Total pages in book: 127
Estimated words: 117377 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 587(@200wpm)___ 470(@250wpm)___ 391(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 117377 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 587(@200wpm)___ 470(@250wpm)___ 391(@300wpm)
“No. It’s fine. Harris has already said he was going to speak with him about this. Against my wishes, I might add. He’s trying to fix it. It can’t be fixed. I won’t forgive Greyson for this.”
“Prick,” Tina muttered beneath her breath, not sure if she was referencing Greyson or Harris. Not that it mattered. The word applied to both men. “I’ll pick you up first thing in the morning, okay? You’ll stay with me. Unless . . . I mean, do you want to stay with your parents?”
Libby shook her head, more tears spilling over onto her wet cheeks.
“No. I can’t. Their flat was bought and paid for by the Chapmans. I don’t want anything to do with that family or their money right now.”
“Of course.”
“I mean, my parents earned their retirement gifts, and I’m happy for them. But . . . I don’t want to feel beholden to the Chapmans. I can take care of myself and my child. I don’t need anything the Chapmans have to offer.” Libby’s voice, strained and nasally with tears, held a firm note of defiance and anger.
“I get it,” Tina soothed. “You can stay with me until we figure out the rest, okay?”
“I need Clara’s things,” Libby suddenly wailed, clearly at the end of her tether.
“Don’t worry about that. I’ll take care of it,” Tina promised grimly.
“Chapman.” The curt masculine voice at the other end of the line caused a shudder of something unidentifiable to run down Tina’s spine. She sucked in a deep breath before letting it out slowly, in an attempt to compose herself before speaking.
“Harris? It’s Tina,” she said in her most no-nonsense voice, and the long silence that greeted that proclamation was unnerving.
“It’s nearly one in the morning,” he finally said, his voice frustratingly neutral. She couldn’t gauge his response to this unprecedented call from her.
“I didn’t have your number, and Smith took forever to get back to me with it,” she explained. “I’m sorry if I woke you.”
“You didn’t wake me.”
“Disturbed you, then,” she said, imagining a perfect, beautifully rumpled, and disgruntled bed partner sitting up beside him.
“You didn’t disturb me either.” His voice was still completely emotionless. “What do you need?”
“Some stuff for the baby,” Tina said without further preamble, and there was another long pause.
“Don’t get involved, Tina,” he warned, his voice taking on a dangerous edge.
“Too late.”
“Let them figure it out.”
“Libby needs space to do that. Look, she and the baby won’t be far. They’ll stay with me for a while. I think it’s only fair to give her some breathing room. After all, her asshole of a husband just dumped a world of hurt on her.”
“Yeah, I know.” Something in his voice made her pause: a vulnerability that shocked her. She nearly asked if he was all right but quickly thought better of it. “Look, she can stay with me. I have plenty of space, and she’s family.”
“No offense, Harris, but staying with a man who looks exactly like the bastard who hurt her won’t really help matters.”
“She knows we’re not the same man,” Harris said. Finally she’d provoked an emotion from him; he sounded completely affronted.
“She doesn’t even want to stay with her parents because your parents paid for their flat. She doesn’t want anything to do with the Chapmans right now; just respect that, will you?”
“And yet, she’s just given birth to one.”
“Not according to your brother.”
“It’s none of your business,” he muttered.
“Libby is like a sister to me, and she’s asked me to help her, so that makes it my business. She needs someone in her corner.”
“I’m in her corner!” His voice was thick with frustration, and Tina felt a surge of spiteful gratification at that response.
“Look, can you help me get the baby’s stuff or not? I’d rather not deal directly with Greyson. Not right now. I value my freedom, and if I do to him what I long to do, I’ll get locked up for years.”
He surprised her with a rusty chuckle in response to her words.
“I know better than most how capable you are of following up on that threat,” he said, his voice brimming with dark amusement. It was the first time he’d ever referenced the fact that she’d once broken his nose, and it threw her a bit. She really didn’t want to be reminded of that right now. Not so soon after her little wallow down memory lane just hours ago. When she didn’t respond to his words, he cleared his throat awkwardly before speaking again, this time all traces of amusement gone from his voice. “Text me a list of what you need. I’ll get it for you.”
“I need it tonight,” she said, and he sighed.
“Fine!”
“I’ll text the list soon.” She disconnected the call before he could respond and started trembling, bone-deep shivers that seemed to rattle her teeth and shake her to the very core. She wasn’t sure she was ready for this, having an infant right there in her space. But her friend needed her, and Tina had to set aside her own neuroses and be there for Libby.