Page 48 of Protecting Christina

The words came out of my mouth before I even had time to process them. But they weren’t false. I believed them wholeheartedly, and I’d never said that about a man before.

The strange feeling was unsettling.

Because Will was the first person I wanted to call to share the good news about Faye. Normally, I would call Gabby after a positive hearing, but today, I wanted nothing more than to tell Will that we had won.

Would that be weird?

Fuck it. I’ll just call him.

12

Christina

Settling inside my car, I called Will. My heart raced from the adrenaline of the hearing; that had to be it. Running a hand through my hair, I waited for him to pick up. My fingers traced the scar on my forehead, which had healed nicely. There was only a thin pink line now, which would turn white in time.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Will. Have I caught you at a bad time?”

I heard rustling in the background. “No. Is everything all right?”

I smiled. “Yes. Actually, that’s why I called. Faye and I just finished our hearing, and the judge awarded her temporary sole custody of the kids.” My smile grew from ear to ear, recalling the outburst in court.

“That’s amazing. You did it. I knew you would. Faye must be so happy.”

My eyes misted, thinking of Faye’s reaction, and I had to clear my throat. “Yeah. She was relieved.”

Inhaling a calming breath, I continued, “Once I speak to my sister and make sure she’s okay, we should go out and celebrate the win.”

“I’d love to.” His voice was solemn. He was serious about his work, but he rarely sounded down about it.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“I’m afraid my news isn’t as good as yours.”

My chest tightened. “What happened?” My sister and I weren’t on the best terms, but that didn’t mean I wanted something bad to happen to her.

“I tried to smuggle a phone to her through a pizza box, but Simon found it and threw it away.” He swore softly under his breath, but I heard it.

“Oh. Well, that’s not too bad.”

“It’s not bad, but it’s not great, either. I’m frustrated that property laws are holding me back. If this were back in my army days, there would have been a lot less red tape.”

“Well, people still have the right to defend their homes in this country, so I wouldn’t be going all G.I. on his ass just yet.”

“I know,” he chuckled. “But I did think about it. Sounds like you’re getting to know me better than most.”

“Does it?”

He was quiet, then changed the subject. “How is Faye getting back to the apartment?”

“Her sister is driving her. She worried about how long she could stay.”

“As long as she needs to.”

“That’s what I told her you’d say.”

Huh. Maybe I was getting to know him quite well. The thought was unnerving.

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