan on going to. Some are friendlier than others.” Julie reached into her desk drawer, took out a piece of paper, and slid it across the desk. “Here’s a list that may help.”
“Thanks. I guess I’ll just have to speed my plans up a little.” Kelly stood. “What do I owe you?”
Julie smiled. “There’s no charge for the first consultation.” She handed Kelly one of her cards. “Let me know if you need further assistance.” Julie looked at her watch again and stood up. “I’ll walk you out.”
“I will.” She headed for the door and then turned back. “Thanks again for the advice.” The woman was oblivious to the fact she’d planted wireless recording devices in both the reception area and Amelia’s office. Julie had also provided her with some well-needed advice about completing her little family with Jillian and Abby.
* * *
Jillian took the thirty-minute drive to Oklahoma City on her lunch break. She didn’t have any counseling sessions scheduled this afternoon, so it was a good time to retrieve any important mail her agent had managed to forward. She opened her post-office box and pulled out the Priority Mail envelope that contained a few bills and one hand-addressed letter from Marcus. When she opened it and found the additional unopened envelope inside, the hair on the back of her neck stood up. It was from Kelly. She slid her thumb under the flap and tore it open.
Jillian,
I’m sending a letter, since you’ve chosen not to respond through your email. I’ve come to terms with your decision to split. I’m sorry for getting angry about it the way I did. I know it wasn’t an easy decision, and me saying all those nasty things made it even worse. I’ve regretted it ever since. I’d like to erase all those ugly words and replace them with something happier. I don’t know where you are right now or what you’re doing, but once upon a time, we were in love. Deeply, passionately in love. Do you remember that? I do, and it hurts to think we’ll never be back there again. All I ask is for you to think about that and reconsider your decision.
Your one and only,
Kelly
“I was never in love. Definitely not passionately. Not anywhere close to deeply.” Jillian shivered at the thought and had to stop herself from ripping up the letter and tossing it in the trash. She laid it on the counter, snapped a picture of it with her phone, and emailed it to Marcus before she jammed it into her purse and rushed out of the post office to her car. She fired the engine, flipped the air to high, and took a deep breath. Why can’t you just leave me alone? Her stomach threatened to lose its contents as the torturous control Kelly had on her flashed before her. Jillian closed her eyes, breathed deeply again, and cleared the thoughts of their miserable relationship from her mind before she took out her phone and called Marcus.
“I got the letter you forwarded from Kelly today. I emailed a photo of it to you.”
“Hang on a minute. Let me pull it up,” he said, and she could hear him typing.
“Has she been texting me?”
“Of course.”
“How often?”
“At first it was all day, nonstop, but it’s slowed down to once or twice a day now.”
“Are they still crazy possessive?”
“You’re not softening, are you?” From the elevated tone of his voice, she could almost see Marcus’s expression, raised eyebrow and all.
“God, no. I could never go back to that insanity. Forget I asked.”
“Good. You were lucky to get out of that one when you did. Who knows the extremes she might have gone to in order to keep you.” His voice settled back into his normal tone.
“She hasn’t given up yet.” Jillian fished the letter out of her bag. Marcus had advised Jillian to keep everything Kelly sent just in case she didn’t leave her alone. “I should never have slept with her again.”
“You mean after I told you not to?”
“Yes, after you told me not to, smart-ass.”
“Sleeping with her again only gave her reason to hope.”
She heard a few clicks, and he was silent for a few minutes. She slid the letter out of the envelope, unfolded it, and squirmed as she read it again.
“Hmm,” he said, and she could imagine his brows pulling together, then rising as he read. “Doesn’t seem like your one and only has come to terms with your decision to split.” He let out a heavy breath. “You need to be careful of her.”
“Hopefully, by the time I get back, she’ll have moved on to someone else, and I’ll no longer be the object of her obsession.” She slipped the letter back into her bag and pulled into traffic.
“What are you going to do if she’s still deeply, passionately in love?” he asked with a slight upward lilt in his voice.
“I guess I’ll have to move in with you and tell her I’ve sworn off women.”
“Hmph,” Marcus said lightly. “Deal. As long as you do the cooking.”
“I hope you’re okay with grilled cheese and tomato soup.”
“As long as it’s gruyere, I’m happy.”
Jillian had only driven a few blocks from the downtown Oklahoma City post office when she spotted someone, Amelia, dressed in a sleek navy suit coat and pencil skirt. “What the hell is she doing here?”
“Who?” Marcus’s voice sounded urgent. “Is Kelly there?”
“No. It’s Amelia.” She watched her walk toward the courthouse. The suit seemed a little high-end for Amelia, but it certainly fit her figure well. The horn of the car behind her blared, and Amelia turned her head to look. Dark sunglasses covered Amelia’s eyes as the wind blew her long, dark hair across her face. Jillian ducked down behind the steering wheel. Shit! “Marcus, I have to go. I’ll call you back.”
Jillian snagged a parking spot farther down the street and hustled through the lunch-hour crowd. She sprinted inside the courthouse and ran directly into a man crossing the hallway in front of her.
“Oh, I’m so sorry,” he said, placing his hands on her shoulders to prevent her from falling. “You seem rushed. Can I help you find where you’re going?”
“Is there a ladies’ room close by?” She smoothed her shirt and glanced around the hallway, but she’d lost sight of Amelia.
“Yes, it’s straight over there and to the left.” He pointed down and across the hallway.
“Thank you so much,” she said softly and moved quickly into it. She took out her cell phone, looked up the number for Amelia’s law firm, and hit the call button.
“May I speak with Amelia Mathews, please?”
“Ms. Mathews is in court today. May I take a message?” the perky voice on the other end informed her.
“No, that’s okay. I’ll try and catch her at the courthouse. Cleveland County?”
“No, she’s in Oklahoma County today, room 409.”
“Perfect, thanks.” Jillian hit the red button on her phone and slipped it back into her purse. By the time Jillian got to room 409, court was back in session. She slipped through the doors and took a seat in the back of the courtroom. She spotted Amelia right away up front, sitting at a table talking to a woman who Jillian assumed was her client. Her hair was now neatly twisted up into a bun at the base of her skull where it met her long slender neck. Amelia stood to address the judge, and Jillian followed the length of her, from Amelia’s navy pumps all the way to her shoulders as she paced in front of the judge, speaking. Amelia’s expression was intense, her voice clear and powerful. The focus and passion she exhibited were insanely attractive. Mesmerized by her confidence, Jillian felt her stomach flutter when Amelia turned to the gallery and zoomed her focus in on her. Captured by Amelia’s gaze, Jillian couldn’t move. She’d been caught but couldn’t take her eyes off the passionate, confident woman owning the courtroom.
Amelia tilted her head slightly, reached up, shifted her glasses, and then looked away as she continued her eloquent statement delivery. She was beyond sexy. Amelia didn’t falter, even after seeing Jillian watching her. She
simply finished her statement, strolled back to the table, and took her seat behind it between her client and another woman, who Jillian now identified as Julie. After Amelia sat, she leaned slightly into Julie, who then turned to Jillian and narrowed her eyes. Time to leave. Jillian slipped out quietly and didn’t stop to think until she slid into her car, fired the engine, and flipped the air to high. She fanned herself with the mail she’d picked up only an hour before, but no amount of air-conditioning would cool the fire burning inside her. The absolute passion she saw in Amelia ignited something within Jillian more powerful than she’d ever felt, and it unnerved her.
Chapter Eighteen
Jillian climbed the steps, pushed through the door of Amelia’s law office, and checked in with the receptionist. Jillian still wasn’t sure how she was going to explain why she’d been in the courtroom the other day, but after the third phone call to the house asking her to come to her office, Jillian knew she couldn’t avoid it any longer. The receptionist led her to the back of the space past one office into another farther down the hall. She opened the door slowly, looked inside, and then motioned for Jillian to go in.
Amelia was in a heated conversation on the phone when Jillian entered. She looked at Jillian and held up a finger, signaling her to wait. Amelia’s phone conversation seeped into the back of her mind as she took in the floor-to-ceiling bookcases filled with law books, the brown leather couch placed perfectly under the large double windows that looked out onto the street below. Several awards hung on the wall next to the bookcase. Jillian zoomed in on the United Nations Association Public Service Award and the article framed next to it with the headline Local Attorney Recognized for Her Efforts to Defend the Rights of Children. The next one read Local Park Saved by Child Advocacy Attorney. She’d saved the park beside the house from being demolished.
Jillian was pulled from her thoughts as Amelia’s voice rose. “Prior authorization? Up to five days. Are you kidding me?” Amelia threw herself back in her chair. “By the time we get that, he’ll be using again.” She shook her head. “That’s ridiculous. The man is asking for help, and all we do is tie him up in red tape. Can’t we make this happen any faster?” Amelia tapped her pen rapidly on the antique mahogany desk as she spoke on the phone, and the image of Amelia and Darcy pushed up against the massive wood platform flew through Jillian’s mind. She shook it from her thoughts and spun around to head back out the door, but ran smack-dab into Julie.