* * *
That night as I lay in bed, my mind raced. Was it too late? Would everything be different like I said?
Emily didn’t push me away because she didn’t care about me. She pushed me away because of Lionel, a man she was about to confront.
Anger, hope, longing. All those emotions tormented me. I’d found love after years of not really caring, maybe not even really believing in it.
Now I’d lost that chance at a true connection with someone else. I’d lost something I never knew I even needed but now missed desperately.
I shook my head and rolled over to grab my phone from my nightstand.
I sent a text to Emily.
Sorry to bother you but was curious. How is Juniper doing?
A good couple of minutes passed before I stopped staring at the phone, waiting for a surprise. I tossed it back on my nightstand.
Of course, she wouldn’t text me back. It was late, and she’d just gotten done telling me she never wanted to see me again. Until Emily had finished her business with Lionel, there was no reason to suspect she’d talk to me.
And that’s assuming she even wanted to after that. Feelings for people were situational. Whatever I felt for her and whatever she felt for me might not be enough to escape the bad memories that came with this part of her life.
It might very well be that Emily needed to leave not just Lionel behind but also me.
I lay back down and stared at the whorls in my ceiling. I’d done all I could. Now the only thing left was to believe in Emily.
I sat up. No. There was something I could do. Something more than offering emotional support.
I grabbed my phone and dialed my mother’s number.
“Logan, is everything all right? Why are you calling me so late?” she said, her breathing heavy as if she’d run to grab the phone.
A spike of guilt ran through me. “Sorry, Mother. I needed a small favor.”
“What’s that?”
“I need you to tell me the name of Emily’s lawyer.”
Chapter Thirty-five
EMILY
Sitting in front of the huge oak conference table next to my lawyer, George, I rubbed my hands together. This was it, my final big showdown with Lionel. It wasn’t how I wanted to spend my Friday afternoon, but this meeting had been two years in coming.
Maybe I should have confronted Lionel sooner. I’d thought I was doing the best thing for Juniper, but given how her daddy had turned out, I was wrong.
George pulled a few documents out of his briefcase, sparing a glance across the table at Lionel’s smirking lawyer.
I grabbed my water bottle and downed half the contents, desperate to coat my parched throat.
My heart thundered, not only from the meeting but also because of the text I’d received from Logan the night before. I’d thought about answering, maybe even explaining, but I didn’t know what I could say. I’d hurt him so badly, and I wasn’t sure he’d be able to forgive me. I couldn’t deal with that yet.
I didn’t have it in me to call him and hear about how I’d made him suffer and have him yell at me. Even if I did deserve it. Juniper was still at risk, and until this meeting was over, I couldn’t allow myself to worry about anyone else but her no matter how much it hurt.
I inhaled through my nose and let it out through my mouth several times. I’d half-wished that I’d had a few glasses of wine before showing up at the meeting to calm my nerves.
Lionel’s lawyer sat across from me, his hair so perfect, it made me want to ruffle it to mess it up. I didn’t like the smug smile on his face. It was like he thought he had the upper hand. I’d show him.
At least my ex-husband hadn’t shown. There were only so many smug faces I could stand.