Page 46 of Brittle Heart

She nods understandingly. “Would you like to see their file yourself? Do you think that would bring you some peace of mind?”

My eyes widen. “We can do that?”

She shrugs. “We can certainly try. We can request the case as a reference. I can’t make any promises, but we ask for old cases all the time, so why not use this privilege to give you some closure?”

Tears well up in my eyes. “Thank you, Sophia.”

She smiles sadly at me and reaches over to pat my hand. “Thank me when we have the case. What were their names?”

“Carlo and Isabella Costa,” I say, my heart aching.

Sophia gives my hand a comforting squeeze. “I’ll see what I can do.”

The door swings open, and I quickly compose myself, forcing my eyes to stop watering as Clay and Josh enter.Fucking perfect timing for the douchebags.

They walk over to us, both looking way too good.Hot as hell douchebags,I mentally correct myself.

“Hey there, Karen. Made anyone cry today?” Clay asks, casually leaning against my desk.

“Sadly, no. But it’s only four thirty, and you only just walked in,” I snark.

I glance at Josh, who tries to hide his smile behind his hand, but I can still see one of his dimples. Amusement sparkles in his eyes.

“Yeah, exactly! It’s only four thirty. What brings you guys here so early? That’s like an early, early bird dinner,” Sophia says.

“We forgot to buy groceries again, so we haven’t eaten anything yet. And you know how grumpy Josh gets without his sugar fix,” Clay answers, grabbing a pen from my desk to fiddle with.

“Just because I don’t like going hungry doesn’t mean I’m grumpy,” Josh murmurs. “We thought we’d grab something small to eat, and you can have a tea or something, and later, we can go get some takeout and bring you something?”

“All right,” Sophia agrees, getting up from her chair.

“Come on, Karen, you can’t say no to tea,” Clay adds, twirling the pen between his fingers.

I’m about to respond when Sophia interrupts, “Carolina is going home now.”

I look at her in shock, wondering what I did wrong. “I am?”

“You are. Get some rest. We’ve done enough for today,” she says.

I quickly pack my bag and follow them out of the office.

“Hey, how are you, Carolina?” Josh asks, walking beside me, his arm occasionally brushing against mine.

“All right, thanks. You?” I ask, trying to sound indifferent, but being mean to him is becoming harder the longer I know him. He’s just such a genuinely nice and kind person.

I think I like him.

“I’m good, thank you.” He smiles. “We’re planning to go to this burger place later, and they have the best donuts. Do you like donuts?”

“Sure.” I shrug, not quite sure where he’s going.

Is he thinking food would be a good conversation starter with the fat girl?

“I could grab some for you guys too, and bring them over tomorrow,” he offers.

“That’s kind but not necessary,” I reply, just as we reach the hallway leading to the exit. “See you.”

“Bye, Carolina,” I hear Josh say.

---