Page 72 of Friends With Benefits

“But…we need to talk. I was going to talk to you on Sunday when I came to get my vehicle, but you’d already brought it back. I tried to call you…”

“There’s nothing to talk about,” she said, with a little shrug. “Don’t worry about it.”

“But…”

The bathroom door opened and Kerri jumped to her feet. “Excuse me.” She waited for Mitch to move and let her out of the bedroom. He didn’t budge. She stood there. They stared at each other, tension crackling between them.

Her heart was breaking, literally shattering. A sob rose and she caught her breath, trying to hold it in, making a little hiccup noise. She swallowed hard. As someone passed them in the hallway, she shoved past Mitch and darted into the bathroom, closed and locked the door behind her.

Shit, shit, shit. Now she was trapped in there all night. She leaned on the marble vanity, taking deep breaths, fighting for control. If she could just get out of there without crying and humiliating herself, she could slip out the front door and leave the party.

She stared at herself in the mirror, her cheeks flushed pink with the effort not to cry, eyes glistening and full of pain. Her mouth was pinched tightly together. God, get a grip, she told herself.

She borrowed Hailey’s hairbrush and dragged it through her hair, then ran her hands under cold water and pressed them to her hot cheeks. When she felt she looked relatively normal, she left the bathroom, praying Mitch hadn’t waited in the hall. There was no sign of him, so she found her purse and quietly left the party without even saying good-bye to Hailey and Miguel. Right now it was all about survival with her dignity intact.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Mitch had no patience for this particular client today. The guy was such a pathetic case, in love with his wife to the point of being a pushover, willing to give her almost everything she asked for in the divorce, which was a lot, all in the hopes that she would come back to him. Mitch had talked to Kerri about this client and his frustrations with him.

Now, here he was sitting in Mitch’s office and he wascrying, for Christ’s sake. Okay, not sobbing-out-loud crying, but he was definitely choked up and glassy-eyed.

Mitch sighed.

He did not need all this emotional crap. Probably because his own emotions were all over the place and so close to the surface he was ready to snap. In fact, he’d snapped at Christie earlier when she’d accidentally brought him the wrong file. Shit.

He rubbed a hand over his face.

“Look, Gord,” he said wearily. “You don’t have to give in that quickly. We can do better than this. You need to think of the long-term ramifications.”

“I just want her to be happy,” Gord said. He looked at Mitch. “I love her, Mitch. I wish I didn’t, but I do. I’m miserable without her and the thought that I’m going to have to spend the rest of my life without her is killing me, man.”

“Yeah,” Mitch said morosely, without really thinking. “I know what you mean.”

Gord glanced at him. “Are you divorced? I didn’t know that.”

Mitch shook his head. “No. I’m not divorced. I just know what you mean about having to spend the rest of your life without her.”

“Oh. Then you don’t really know what I mean.”

“Uh…yeah. I do.” Why the hell was he arguing? It pissed him off that this guy thought he had cornered the market on grief and misery just because he was getting a divorce. Was it any less painful to lose your best friend and the woman you loved so much it hurt, just because you weren’t actually married?

Whoa. That was a crazy thought. He tried to follow that train despite his brain cramping up. If he and Kerri were married and splitting up, would it hurt any more than this? He couldn’t see how. So, hey, they might as well be married.

Oh Christ.

He wanted to be with Kerri. All the time. The thought of her marrying another guy and having his children was like a dagger twisting in his gut. It had been driving him nuts ever since she’d begged him to help her find a husband, which had made him do all those crazy things. No way was some other guy having her. No fucking way.

He would marry her himself.

He gazed across his office, stunned and bewildered. He couldn’t believe he’d just had that thought and no chills raced up and down his spine, no terror clutched at his chest, no nausea rolled in his stomach.

Mitch stood.

“I have to go,” he said abruptly to his client.

Gord’s brows creased together. “Huh? I just got here.”

“Sorry. We’ll reschedule. Something just came up.”

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