Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 82214 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 411(@200wpm)___ 329(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82214 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 411(@200wpm)___ 329(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
This would have to mean something in a custody battle, wouldn’t it? It would have to prove she wasn’t a stable parent, especially if Duke found out, and I could get him to admit whether she’d cheated on me with him.
I zoomed in with my phone and took photos. I barely caught one when her hand brushed through his peppered hair. They kissed, but I wasn’t sure whether my phone got it. He stood in his doorframe, watching her until she backed out of the driveway.
I skimmed the blurry photos, but I could definitely tell she was the one in them. Without much thought, I sent the photos to my lawyer, then wondered if it was a good idea. Did I want to do it this way? Was this necessary to protect my son?
Chapter 19
Christie
I hung up the phone with my mom feeling the worse for wear. I couldn’t tell her about Andrew, though it burned me not to. Thankfully, she didn’t think too much about asking why I was ready to come home so close to my original flight, or if she did, maybe she’d dig into the details when I made it back.
I had to admit that I felt more flattered than burdened when Ryan called to talk about his problems with Darlene yesterday. I wished I had more help for him, but what else could I say? I wasn’t married, and relationships weren’t really my thing. Still, it seemed to help when I suggested he have a real conversation with Darlene to figure out her plans rather than jumping to conclusions.
That had seemed like a no-brainer to me.
I’d planned to look at apartments, but now that I didn’t see myself needing to do that, I was free until tomorrow’s flight. I pushed back hair that fell over my eyes when I looked down at the lit screen on my bed. I picked it up and felt a flutter when I read the text from Ryan asking about dinner.
“When?” I responded.
“Now.”
It was still early in the afternoon, and I said as much.
He responded quickly with a link to a destination. When I opened it, it showed me a park, not a restaurant, and it wasn’t even downtown.
“Where’s that?” I texted back.
“Do you need the address?”
I rolled my eyes at his sarcastic tone but smiled anyway. “Of course I do. Or should I just show the picture to the Uber driver? Why don’t you pick me up? You do have a car, don’t you?”
“I have a truck, actually.”
“Shouldn’t you be working anyway?”
“I had other stuff to do today.”
“That’s suspiciously vague. Other stuff like what?”
“Hm . . .” He seemed to ponder the question. “If I tell you, will you help me bury the body?”
I giggled. “I don’t think we’re those kinds of friends.”
“Oh?” The sound sent a chill through my body, and my heart thrummed with the wicked image flickering in my mind. This had happened when he first called yesterday before he broke out talking about Darlene, and I forced away the thought before I said something dumb. “What kind of friends are we?”
“Well, let’s find out.”
“Thank you for yesterday.”
“Of course.”
“I forgot to ask how your meeting went.”
My heart fell into my stomach, and the flirtatious mood with it. I looked at the thin carpet and sighed. “I didn’t get a call today, so I’m assuming that means I didn’t get the job.”
“What happened?”
I told him about Andrew and how odd the interview was in general. When I brought up dinner and how odd he acted toward the end, Ryan cursed softly through the phone but let me finish before he spoke.
“I can’t remember all the details, but I didn’t think I was leading him on. Maybe I was?”
“It doesn’t matter whether you were or not. Did you kick his ass?”
The weight that had pressed hard on my shoulders fell away with his words, and an airy laugh escaped on a breath. “No. But I dumped a drink on him.”
“Good. You can dump a drink on me if I ever act like an asshole.”
I smiled. “I already did, didn’t I?”
“Yeah.” He clicked his tongue. “Yeah, you did. Is that your signature move?”
I shrugged. “It’s usually the closest thing to me.”
“So are you okay?”
After I fell back onto the comforter, I scanned the popcorn ceiling in search of my response. “Yeah. I think I just need to stay away from rich assholes who think they can do whatever they want.”
“Does that mean no dinner with me?” he mused.
My eyes darted to the phone, and I smirked. Was he rich? I couldn’t tell whether it was rude to ask or if he’d care. I sure didn’t want him to think he had to hide it if he was.
“Just don’t think you can get away with anything.”
“Can I try?”
“We’ll see. I have to be at the airport early, so I can’t stay out late.”