Page 39 of The Billionaire's Wife

When was the last time that had been true?

Those months I’d been with Tristan was the closest I could come up with. Even though my parents probably wondered, they weren’t the kind of family that did things like look for someone who walked away. Not once I was a legal adult. They might have been hoping I’d stick around so they could charge me rent and utilities and keep mooching a portion of my paycheck. And Dad had had his…friends. I wrinkled my nose. Those friends who were glad to hear I was of age.

I fought a shudder.

“You all right?” Tristan glanced over before turning into the drive-thru line.

“Yeah. Just thinking.”

“What are you in the mood for?”

I didn’t want to tell him that my appetite had just gone on vacation, so I eyed the menu. “Do you think I could just get a kids meal?”

His eyebrows lifted. “You sure?”

I nodded. “With a Coke?”

“Okay.” He looked like he wanted to say more, but he didn’t. When it was our turn at the ordering sign, he asked for my kids meal and then got himself a double cheeseburger with large fries. At least someone was hungry.

When we had the food, and the cups were nestled into the cupholders, Tristan made his way back out to the road that would lead us to the highway and then home.

Home.

I shouldn’t call it that. No matter how much I might want to.

I dug into the bag and got out Tristan’s fries. “Here. You should eat these first while they’re hot.”

He laughed. The sound lifted my spirits. “Always looking out for me.”

It wasn’t true. We both knew it. He was risking his reputation as a lawyer for me now. Special Agent Orbison didn’t think there’d be any permanent damage, not once things were finished and the FBI could make a statement thanking Tristan for his assistance. But until then?

I chewed my lower lip. “You know you don’t have to do this, right?”

“I do.”

Those words again. My heart ached even as I tried to decide what he meant. “You know or you do have to?”

“Both.” He glanced over with a smile before shifting onto the ramp for the highway.

I sighed. I didn’t have any way to repay him. Except…I swallowed and turned to look out the window at the cars and buildings as they whizzed by.

I’d sign the papers. That would be the repayment he needed. It would be the best thing I could do for him. No matter how much I wanted to keep him and see if there was a way to make things between us work for real, it was time to set him free.

11

TRISTAN

The hardest part about the FBI’s plan—other than the waiting—was not being able to talk to the guys. Special Agent Orbison had been adamant that no one could know the plan. I understood his theory, but at the same time? It wasn’t as if the guys were going to say anything. And at the end of the day, I could use the prayer support.

Which was why I found myself pulling up in front of Wes’s dive shop just before close of business a little over a week after Faith and I had met with the FBI. Best case scenario, Orbison would never find out, and I’d get the support from my friends that I needed. And also, I wouldn’t be hiding things from them once again.

The buzzer on the front door of the shop went off as I pulled it open.

“Welcome to—oh, hi Tristan.” Sunshine, Wes’s new wife, grinned from behind the sales counter. “How’s it going?”

“Can’t complain. You?” I glanced around the shop. I didn’t see any customers, but that didn’t mean they weren’t doing a brisk business. I didn’t really understand Wes’s business model, but he seemed happy with it, and ultimately that was what mattered.

“Pretty good. Got some folks in earlier today who signed up for three certification courses and our January dive trip. Plus, I’m pretty sure they’re going to end up wanting to buy all their own gear instead of renting.”

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