Page 73 of By His Side

I smiled at the note of concern in my boyfriend’s voice as he called my name, like he still had to pinch himself to believe he had someone to come home to.

“In here.” He appeared in the kitchen doorway a few seconds later, and I drank him in. He’d let his hair grow longer in recent months, the tousled waves far better to grab onto when he treated me to the very best of his oral expertise, which was frequently. Felix only shaved now when stubble threatened to grow into a beard, the rugged look suitinghim. And those pretty gray eyes of his were rarely stormy anymore. He was still working on his relationship with his mother, but they’d built a lot of bridges and I had faith that they’d eventually get back to where they used to be. How could you not when both parties wanted it so much?

The best thing, though, was the smile he currently wore, a smile that only grew brighter the longer we spent together. And yes, I’d be lying if I said that being the recipient of that smile didn’t fill me full of a tingling warmth. Felix had taught me what love was—my life far richer for having him in it.

“Hi,” he said as his gaze dropped to the table I’d decked out in finery—borrowed from Hayden, of course. The smile changed to a slight frown. “What’s this in aid of?”

I gestured for him to sit, waiting until he’d done so before transferring the plates filled with tapas over to the table and presenting them with a flourish. “You don’t know?”

Felix rocked back in his chair with an expression of concern. Taking the seat diagonal to his, I took pity on him. “Think a year ago.”

His brows drew together. “It’s not when I got out of prison. That’s next week.”

“Correct. So think of something momentous that happened just prior to that.”

I saw the moment he got it, a slow smile spreading across his face. “Was that a year ago?”

“It was,” I announced. “Exactly a year ago today, I walked into The Scrubs, completely oblivious to how my life was about to change.”

Felix pulled a face. “Some would argue not for the better.”

I gave him a mock glare. It wasn’t the first time he’d said something like that, and it no doubt wouldn’t be the last. But I didn’t mind repeating myself until we filed off the sharp edges of his insecuritiesonce and for all. “Then they’d be wrong, because I don’t regret a single thing.”

“You’d still be a probation officer if you’d never met me.”

“Ah, well!” It was impossible not to keep the smile off my face. “In a weird example of the stars aligning, I have news on that front. I got the phone call this afternoon.”

Felix’s eyebrows rose. “You got accepted?”

I grinned. “I got accepted.” The phone call I was referring to was for a counseling course. As of today, I was officially retraining as a counselor who specialized in working both with prisoners who were still inside but needed someone to talk to, and in those who’d been recently released but had issues beyond just starting again, like alcohol or drug abuse.

It would take all the parts I’d liked about being a PO, like being supportive and listening, and get rid of all the parts I hadn’t enjoyed, like the bureaucracy and having to be on people’s backs for things they often felt were ridiculous. If I hadn’t been stuck in something of a rut, I might have considered it a better fit years ago.

Pride shone from Felix’s eyes. “You’re going to be a great counselor.”

“I know, right? Darien Quinn, counselor extraordinaire.”

“Have they checked references?” There was a cautious note in Felix’s question that said he was loath to spoil the moment, but felt he had to.

We’d both been aware when I’d decided to make the change that my so-called transgression could come back to bite me in the arse if the probation service wanted to make things difficult for me. I might have quit before they pushed me, but that only earned me a few brownie points. “I think they realized that the whole miscarriage of justice thing and the fact that you should never have been in prisonin the first place, and ergo would never have been my client, muddied the waters and made it far from a straightforward situation. Plus, they’re probably concerned about what I might say with the media still sniffing around.”

Felix laughed. “They don’t know you very well, if they think you’re going to be badmouthing them to the press.”

“And hopefully,” I continued, “they realized that I’m not planning to sleep with any more of my clients.”

Felix narrowed his eyes. “You better not. You only get to sleep with me from now on.”

“I can live with that. Don’t get too excited about the new job, though. It doesn’t pay any better than being a probation officer did.”

Felix pulled a face. “Damn! And I was only with you for the money.” He leaned forward slightly. “When my compensation comes through, it won’t be a problem.” It was a touchy subject, and it surprised me he’d brought it up. Yes, he was going to get a bumper payout, but so he should. What price did you put on stealing seven years of someone’s life away? Less than five hundred thousand pounds, apparently. For a larger sum, he’d have needed to be wrongly incarcerated for over ten years. The final amount hadn’t been decided on yet, but however much it ended up being, Felix would deserve every single penny of it.

Realizing we were sitting amongst a smorgasbord of food rapidly growing cold, I waved a hand at it. “We should eat.”

Felix studied the plates for a few seconds, taking in the grilled artichoke hearts, the patatas bravas, and other dishes I’d eaten but couldn’t name. “You cooked?” I waited. It only took a few seconds before Felix laughed at his own question. “Of course, you didn’t. Hayden did.”

I pasted a look of mock outrage on my face. “I could take offense at that.”

Felix grinned. “You could, but it wouldn’t stop it from being true.”

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