“Good.” Lizzie winked, and then sucked him deep into her mouth until he stopped talking completely.

Chapter Nineteen

“Ms. Taylor?”

“Yes, right here.”

Lizzie looked up as a delivery guy came up to the counter, and offered her a slim, sealed envelope she had to sign for.

“Thanks.”

“You’re welcome. Have a great day.”

Seeing as there was no one in the café who needed her immediate attention, Lizzie went back into the kitchen to open the envelope and read the single sheet.

“Wow.” She breathed out slowly through her nose. “Miranda doesn’t waste any time, does she?”

Yvonne looked up from frosting a cake. “What’s she done now?”

“It’s from the Mono County family court. She’s petitioning for visitation rights. We will be assigned a court mediator to see if we can come to an agreement.” Lizzie stared blindly out at the back window.

“May I ask you something?”

“Of course.” Lizzie turned automatically back to Yvonne.

“What does Ray think of all this?”

“I don’t know. I assume that he’s in on it otherwise Miranda wouldn’t have gotten his consent to do the DNA test.”

“She could’ve gotten the DNA some other way,” Yvonne suggested.

Lizzie sat down at the table opposite her friend and put the letter in her apron pocket. “Are you suggesting I contact him myself? What good would that do?”

“Well, if he doesn’t know what’s going on, he might like to. If he does, maybe you’ll be able to have a more reasonable conversation with him than with his mother.”

“I’m not sure about that,” Lizzie said doubtfully. “God knows what will come out of my mouth if I actually get to see him again. And I don’t know how to contact him anyway.”

“Henry might have that information. If he’s acting as your lawyer, he might be able to make the connection for you.”

“I hadn’t thought of that.” Lizzie contemplated Yvonne admiringly.

Her friend shrugged. “I’ve been dealing with the courts for years because of my ex. I know way more about the legal systems in France and the USA than I ever wanted to.”

“That’s a great idea. I’ll go and talk to Henry during my lunch break,” Lizzie said, her spirits marginally rising. “If he has Ray’s address, I’ll ask him to contact him for me.”

“You can go now, if you want to. There’s no one around.” Yvonne went back to her frosting. “The rain will keep the tourists and the locals away from the café for at least the next hour or so.”

* * *

Lizzie wiped her mouth with her napkin and smiled over at Adam. Her hair was tied back in a ponytail and she wore a red T-shirt with her usual jeans. “Henry says he’ll reply on my behalf, and set up the initial meeting, which will probably be at the Bridgeport courthouse. If it isn’t there, it’ll be at Mammoth.”

Adam considered her carefully. He’d brought her out for dinner at the Red Dragon, and although she was acting as though she didn’t have a care in the world he wasn’t totally convinced.

“You’ll have to take time off work,” Adam said neutrally.

“I know.” She grimaced. “Which sucks because Yvonne and I were hoping I could start being more managerial as soon as possible.”

“I’m sure she’ll understand.” He sipped his beer. “Did Henry say anything else?”

“Not really.” She lowered her gaze to her food and started picking at the chicken. “I did ask him to confirm whether Ray is also petitioning for his rights, or whether it’s just Miranda.”

Adam eased back in his seat, one hand grasping his beer bottle. “If Ray doesn’t know, aren’t you risking drawing his attention to you and Roman?”

“It was his DNA, Adam. Either Miranda obtained that without his consent, or he knows perfectly well what’s going on, and is prepared to let his mommy handle it for him.”

Adam winced. “Neither scenario makes him look good.”

“True.” Lizzie dipped one of her fries in the ketchup and licked it clean, which almost diverted Adam’s attention from what she was and wasn’t telling him. “He’s a minor celebrity so maybe he just wants to stay as far away from this as possible.”

Tags: Kate Pearce Billionaire Romance
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