by Whitley Cox
All attention settled on her, and with a sip of liquid courage from her champagne flute, she proceeded to regale them all with her misdialed text-rant and how she and David developed a friendship, while she and Atlas butted heads but secretly lusted after each other. You know, normal everyday romance stuff.
Once she finished her story, the kitchen was dead silent, all eyes remained on her, and a number of jaws were slack.
“He just took your dog?” Violet asked, swaying back and forth and patting her baby’s butt. “I think I’d have ripped out the man’s jugular if he’d taken my sweet Tulip from me.”
“I wanted to,” Tessa said with a pained sigh. “Still do, but my legal counsel says to just hang tight. That Forest is like a couch and the division of property, if not handled amicably outside of court, has to be handed legally and properly inside the court or boardroom or whatever.”
“Liam and Atlas representing you?” Paige asked.
“Yes, and Richelle LaRue. I somehow managed to get a three-lawyer team.”
Several women gasped. Jaws went even more slack, and they all closed in around her.
“Did you say Richelle LaRue?” Tori asked slowly.
Tessa’s brows furrowed. “Yeah, why?”
“Well, for starters, she was my divorce lawyer,” Eva started. “She’s fabulous and will win you all the money, custody, and if you want one of his kidneys, she might be able to get you that too.”
“But more importantly, she is Liam’s secret girlfriend or fuck-buddy or whatever,” Isobel whispered. “She’s elusive, and nobody besides Atlas, Eva and Liam have ever met her.”
Tori nodded, growing closer to Tessa. “We’re all so curious about her. She and Liam meet every Wednesday to have sex, but other than that, he says there’s nothing going on between them. But you can’t have sex with someone once a week for years without developing something for them. Particularly because I don’t think he sees anybody else in between.”
“He says they’re not monogamous, but Liam was burned hard by his ex and is the most loyal guy on the planet. If he’s sleeping with one woman, no strings or not, he’s only sleeping with that woman,” Violet said. “Have you met her in person yet?”
Tessa shook her head. “No, just spoken with her over the phone and on a conference call with her, Liam and Atlas. She was at Liam’s while I was at Atlas’s.”
Eyes turned even more eager.
Violet popped another chocolate from a different box into her mouth. “And what vibe did you get from them?”
“A none-of-your-business vibe.” Liam’s voice behind them caused every single woman to jump, some of them sloshing their champagne, others clutching their chests as if they’d just had a heart attack. “Seriously, ladies. I love you all, but your obsession with Richelle and me has to stop.”
One by one, each woman adopted a face of angelic innocence, averting their gazes from Liam’s scolding brown one.
“We just want to see you happy, Liam,” Paige said, lifting her head, walking toward him and lifting a tray of food. “Scallop crostini with spring onions and miso?”
The corner of Liam’s mouth crooked up. “You know my weakness is your food. You’re a wily wench, you know that?” He grabbed a napkin from the table and proceeded to pile six of the appetizers onto it. He bit into one. “And for the record, I am happy. Richelle and I are on exactly the same page. We want exactly the same things.”
“Which is?” Lowenna asked, lifting a brow.
Liam shrugged and pushed his food into his cheek. “Sex. We fuck. That’s it. Every Wednesday night, she shows up after hitting the gym, showers at my place, we eat Thai takeout, then we bone until my nuts have nothing left. She stays over, we bone again in the morning before we both leave for work. Wash, rinse, repeat on every hump day. It’s the perfect setup. No emotions, no expectations. Just sex and Thai food.”
All the women, Tessa included, made faces of mild disgust.
“Sometimes we get a little crazy though and order Mexican.” His smile was so cocky, Tessa wondered how he and his ego both fit through a doorway. “Nothing like good tacos and even better dick, Richelle likes to say.”
“Well, that just killed the moment,” Aurora said blandly, sipping her beverage.
Liam didn’t seem the least bit offended by her comment. He shrugged again, then turned to go, but not before throwing over his shoulder a final warning. “Leave my love life alone, ladies, otherwise I’ll cancel poker night and then you won’t have your Saturday nights man-free anymore.” He didn’t bother looking back at them because he knew his words had struck a chord.
Tori scoffed. “Methinks the lady doth protest too much.”
“Mhmm,” Paige agreed.
Isobel’s hand rested on Tessa’s arm. “Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to learn as much about Richelle as you can and then report back to us. Liam is so obviously in love with her, he’s just gun-shy. We need to make them see that they’re meant for more than just hump day.” She shuddered.
“This message will self-destruct in ten seconds,” Paige said, glancing up from her phone. “Because that’s how long we have until the birthday girl arrives.”
Isobel squeezed Tessa’s arm again. “What do you say, fellow bitchin’ chick? Fellow sister? Are you willing to help us help the last single dad of Seattle find love?”
Sister.
Was it really that easy? Had she been inducted into their club just like that? She already felt so comfortable with these women, and she’d only been standing there with them for all of five, maybe ten, minutes.
“Guys, she’s here,” a male voice called from restaurant side. “Everybody get ready.”
“Do you accept?” Isobel asked again, still clutching Tessa’s arm and leading her out to the restaurant side.
Tessa smiled at the same time a beautiful woman she recognized as the florist at Flowers on 5th walked past the bistro window.
She looked behind her at all the people who could so easily become her new family. She knew she was falling in love with Atlas, Aria and Cecily, and if all these people came as a package deal, all the better.
She rested her hand on Isobel’s arm. “I accept the mission.”
18
The warm strength of a man’s arm wrapped around Tessa’s waist as she stood next to the pastry case at the front of the bistro, chatting with Zara, the birthday girl. Turned out they had a lot in common, and Zara said she would text Tessa so the two could hit the gym together soon. With great appreciation for helping Aiden after his parents’ divorce, Zak had given Tessa one heck of a discount at Club Z Fitness. Turned out they all went to that gym, so when she was introduced to all the men and got to talk more with the women, she started recognizing their faces—which were normally red and sweaty—from the gym.
“How are we doing?” Atlas asked, pulling her into his embrace and pecking her on the side of the head. She leaned into him, their act of affection for each other already seeming so natural. It also caused Zara’s blue eyes to glitter.
“Doing well, thank you,” she said, wrapping her hand around his waist. “Zara here was just filling me in on Lowenna’s sister’s wedding back in February and the fiasco that was.”
His brows lifted, and he nodded. “Oh, it was something all right. Still have to see that fucker at work, but at least Lowenna and Mason are together and happy.”
Tessa reared her head back. “Wait, you work with this Brody guy?”
“Yeah, he’s a junior partner at the firm. Major tool.”
“Atlas, I think this is the most I’ve ever seen you smile or heard you speak,” Zara said, her smile growing into an almost coy and knowing grin. “It’s wonderful to see you so happy. You really deserve it.” She rested her hand on his arm. “I am also very sorry to hear about your cousin. So tragic. It’s a blessing that Cecily has you in her life.”
Tessa practically heard him swallow next to her. She certainly noticed his giant Adam’s apple bob heavily in his t
hroat before he cleared it. “Thanks, Zara. It’s been hard, but we’re getting through it. Cecily is a good baby, and now that Aria has finally accepted her, it’s made it a lot easier.”
Zara’s eyes softened. “Which I believe we have Tessa here to thank for?”
His fingers around her waist squeezed and dug into her hip. “She’s been a lifesaver.”
Tessa’s heart skipped and leapt inside her chest at his kind and candid words.
Tori, who apparently had major baby fever, had snatched up Cecily the first moment she could and was playing with her and the other children off in the toy and art corner.
“How we doing over here, folks?” Liam asked, joining their little tête-à-tête-à-tête.
“I was just about to go and grab some more food before you eat it all,” Zara said, placing her cool hand gently on Tessa’s bare shoulder as she squeezed past her and Atlas. “Did you leave any of those prawn crostinis for anybody else?” Her tone was more playful than anything, and Liam didn’t seem the least bit offended.
“I think I saw Paige bringing another tray of them out of the walk-in cooler just minutes ago. And I wasn’t the one devouring them. That was your doctor boyfriend who was two-fisting shellfish like a freaking harbor seal.”
Zara snorted and rolled her eyes before she turned the corner and headed into the kitchen.
Liam faced them and opened his palm to reveal a napkin with probably five of the prawn crostinis piled on top of each other. “What I didn’t tell her was that when Paige brought them out, I grabbed about a third of them. Hopefully the birthday girl gets there before her man does.” He took a bite of one.
Tessa felt Atlas snort beside her, his body jostling gently as he laughed.
“So the meeting with Rickson and his legal representation—whether that’s his law student sidepiece or a real lawyer who has taken the fucking bar exam, we don’t know—it’s set for June eighteenth. So four weeks from now. We tried to push it sooner, but they won’t be back. Rickson specifically asked for the eighteenth.”
Tessa’s gut dropped to her feet.
Of course, he picked the eighteenth. He knew exactly what he was doing when he suggested that date. God, why was he being so deliberately cruel to her? What had she done to hurt him so much that he would plan the hearing for the same day of her defense?
“Is that date a problem?” Liam asked, obviously reading her expression. “I can try to move it.”
She swallowed. “That’s the day I defend my thesis to get my PhD. He knows that. That’s why he suggested it.”
“Motherfucker,” Atlas and Liam said at the same time. Atlas’s grip around her tightened, and she leaned into him for support.
“On the upside,” Liam said, finishing off one crostini, “I’ve decided that when we do meet with Fuckface McGee, we’re going to bring in an entire battalion. You, me, Richelle, Zak, Aaron and Adam.”
Atlas’s brows wrinkled. “Why Zak, Aaron and Adam?”
“Zak and Aaron for pure intimidation. They’ll pump iron right before, wear tight T-shirts and stand behind us with their arms crossed like muscle for hire, and Adam because he holds the future of Rickson’s career in his hands. He has, in fact, applied with the college for a position in their biology department, and even though Adam wasn’t on the hiring committee for his position and Rickson was offered the job, which is supposed to start July first—hence his vacation—Adam has the power to cancel the job offer. McGregor also found out that Rickson and Blaire have applied for a mortgage and are house-hunting. I’ve been in touch with all my banking friends and connections in real estate, and with one call from me, it will be fucking impossible for them to get approved for anything, and not one Realtor will take them on as clients.”
Tessa liked the idea of having muscle there to scare the crap out of Carlyle. He certainly deserved to shit himself after everything he’d pulled.
“The last person you want to fuck with in this town is Liam Dixon,” Atlas said, the pride practically tangible in voice.
Liam’s grin grew but then shrank back to a serious flat line across his mouth. “We’re going to get you your dog back, Tessa, I promise.” His brown gaze turned gentle and brotherly. “And I rarely promise a client anything, but I promise you that we will get Forest back.”
“Is what you … what we’re planning to do to Carlyle legal? I mean, I get the intimidation with the muscled-up guys and everything, but going after his job? His banking and his ability to get a house? That doesn’t seem … aboveboard, if you know what I’m saying?” Not that she didn’t want to get her dog back, because she wanted nothing more in the world, but she’d also been raised to abide by the law, and what Liam had planned didn’t sound all that legal.
“It’s called leverage,” Liam said with a shrug. “We only suggest these possibilities if Rickson doesn’t play nice. He needs to be scared enough to give you back your dog, that’s all.”
“If we had more dirt on him, we’d use that too,” Atlas said. “Guy’s pretty clean, though, so we have to hit him where it hurts in other ways.”
Slowly, she nodded. “Okay, I trust you both.”
“And so you should,” Liam boasted. “I take care of those I love. And I love Atlas and he whatevers you, so therefore, by proxy I whatever you too.”
Atlas whatevered her? Was that Liam being coy and not saying the L word but actually meaning the L word?
Had he told Liam that?
The man in question stiffened next to her, and she felt him retreat inside himself. This was all too soon. Yes, she felt feelings akin to love for Atlas, but she would never say those words out loud. Not yet, not right now. Things were still too new, too crazy. He still didn’t know about her mother or that in ten or so years, her brains would inevitably be the consistency of soup.
Liam rolled his eyes. “Relax, you two. You both look like you were told the food you ate was full of cyanide. Jesus. What I meant was that Atlas cares about you, so therefore so do I. Let’s take that nefarious L word out of the equation for fear old Atlas here has a coronary.”
She glanced back up at Atlas, and the color seemed to have returned to his cheeks a bit. He grunted, and the muscle in his jaw flexed. “You can be a real dick sometimes,” he grumbled.
“Dixon Dickhead, isn’t that what you call me?” Liam said, laughing as he slapped Atlas on the back and wandered back to where the rest of the party guests mingled.
Once they were alone, Atlas released her, only to take her by both hands. “I’m sorry about him. He means well. He just runs his mouth a bit.”
Tessa shook her head. “He’s helping me get my dog back. The man can say whatever he likes.”
His gray eyes turned panicky. “Don’t let him hear you say that. He’ll take it to heart.”
Chuckling, she shook free of his hands and turned them both so they were facing the party. Her hand found his waist and his hers. “Let’s go join the party. I really like your friends, and you were right, this was the perfect distraction.”
He squeezed her hip. “I’ll do my best to get Rickson to change the date of the meeting.”
Sighing, she rested her head on his shoulder. “When it rains, it pours, doesn’t it? They say things come in threes. Makes me wonder what the third issue is going to be.”
He made a deep, rumbling noise in his throat next to her. “Let’s hope it’s no more devastating than a hangnail.”
“From your mouth to the ears of the universe,” she said, letting go of him to scoop up a grunting and rapidly crawling Cecily. She plunked the little girl on her hip. “Hello, angel. And how are you?”
Cecily shoved her finger that had just been on the floor up Tessa’s nose.
“Well, you’re one of us now,” Atlas said with a deep chuckle. “She only does that to the ones she loves.”
One of us.
She could get used to that. Finger up the nose and all.
19
It was June fifteenth before they knew it. The weeks le
ading up to Tessa’s defense and her meeting with Carlyle went by in a blur as well as slogged along at a snail’s pace. It baffled her to think that they could do both, but somehow, they did. Before she knew it, her defense was upon her, but it also felt like forever since she’d seen her beloved Forest.
She, Atlas and the children fell into a quick and lovely routine, where the two of them no longer hid in the depths of the basement when she came over after work, but rather she joined them all for dinner, helped with bath time and stayed until midnight or so.
They still hadn’t had sex in Atlas’s bed—which she suspected was because that had once been his bed with his wife, and he wasn’t quite ready to take that leap—but at least she was no longer sneaking in and out of the house as quiet as a church mouse.
Liam and Atlas had used their pull and powers of persuasion to get Carlyle to move the defense date to the nineteenth, rather than the eighteenth, so at least she didn’t have to deal with two stressful things on the same day. Just back-to-back.
With three days to D-Day, or defense day, Tessa had kept her schedule light with only a few clients and lots of time spent reading journal articles, studies and going for long, mind-clearing walks along the beach. Sometimes Atlas was able to join her; other times she went on her own. Twice, Violet, baby Brielle and Isobel with baby Sophie joined her. It was so nice to finally have some friends, and even though these friends also had children, they didn’t snub her like her other friends with children had.
It was also nice to have someone to talk to, because when she walked the beach alone, she missed Forest more than anything. He was her beach walking buddy. When he was with her, she was never alone. Dogs frolicked in the waves and chased sticks, but not once in those three weeks—where she visited the beach any time it didn’t rain—did she bump into Forest and his pet-sitter again. It was almost as if the pet-sitter was deliberately avoiding that beach now because he figured Tessa would be stalking it in hopes of another run-in with Forest.
