Not Your Match

by Lindzee Armstrong

  “This is so stupid,” she whispered. “I’m not attached to anything in here. I just can’t believe someone would hate me this much.”

  “He’s obviously got a lot of issues. But he’s with the police now, and you’re safe.”

  Andi nodded and pulled away. She grabbed the trash can from under her desk. “Let’s start by throwing all the shredded paper away.”

  They worked in companionable silence for the next hour. Ben threw away anything shredded while Andi went through the books, making a pile of those she could salvage and those that were destroyed.

  A soft knock sounded on the door. Andi looked up. Elle stood in the doorway, her eyes brimming with tears. “I am so sorry.”

  Andi strode across the room, wrapping Elle in a hug. “Don’t even apologize.”

  “I had no idea he’d do something like this,” Elle said.

  “How could you know?”

  Ben rose. “I’m going to go find us some water and leave you two alone for a moment,” he said.

  Andi nodded, watching as he left the room.

  Elle waved a hand in front of Andi’s face. “Hello? Anyone home?”

  Andi blushed, blinking. “Sorry.”

  “Are you two … ?”

  “I think so.”

  Elle squealed, pulling Andi into her arms. “I’m so happy for you.”

  “Thanks.”

  “This is probably really bad timing, but I want to ask you something.”

  “It’s not another case, is it?” Andi looked around her destroyed office and laughed.

  “Not exactly.”

  Andi raised an eyebrow. She’d thought Elle wanted her to teach another section of dance. “Okay, you’ve got my attention.”

  “I’ve just got off the phone with the board for Footsteps for Change. I’ve been trying to convince them for months that we need to hire an in-house lawyer, but they’ve been telling me we don’t have the money. Mr. Ryder’s generous donation changed that, and the incident here finally convinced the board this is a need, not a want. Things could’ve gone so much worse.” Elle clasped her hands together, her eyes shining. “We want you to come work for us at the charity, Andi. You’d take care of any and all legal issues—running the foundation, making sure we’re retaining our nonprofit status, protecting our employees and the kids from potentially dangerous situations like what we’ve dealt with here. We would offer pro bono work to families that meet our income requirements for domestic issues.” Elle reached into her purse and pulled out a folder. “Here’s the official offer. I know it’s not as glamorous a position as what you have here, and I’m sure our financial compensation isn’t the same. But you’d be helping people who really need it.”

  Andi’s heart pounded in her chest, and she took the paperwork, carefully leafing through it. She would be taking a pay cut. But all she could see were the faces of her students. All she could think about was the joy she felt when at Footsteps for Change. This was the type of lawyer she wanted to be. And after the conversation with her dad, she had a feeling that in the end, he’d be okay with her decision.

  “I’d love to come work for you,” Andi said.

  Elle let out a squeal and threw her arms around Andi’s neck. “You have no idea how excited I am.”

  “I’m going to have to talk to my dad. And I might have to stick around here for a month or so while I wrap up a few final cases.”

  “We can work out all the details later,” Elle said. “We’ll talk Tuesday after class, okay?”

  “Okay.”

  “I’ve got to go down to the police station and make a statement. But I wanted to talk to you first.” Elle hugged Andi again. “Thank you.”

  Andi watched Elle leave, her heart swelling with joy. She couldn’t wait to leave divorce law behind and make a difference in people’s lives.

  Ben found a vending machine in what looked like a break room. He fished a few crumpled dollar bills out of his wallet and spent a few minutes convincing the vending machine to take them, then selected two bottles of water.

  He sank into a chair and twisted the lid open on his, taking a sip. He’d give Elle and Andi a few minutes to talk before returning.

  His mind wandered back to earlier that evening. Where do we go from here? Andi had asked.

  Well, he didn’t know where Andi was at. But what he had in mind included riding off into the sunset and living happily ever after. He wasn’t about to let her go.

  Ben checked his phone and decided he’d given Andi and Elle enough time. He walked back to Andi’s office and found her stacking salvageable books back on the bookshelf.

  “Did Elle leave?” he asked.

  Andi nodded, walking over to him. “You’ll never guess what happened. Elle offered me a job.”

  Ben blinked. “As a dance teacher? Because she hasn’t said anything to me about a job, and there is no way I’m letting you dance with anyone else.” He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close. “Because you’re mine now, Andi Harmon. And now that I have you, I’m not about to let you go.”

  Andi’s eyes shone and she shook her head. “Not as a dancer.” Her words were breathless, and he felt insanely pleased for affecting her so. “As their in-house attorney. I get the best of both worlds.”

  He hadn’t expected that. He laughed, giving her an exuberant hug. “Andi, that’s great.”

  “I know.” Her eyes shone. “I’m so happy.”

  He clasped his hands together. “Well let’s get this place cleaned up so you can start your dream job. Put me to work.”

  Andi opened her mouth to speak, but paused when Ben’s phone rang.

  “Sorry,” he said. “It’s Rach. It’ll just take a second.” He flicked on his phone. “Hey, what’s up?”

  “Oh my gosh,” Rachel said, her words frantic. “Adam just called. He came home from work and found Whitney unconscious in the kitchen. She tried to commit suicide, Ben. She swallowed an entire bottle of pills. I’m heading to the hospital now.”

  “What pills?” Ben asked, running a shaking hand through his hair.

  “I don’t know. Percocet, I think? They were from Adam’s knee surgery a few years ago. Expired.”

  Ben’s heart raced, and he rested a hand on his hip, his heart pounding. “Rach, tell me what happened. Is she okay?”

  Rachel sobbed. “I don’t know. They pumped her stomach, but she’s in ICU right now. They think she’ll be fine once she wakes up, but they’ll be keeping her in the psych ward for a while.”

  “Did she leave a note?” Ben asked.

  “I don’t want to tell you.”

  She’d done this to punish him. Ben squeezed his eyes shut, guilt squeezing him like a vice. “How much did she take?”

  “The doctors said not enough to actually kill her. But she’ll be unconscious for a while.”

  She hadn’t been trying to kill herself. He knew Whitney well enough to know that the amount of pills she’d taken had been intentional. She’d been trying to get him to race to her aide.

  “Have you called her parents?” Ben asked.

  “The hospital did when Adam brought her in.”

  Ben scrubbed a hand over his face, trying to think logically. Barbara and Russ would be to California in a few hours. Ben should head to the hospital so he could keep them updated on Whitney’s condition while they traveled and so he could keep an eye on Whitney’s care.

  Ben turned, and his eyes landed on Andi. She stood on the far side of the room, her arms folded and shoulders stiff. She held a hand to her throat and her eyes glistened with tears. Who are you going to choose? she seemed to ask. What future do you want?

  He didn’t even have to think about it twice. He wanted Andi.

  Ben kept his eyes locked on Andi. “I’m really sorry, Rach, but I can’t come. Andi’s office was broken into, and she needs my help right now. I need to stay here with her.”

  Andi brought a trembling hand to her mouth. Ben stepped around the broken office equipment and s
hredded paper, reaching a hand out for her. She slowly, hesitantly placed her hand in his as a tear rolled down her cheek.

  The line was silent for a moment, then Rachel said, “Are you and Andi together?”

  Andi apparently heard, because she laughed and buried her head in Ben’s shoulder. Ben wrapped an arm around her, holding her tight. “I think so,” Ben said.

  He waited for an explosion from Rachel. A furious tirade that ended in her hanging up on him. But when she spoke, her voice was quiet, understanding. “I didn’t realize how bad things were with Whitney. I understand now why you said you two were over. I’m happy for you, Ben. Andi’s one of the absolute best people out there. If you hurt her, I’ll hunt you down.”

  Andi’s shoulders shook, and Ben chuckled, burying his face in her apple-scented hair for a moment. “Thanks,” Ben said. “I’ll come by later tonight to talk to you, okay?”

  “Take good care of her, Ben.”

  “I will.”

  They said their goodbyes and hung up. Ben shoved his phone in his pocket and wrapped both arms around Andi, holding her close.

  “What happened?” she asked.

  “Whitney overdosed on pills. She’s at the hospital. They’ll check her into the psych ward and get her the help she needs.”

  Andi nodded, her eyes questioning. She motioned to the office. “I can take care of this if you need to go see Whitney.”

  Ben shook his head, wiping away the lone tear on her cheek. “She’s not my responsibility. I don’t love her anymore.”

  “Then what is your responsibility, Ben?”

  “You are the girl I’m loyal to now, Andi Harmon. You are the girl I want to build a future with. I’ve fallen in love with you.”

  Her eyes sparkled with tears. She wrapped her arms loosely around his neck. “I love with you too, Ben Rhodes. With you, love doesn’t seem like such a risk.”

  Ben tangled his fingers in her hair and leaned down, pressing his lips against hers. This time, no one barged into the room and no phones rang. The moment was absolutely perfect. Ben pressed her close, his mouth exploring hers. Her lips were soft, and he could taste the coconut lip gloss that had been driving him wild for weeks. She tightened her arms around his neck, pressing herself against him as she returned his kiss. He wove his hands through her hair, relishing the silky feel. She wrapped her leg around his waist in a familiar dance move they’d executed a hundred times, but this felt very different. Kissing Andi felt like the excitement of performing mixed with the adrenaline of dancing all wrapped into one moment where time stood still.

  Ben pulled away and rested his forehead against hers, his breathing ragged. “I could get used to this,” he said.

  Andi chuckled softly. “Me too.”

  Ben lowered his head to hers and kissed her once more. This kiss was soft and sweet and filled with a lifetime of promises he intended to keep.

  Dear Reader,

  I hope you enjoyed reading Not Your Match. I’d really appreciate it if you’d consider posting a review on Amazon. Reviews really help spread the word! It’s the best way to say ‘thank you’ to any author.

  If you have questions or comments, please feel free to contact me at http://www.lindzeearmstrong.com/contact-me/. You can also sign up for regular updates via my newsletter at http://www.lindzeearmstrong.com/newsletter/.

  Thanks for reading!

  Lindzee Armstrong

  Read Brooke and Luke’s Story!

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  This book would not have happened if it weren’t for my husband, Neil. He basically took over everything in our lives so I could get this book published. He cooked, cleaned, took care of the kids, reminded me to eat, did all the laundry, and anything else that needed to be done so that I could write, edit, and format Andi and Ben’s story.

  Thank you to my adorable sons, who patiently dealt with “just a second, I need to finish this chapter” comments, left toys by my laptop so I could play while working, and made me smile with their never-ending “how’s your work going, Mommy?” questions.

  Thank you to my editor, Kelley, who helped me shape this story into what it is. Thank you to my critique group, beta readers, and writing friends. A special thanks goes to Liz and Jaclyn, who listened to me whine at least a billion times a day about this project. And most of all, thank you to my readers! You keep me going when I want to give up.

  Lindzee Armstrong met her match at Utah State University, although she was technically in high school at the time. She and Mr. Armstrong became engaged quickly, and fell in love even quicker. He wasn’t a high school student, but still thoughtfully offered to take her to prom in her wedding dress. She declined. Wearing the wedding dress before the Big Day just seemed weird. A few years after getting married, they welcomed twin boys into the world.

  Lindzee loves chick flicks, ice cream, and chocolate, like any true romantic. She believes in sigh-worthy kisses and happily ever afters.

  Not Your Match is part of the No Match for Love series. To find out about future releases, you can sign up for Lindzee’s newsletter. You can also find her on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or her website.

  If you enjoyed this book, please take a few minutes and leave a review. This is the best way you can say thank you to an author! It really helps other readers discover books they might enjoy. Thank you!