Page 104 of Silent Partner (Pine Falls 3)

With a huge tsk, Giselle grabbed a pen and started signing each marked line. I was surprised she didn’t rip the paper by pressing so hard.

While I watched on, Brant put his arm around me and whispered in my ear, “I’m proud of you.”

You know what? I was proud of me too. But I also knew I had Brant to thank for this moment. “Thank you,” I mouthed.

He brushed my lips with his own, which was probably unprofessional, but nothing about this was by the book. And I kind of liked how much it irked Giselle to see me moving on to bigger and better things. The unadulterated hatred in her eyes was apparent.

She could hate all she wanted. I was choosing the hard road. I was choosing love.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

I walked out of the attorney’s office elated, feeling freer than I had in a long time. And perhaps a tad, or more like a lot, giddy that we’d left Giselle and Carter in there raging at each other. If I had to guess, I would say there was a breakup in their near future. Maybe even today. But I knew it wasn’t the time to celebrate or even gloat. I needed to talk to Dani, my best friend. No road I ever took would be complete without her on it. If it weren’t for her, I wasn’t sure I would even be on this road at all. We were like those snow angels we’d made a long time ago, forever connected. She had been my biggest cheerleader, and as cheesy as it sounded, a light during my darkest days.

Brant and I said our goodbyes to Dominique as we walked out to our cars. The sun was shining bright, but there was still a chill in the air, so I hustled. My dress was doing a terrible job of keeping me warm. Brant, on the other hand, was doing his best to warm me up. With his arm around my waist, he had the perfect vantage point to whisper things in my ear like, “You are so sexy when you get fired up.”

I nudged him with my elbow.

He kissed my cheek. “We should do something to celebrate.”

“We should, but nothing lavish and not right now. We should talk first, and I need to talk to Dani.”

He pulled me around to him and drew me in close, so we were face-to-face. He ran the back of his cold hand down my cheek. “You’re not going to let me spoil you, are you?”

I shook my head with a smile.

“I thought so. I suppose I should thank you.”

“For what?”

“Not wanting me for my money.”

“It’s never been about that for me.” I stood on my tiptoes, kissed his cheek, and lingered there a bit, soaking him in. The rightness I felt being close to him helped me remember that even though it was going to be hard, I had to try. “I really need to go.”

He held on a bit longer. “Kinsley, I know how much Dani and I have hurt you, so promise me if the pain is too much for you to bear and it comes down to you having to choose between me and Dani, you’ll choose your sister. She deserves you more than I do.” Heartbreak accompanied his words like a remorseful tune. One I wasn’t planning on dancing to.

I grabbed onto the lapels of his coat and stood as tall as I could. With every ounce of courage I had, I said, “I don’t plan on letting go of anyone. I refuse to let the Copelands win. More than that, I want to be stronger than all the wreckage. I want it to be worth something.”

Without warning, his lips pressed against mine. There we stayed, connected at the lips, no tasting, no urgency. Just a “Here I am, don’t let go” kind of kiss. “I love you, Kinsley Marie Jones Kramer,” he whispered.

“I hope so.” Because I loved him too. Someday, I would tell him.

“I know so.” He kissed my nose. “Call me when you’re done.”

“I will. Can we talk tonight?”

“Anytime you want. Which reminds me—I do have something for you.”

“You didn’t have to buy me anything. You just bought a restaurant for me.”

“I just made a wise investment.”

“That’s a good spin on it.” I laughed.

“I’m serious. And this gift”—he led me toward his car—“is for my benefit as well.”

My brows popped way up, thinking back to the last time he said a certain gift for me would be for his benefit. “It’s not lingerie, is it?”

“No,” he chuckled. “Why are you always asking me that? What kind of man do you think I am?” He pretended to be offended.

“You’re a man. Enough said.”

“You have a point,” he conceded. “But we aren’t there yet. We’re going to take this slow and do things right.”

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