Page 128 of Beating Heart
“Thanks for making my Star Student Day the best. Sorry, Pops. But Emerson makes the best treats,” Cutler said, and she bent down to hug him goodbye.
“I know. Unicorn Krispies are not in my wheelhouse.” I chuckled.
“Have the best day. We’ll pick you up after school, okay?” Emerson said, leaning down to kiss his cheek.
I noticed that her eyes were wet with emotion as I took her hand in mine, and we walked out of the school.
“You okay?” I asked.
“Yeah.” She turned to face me as I opened the passenger door. “That was just really special. I loved getting to be there for him.”
“He loved it, too. Thank you for being there for my boy.”
“Of course,” she said, as I drove toward her office.
“Oh, I’m not going in until later. Doc is covering. I want to be there with you today, if you’re all right with that.”
I paused at the stop sign to look at her. “You sure about that? Tara’s a lot to handle, and she’ll have her boyfriend there, so things may get ugly.”
“We’re in this together. That’s how this works. The good and the bad. I want to be there beside you.”
And that’s exactly where I wanted her to be.
“Thank you.” I cleared my throat.
“Are you okay?” she asked, as I pulled into the parking spot near River’s law office.
“Yeah, I’m good. I’m not used to counting on anyone but the guys. So you keep catching me off guard by showing up every time I need you.”
“Get used to it. I’m not going anywhere.” She smirked, and I jumped out of the car and came around to get her door.
“Easiest thing I’ve ever needed to get used to.” I pressed her up against the car and kissed her before pulling back and leading her inside.
Cassie, River’s assistant, was just handing him a cup of coffee when we walked in, and he was pinching the bridge of his nose and calmly trying to tell her that she’d made it wrong. Again. It took everything I had in me not to laugh as she repeated the order three times and left with the mug.
“Hey,” he said, coming around to clamp me on the shoulder before pulling Emerson in for a hug. “If you two order coffee, it might be best to just order it black.”
We chuckled as Cassie returned with his coffee and took our orders.
Two black coffees.
We made our way to the conference room and took our seats, just as Cassie brought Tara, with the guy I assumed was her boyfriend right behind her, sans legal representation.
Shocker.
She didn’t care enough to find someone to help her understand what today was about. She could have hired someone or reached out to postpone the date until she found someone to represent her. But she’d never take the time to do that.
It shouldn’t surprise me.
She’d never cared, had she?
“Hey,” Tara said, her eyes landing on Emerson, before glaring in her direction.
I found my girl’s hand beneath the table and intertwined our fingers. “This is my husband, Mark.”
River and I shared a look of surprise as he turned back toward Tara. “I hadn’t realized you were married. So this will affect both of you, then.”
“We’ve been married for over a year. So I won’t tolerate my wife being mistreated by anyone,” Mark said, and I covered my mouth with my hand to stifle a laugh, and he definitely noticed.
