Page 31 of The Amendment

I spun around, shocked to see Ainsley there. I guess I shouldn't have been shocked, not knowing her as well as I did.

My wife was always there.

Always around.

I scrambled to pick up my phone, running my hands through my hair. "Sorry…" I didn't know what to say, how to explain what a mess I'd gotten myself in.

"Is everything okay?"

No. Nothing's okay.

"Yep, great."

She pursed her lips, stepping toward me. "It doesn't look great."

Before I could answer, headlights flashed across her face in the dim evening light. I spun around, staring out at the driveway where I could now see the gray truck heading in our direction.

“Who’s that?”

I tried to keep my voice calm, to prevent her from hearing the panic I was feeling. “A friend from work.”

“The same friend who was here the other night?”

Shit.I’d forgotten about that.

“What’s going on, Peter?” she asked, reading theexpression on my face just as Jim’s truck came to park in front of us.

I shook my head, forcing a laugh. “Nothing, I told you. It’s just work stuff. I’ll be back inside in just a minute.”

Jim was already out of the truck and walking toward us. When he saw Ainsley, his brows raised, a longing gaze trailing down the length of her body and back up. Fire burned in my belly as I stepped forward, placing myself between them.

“I don’t believe I’ve had the pleasure,” he said, outstretching his hand toward her, ignoring me. “James Slater.”

Ainsley’s eyes fell to me for a second, but I’d sooner tell her to run than give her permission to shake his hand—not after I’d seen the look in his eyes.

“I’ll be inside in a minute,” I said again, firmly.

To my relief, without shaking his hand, she stepped back, offering a gentle wave. “Nice to meet you.” It seemed as though she sensed the danger, or my panic, and I was grateful to see her walking away from us quickly.

Once she was gone, Jim whistled, his brows still raised in a way that had me feeling ill.

“Damn, Greenburg. No wonder you didn’t invite me to your wedding.”

Yeah, right, that was why.

“What do you need, Jim? I told you we’re in the middle of something. This isn’t a good time.”

It took too long for his eyes and attention to come back to me, and finally, he groaned. “Right. Yeah, well, it’s just a small package this time. And this one won’t be here long at all. I have a buyer picking it up this weekend.”

“This weekend? No, that won’t work.”

“Why? You got a nail appointment?” He smirked.

“We’re…” I thought better of telling him we’d be out of town at the lake house and instead settled on, “We’re having company over. It’s going to be a whole thing. I can’t have anyone else here.”

He clicked his tongue thoughtfully, peering around. “Alright, I could probably come pick it up early Saturday morning. What time will everyone start arriving?”

“Friday evening. Saturday’s no good for me.”

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