Page 22 of Falling for the Unexpected

“Hi, Simone,” Addie greeted politely, and walked closer to our booth. She was giving me a ‘you’d better explain this to me later’ look that I knew too well.

“Hi,” Simone returned, her face nearly bloodless. She looked toward me but like her, I was still at a loss for words, which was not only usual for a lawyer, but for me personally, as well.

“Well, I guess I’ll see you back at the office,” Addie said, once she realized we weren’t going to explain why we were having lunch together. She gave me another speculative look then turned back around to grab her to-go box at the register and left the restaurant.

“I’m so sorry, Kyle. I hope you helping me out won’t cause any problems between you and your sister,” Simone started, unsettled. Like we’d been caught doing something illicit.

I shook my head, knowing Addie would keep things to herself until she got the details out of me. “Don’t worry about it and I won’t tell Addie anything about you filing for divorce yet. She’s my assistant but I’ll keep your files in my office and type up all your documents myself. Please don’t worry about anything except taking care of yourself and that beautiful little girl of yours.”

She smiled at the mention of her daughter. Her smile was beautiful, and I wanted her do it more often. Living with Brad probably didn’t give her many reasons to. Simone may have made an awful choice when picking Brad, but she came out with an amazing child from that union. I knew she was determined to be the best mom ever, and from everything I had seen, she was doing a great job.

“You don’t need to keep this a secret, especially since you work with Jim, Trent, and Addie,” she said, biting on her lower lip for a second but she seemed less uncertain now. Maybe she was already beginning to accept that her divorce was going to happen. I admired her ability to roll with the punches. Sometimes life took a very wrong turn to let you know when to stand up and fight. “I’m going to talk to Brad and then his parents this afternoon so you don’t have to hide any paperwork. You’ve convinced me that it’s probably a good idea.”

We talked a bit more and then it was time for me to head back to the office. I picked up the check the waitress had dropped off at our table and we moved to the register so I could pay for our lunch. I saw Simone digging around in her purse for her wallet. No way was I was going to let her give me money.

“I’ve got this covered,” I told her.

After I paid the bill, I placed my hand on her lower back and led her out of the restaurant. I had managed to not think about pink bikinis all through lunch; however, as soon as I placed my hand on her, it was all I could think about. I really needed to stop touching her, but it felt too good and it was like my hand had a mind of its own. At her car, I said, “I’m going to need you to come into the office in order to draft the divorce filing. I’ll also need you to sign a disclosure agreement acknowledging my connection to Brad.”

I pulled my phone out of my pocket and handed it to her. “Here, program your number then I can text you so we have each other’s numbers,” I said. “You can text or call me when you want to take care of the paperwork.”

I didn’t give my personal cell phone number to my clients, but I felt better knowing that she would be able to get ahold of me if she needed anything.

I texted her number to test it, and heard her notification alert go off. “You can call me, for anything, day or night,” I offered, the words out before I could stop them. She stared up at me, and then she hugged me again. She squeezed me tight around the middle, hard. I wanted to return it, let this moment linger, but she pulled back and got her keys out of her purse.

“You’re wonderful,” she said, eyes tearing up. “I feel so much better knowing you’re on my side.Thank you.”

Her emotions got to me; a simple ‘thank you’ was never more powerful to me than hers. I opened the car door for her and then watched her drive away, disappearing into the busy afternoon traffic.

While driving back to the office, I thought of all she had shared with me and I hoped she would be okay. I knew she was worried and scared about a lot of things. It was obvious to me she didn’t know she had people in her corner. I’d do what I could to prove that to her, and I would protect her, like I should have done for Addie. Brad still needed to learn a lesson, and I had no problem teaching it to him.

*****

I had just sat down at my desk when Addie came in and closed the door behind her.

She crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back against the door. “So what in the world did I walk in on back at the diner?” she asked, sounding genuinely curious.

There was no point in keeping this from her since it would come out soon enough. Plus, I trusted Addie explicitly. “Simone called me this morning, asking to meet so we could discuss her filing for divorce,” I answered, matter of fact.

Addie just stood there silently contemplating. I could see the wheels spinning in her head. She was probably thinking some not so nice things and a lot of ‘could have seen that coming’ comments, too. I also saw sympathy in her expression. Addie wasn’t heartless, and while she was probably still bitter about Brad, she knew she’d come out of that deal rather well. And Simone did not deserve what she got; we both knew that without question.

“What happened?” she finally asked.

“She caught him cheating on her,” I stated, shrugging.

Addie could have taken some joy in the fact that Brad had cheated on the woman that he had cheated on her with, but she wasn’t that kind of person. Instead, I saw the frown form on her face as she nodded her head, showing she wasn’t surprised by his actions.

“You and I know he’s a total douche. I had really hoped he’d changed his ways for Simone and Stella.” Addie sighed, shaking her head. “She must be heartbroken.”

“Honestly, I don’t think Simone is upset about her relationship with Brad not working out. She is, however, worried about of losing Jim and Marla, and possibly the relationship they have with Stella. She shared with me some things from her past—like the fact that she had it rough like we did except she wasn’t lucky to have people like the Thompsons or Grandma stepping in to help her out when she was younger. She wanted better for her daughter and now she feels like a failure.”

“She’s not a failure,” Addie said adamantly. Her expression went a little hard. “That title belongs to Brad.”

“And I wish I had done better by you in making you realize that before he hurt you,” I said softly.

She smiled a little, but it was slightly strained. “Brad could charm a nun out of her habit,” she said grimly. “I fell for it, and so did Simone. Regardless of what she thought or was hoping for when she married Brad, her reasons were genuine. Brad’s weren’t.” She paused, narrowing her gaze me. “You are going to help her, right?” she asked, although her tone made it clear she expected me to.

“That’s the plan,” I informed her. “Pro bono.”

She visibly relaxed. “Good. I’d be mad at you if you didn’t. And if you need help, of any kind, count me in.”

I smiled at that, glad my sister was on board. Then I frowned somewhat, thinking about how the rest of this day might unfold. “I’m just hoping it won’t make things awkward with Trent,” I said, meeting Addie’s gaze. “Simone is telling Brad that she’s filing for divorce and then she plans on talking to Jim and Marla afterwards. I’m going to need to sit down with Trent this afternoon before we leave for the day.”

“Hopefully, there won’t be any problems there. And, again, please let me know if you need me for anything. I’m serious, Kyle,” Addie repeated, pointing a finger at me. “Don’t leave me out. Even if it’s to babysit Stella or hold Simone’s hand or buy Kleenex, I’ll do it.”

I grinned. “Okay, I get it, now go file some papers already,” I teased.

She stuck her tongue out at me but then opened the door and went back to her workspace. I scrubbed my face hard, wanting to get things squared away quickly. I didn’t want to give Brad too much time to weasel his way out of this if he felt that staying married to Simone would benefit him in the long run.

In regards to Trent, I didn’t think I’d get much resistance from him. Since he wasn’t a fan of his brother, I knew he wouldn’t harbor any ill will toward Simone. But I also wasn’t sure how he would feel about me representing her, or our law firm getting involved in something this close to home. She didn’t have the resources to pay for an attorney and I didn’t want her to risk missing out on anything she was entitled to by filing for divorce on her own or getting preyed upon by some sham lawyer. I knew I couldn’t leave her to deal with this alone, and I wasn’t going to walk away from Simone until I saw her smile again. And damn it, some selfish part of my brain wantedmeto be the reason she never stopped smiling.