Page 2 of The Billionaire's Wife

“I need your help. Believe me, if there was any way to have done this without involving you, I would have gone that route.”

I was suddenly glad I’d spent nearly every Friday of the last few years playing poker with the guys. That plus my courtroom experience meant I was able to keep my expression neutral. She didn’t need to know she’d just sliced a new hole in my heart. “You should’ve made an appointment at the office.”

“I wasn’t sure you’d agree to see me.”

I scoffed. “Please.”

“Okay. You’re right.” Faith frowned and turned to look out the floor-to-ceiling windows that made up the end of my living room wall. “You have a nice view.”

“It was a definite selling point.” I followed her gaze and looked out at the rain slashing down from dark clouds to the Potomac River below.

“Will you help me?”

I felt her gaze on me.

I turned back and met it. I forced my brain to shift back into business mode. “Depends.”

“On what?”

My eyebrows lifted. “On what sort of help you need. I’m not hurting for clients, and the people I’m already representing deserve to get the same time and attention they’ve been getting from me.”

“But—” Faith broke off and pressed her lips together. Her eyes swam. “I don’t know where else to turn.”

“You said that. So, we’ll eat dinner and you’ll tell me what’s going on. And if I think I can help within the time I have available, I’ll take on your case. Otherwise, I should at least be able to make a referral to another lawyer. Someone I trust.”

She shook her head. “No. If you can’t help, I’ll try to deal with it on my own. I’m not involving anyone else.”

I clamped my teeth shut to keep from blurting out any of the retorts that sprang to mind. They weren’t kind. They definitely weren’t going to help the situation.

“There’s one more thing.”

“What’s that?” Was she going to ask to stay here? Knowing Faith—although, ha ha, could I say I knew her anymore?—she was. She probably had no money. From the way she was acting, I gathered she was probably avoiding credit cards to keep off the grid.

“Is there any way I could stay here?”

My laugh had no mirth. Called that one. Technically, I had the room. But…

“I promise I’ll stay out of your way. You’ll hardly know I’m here. I just…really need to lie low.” She fidgeted in her seat. “I know it’s a lot to ask.”

I heaved out a breath. I wanted to say no. I wanted to scream it from the rooftop. Everything in me said this was a bad, bad, bad idea. But it was Faith. And Faith was the one person in my life whom I’d never been able to say no to. I rubbed a hard circle in the center of my forehead with the knuckle of my thumb and tried to talk myself out of doing what I was, inevitably, going to do.

Then I caved. “Yeah. Fine. Let me show you the guest room.”

I pushed to my feet and jerked my head for her to follow. I turned down the short hall that led to the guest bath and bedrooms. I pointed to my door. “This one is mine. It’s off limits.”

Faith nodded.

I reached in and flipped on the guest room light. “This is yours. Bathroom’s in the hall.”

“I appreciate this, Tristan. I know it’s not easy for you.”

I pinned her with a glare. “Let’s be clear about one thing, okay? You don’t know me. Not anymore.”

She blinked.

I stepped into the room. I used this space primarily as a home office. There wasn’t much in the way of files, but those that were here should definitely not be flipped through by random strangers. And that was how I was going to think of Faith from now on.

In a perfect world, at least.

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