“Jesus Christ,” Gordon breathed. “James going to shit a brick.”
Yes, her boss, one of the firm’s largest partners, would be royally bent out of shape. Clients like Styles shifted James’ view of what the firm stood for. But Tessa would deal with it, the way she dealt with everything. Because if Styles didn’t vote for the bill, several other politicians would hold their vote back as well. And if this bill didn’t pass, tens of thousands of veterans wouldn’t get the care they needed, the care they deserved. And Tessa wouldn’t be getting that promotion, that pay increase, or that flexible schedule. Which meant the bullshit Tessa dealt with every day would end up hurting Sophia. And she wouldn’t let that happen.
“As a fourth-generation vet, he’ll deal with it.” The light turned green, and Tessa drove the final two blocks to the condo. “He wants this bill as badly as the rest of us. He’ll do what he needs to do just like I will.”
“Goddammit,” Gordon complained. “People suck.”
Tessa knew he was referring to politicians on the Hill. And after years of slogging through the muck, she’d have to agree. People did suck.
“I’m fucking crazy about you.” Zach’s words dissolved Tessa’s frustration. Some people sucked. But Tessa still had Zach and Sophia in her corner.
There were countless times she’d wanted to throw in the towel over the last couple of years—when Corinne had told her she’d been hiding her cancer. When she’d sprung the news of her death sentence on Tessa along with Sophia’s care. When Tessa’s boyfriend had dumped her. When her previous firm had taken her partnership off the table because she couldn’t continue to give them five hundred percent of herself.
The scheming, manipulative, two-faced, narcissistic shit she dealt with to get laws passed was just part of the job. The fabric of her everyday professional life. Something she accepted and dealt with for the greater good. As long as Tessa could keep a wall between that scheming, manipulative, two-faced, narcissistic bull and Sophia, she’d continue to handle it.
“I’m sorry, Tess,” Gordon offered. “I’ll keep my ear to the ground here and let you know if anything changes.”
“Thanks. And thanks for all you’ve done while I’ve been gone,” she told him. “Really. You’ve been a godsend.”
“Wish I could send a couple of angels your way now.”
Sophia and Zach came to mind, making Tessa crack a smile. “I think I’ve got a couple in my pocket.”
She parked, turned off the engine, and sat in the quiet for a moment to level herself. To transition back into the real world.
“I’m fucking crazy about you.” Remembering his words and the passion behind them made Tessa smile. Made her hope. Made her see the glimmer of a silver lining on the cloud of failure that had been hovering above her head, waiting to break.
“I’m ready.” The words dissipated in the quiet car, but that didn’t diminish the surety they brought to her soul.
She was ready for something different. Something more. The threat of having all she’d worked and sacrificed for torn away was the last straw. And she was crazy about Zach too. Crazy enough to entertain all sorts of alternate scenarios to her present life.
She was both buoyed and exhausted by the thought of more changes in her near future. But she stood from the car with solid hopes of Zach lending all that awesome strength to help her through.
She moved quietly up the stairs, sure Sophia would be asleep by now. Judging by the way her daughter had gleefully waved good-bye to Tessa, she didn’t envision chaos waiting. The memory of just how easily Sophia had let go was a sharp double-edged sword. But she pushed away her fears of losing her daughter to Zach and his friends as she entered the condo.
One glance around at the orderly state of the apartment and Tessa’s stress eased. She slipped off her shoes and set her briefcase on the sofa as she continued toward the bedrooms. Pausing at the door to her room, she laid a gentle hand on the wood and eased it open to peek in. She’d expected to see Zach lying with Sophia, but her daughter was curled on her side, sleeping alone in the big bed, clutching her Pegasus.
Tessa checked the room across the hall, but it was empty.
A sting of uncertainty tugged in her belly. She scanned the living area again, starting toward the kitchen. That was when she heard voices. Zach’s and…a woman’s. She moved that direction, expecting to find Lexi, Rubi, or Grace who’d come along to help him put Sophia to bed, but she was wrong again. He was talking on the phone, which was on speaker.
Her mind brought up the memory of the women who had approached them at the beach, and her insecurities snuck in. Maybe Tessa had misconstrued his “crazy about you” comment. Maybe he was crazy about a lot of women.
She paused near the door and lifted her hand to knock against the jamb to tell him she was home, but hesitated as she scanned him from the top of his blonde head to the bottom of his bare feet. He was in a familiar wardrobe of board shorts and a T-shirt. The sight comforted her. No suit. No shiny shoes. No fancy briefcase. Tessa hadn’t realized just how attractive that was or how badly she’d been craving a different kind of man from those she’d been living and working with until this very minute.
“I’ve consulted with a number of colleagues, from child psychologists to judges.” The female voice sliced into Tessa’s sweet moment. It was familiar. The same woman he’d been talking to when she’d gone to his room at the hotel—his sister. “And I’ve thoroughly investigated the law with your unique situation in mind. By all accounts, you have every right to custody of Sophia.”
What? Shock slammed Tessa. Her mouth dropped open, but nothing came out. This either wasn’t his sister, or his sister was an attorney, not getting her masters in clinical psychology.
“I would suggest going for partial custody, initially,” the woman said, her cool business tone leading Tessa to believe the prior. “Now is the time to build up a track record of caring for Sophia and building a solid relationship with Tessa.”
Zach didn’t respond.
Terror snuck into Tessa’s shock. She gritted her teeth, willing him to say something—anything—to make her believe she wasn’t hearing what she thought she was hearing.
He finally sighed, shifted on his feet and muttered, “Okay, but—”
“You’ve done the groundwork perfectly. You’ve gotten past Tessa’s initial barriers. You’ve shown her you can handle caring for Sophia and that you can be trusted with her. And you’ve done it in an environment where others can vouch for you.”