“There’s really no way of knowing how this is going to progress or when it’s going to get better. I know that’s the last thing you want to hear right now, but it’s the best I can do,” Nick said.
“I don’t want Remy to think I’ve just abandoned him,” Lindsey said. “And what do you think Grant is going to tell him? He’s going to take every opportunity he can to make it seem like I don’t care about him and don’t want to see him.”
I wanted to jump in and say something that would make her feel better. I wanted to tell her everything was going to be alright and that Remy wouldn’t listen to Grant. But the reality was, I couldn’t guarantee that. She was probably right. From what I knew about Grant, that sounded like it fit right in with his character. As for Remy’s reaction to it, Grant was his father. He was the one who spent the most time with him. Remy was just a little boy. It would be easy for him to be manipulated into believing what his father told him. Especially when it was paired with the tangible reality of his mother not coming to see him.
It made getting this resolved even more urgent. All I could hope was there would be a way to make it happen as fast as possible so the damage could be undone.
As we talked, I stole looks over at Lindsey. It was hard to keep my eyes off her. This wasn’t the time for those feelings to be forming, but I couldn’t help them. Every time I was near her, they only got stronger. And because karma was good to me, half an hour into her being there, Nick got a call. He stood up and went to the other side of the office to answer, only to come back a few moments later.
“That was my office,” he announced. “Something came up that I have to look into right away. I’m going to have to go.”
He looked at Lindsey with expectation. It was obvious he felt she was going to get up and come with him. Instead, she stood up and hugged him, then sat back down. Nick promised to call later and walked out, leaving Lindsey and me alone.
Lindsey and I had talked just the two of us plenty of times. But all of those had been at the bar with other people around us. Even if it was just a conversation between the two of us, there were always other customers, waitresses, my brothers. It wasn’t really just the two of us. Now, for the first time, we were completely alone. The tension between us was palpable, coming from different angles and for different reasons.
I hoped this was the opportunity for her to open up to me more.
But Lindsey didn’t start talking. Instead, she reached down for my hands. She pulled me up to my feet and gathered me into a hug. It took me aback, but I soon melted into it. I cherished the feeling of her in my arms, her body tucked safely against mine. I wanted more. I craved more. And when she pulled back a couple minutes later to look into my face, it took everything in me not to kiss her.
There was a slight glimmer in her eyes. Something that wasn’t there when Nick was with us. I hoped, and even thought sometimes, that she might have the same feelings I did. But this was the absolute worst time for either of us to be feeling them. So instead of giving in to my desire to kiss her, I hugged Lindsey close one more time and stepped away. She smiled at me and left. And that was it.
I let out a big breath as I flopped back down onto the couch. For a few seconds I just sat in the silence and stared at the wall, thinking about Lindsey and what might be between us. When I dragged myself out of those thoughts, I checked in with Charlie again. He reassured me he was going over the papers carefully and looking into the situation closely.
Once again, I reminded him to bill me for everything. I didn’t want Lindsey to ever see an invoice or even think about the cost of his representation. He deserved every cent of his fee, and she deserved every second of his work. I was going to make sure both got them.
Feeling a little better knowing he was on it, I went back to work. There was a lot to do to get ready for the exhibition. It was a truly terrible time to leave. Everything in me said I should be here with Lindsey. But I promised Quentin I would go. Since he and Merry had the new baby at home, he needed someone there as his rep. I couldn’t let him down, even if I knew my heart and my mind would be here the whole trip.