Paige spun...to see Kirstie's math book fanning in the wind while her mail skimmed across the lawn. "Ah, jeez."
Her thoughts scattering as fast as Kirstie's homework, Paige dashed toward the closest envelope. Bo raced past to scoop up one, two, then the last of the others before jogging back to pass them to her.
"Thank you," she gasped, as breathless from the run as watching him in motion. She waggled the envelopes in front of her. "More paperwork from the lawyer, something about a safety deposit box I need to open. He says he can handle it for me if I just sign over power of attorney."
"Whose lawyer is this? Yours or Haugen's?"
"The same." Kneeling on the blanket, she unzipped her daughter's backpack.
He tossed Kirstie's workbook and colored pencils inside. "Are you sure this guy's clean?"
"I wouldn't have anything to do with him if I thought otherwise." But of course she'd trusted her husband, too.
Thank goodness Bo was diplomatic enough to stay silent.
"After he—Kurt—was arrested, when it was obvious he'd really done the things they said..." She paused to look up and blink fast. A deep breath later, she met him eye-to-eye again, rock steady. "I told him I wouldn't start divorce proceedings until after the trial, out of respect for the fact we had a child together. But only if he hired another attorney, one with no connections to..." She faltered. "He agreed, even told me to pick."
"And somehow that made things tougher for you."
She nodded, falling back to sit on her legs. "A part of me wonders if a slicker lawyer could have made sure he had better protection inside. I know it's wrong to think that way, but I can't help it."
"He alone is to blame for anything that came his way. He put himself, you, your child in danger."
Even if she couldn't totally absolve herself, it sure felt nice to have a champion. "I don't love him anymore."
She wasn't sure why the words slipped out, but there they were and she wouldn't call them back. He knelt beside her, staring right back with one of those lightning crackle moments. No smiles or laughs, just two people on a blanket with an undeniable tug between them.
He kept his hands on his knee and off her. "I didn't ask."
A dangerously exciting notion niggled at her. "You didn't ask, but you were wondering."
He didn't deny it. He just looked her dead in the eye, jaw tight, expression inscrutable and said, "Nudge."
"What?"
He shook his head slowly without taking his gaze off her. "Damned if I haven't been nudged."
"I'm still not following what you're saying."
She thought he was going to...kiss her again?
His pupils dilated in an unmistakable message of arousal— and hunger. Without laying one finger on her, he stroked those smoky blues eyes over her face, her mouth with leisurely precision until her lips parted in anticipation.
Then he blinked, slowly easing back. "I think you should be the one to check out that safety deposit box."
She struggled to keep up with his conversational shift and whatever he had in mind, still stuck back there in the tingly notion that he cared if she'd loved Kurt. She grabbed the blanket and followed. "Oh, uh, I could, I guess, maybe I even should, but—"
"I'll go with you. I have a wedding to attend in Charleston this weekend, and I was going to have to fly there anyway since the C-17's not fixed yet. We can head out late Friday.
You could meet up with the lawyer Saturday morning, wedding's not until late afternoon."
A whole weekend alone together? Was this guy crazy? Or brilliant? Paige kept pace alongside, double steps. "I can't just pick up and go. I have a job to consider and a child."
"So bring her with us. She'll only have to miss a day or two of school. She'll probably get a kick out of going to my friend's wedding. It's even on the beach."
And, oh, God, didn't that start to sound like the date scenario he'd spun for her during their late-night porch discussion. "Uh, it sounds nice, but—"
"Great." He slung the Strawberry Shortcake backpack over his shoulder, and why he managed to make that look sexy, she would never know. "It's cheaper for me to fly you than for you to buy a plane ticket."