He stands on one side of the table, me on the other as he slowly drops the tub but keeps the spoon in his hand, the ice cream slowly melting.
Faking left, I run right instead but he somehow knew where I was going and catches me. His arm comes around my waist, pulling me flush against him.
“You will eat this ice cream or so help me, I—”
“No!” I shout, but I can’t hold the laughter in as he pushes the spoon closer, smearing it along my face. Keeping my lips pursed, I shake my head back and forth.
“What the hell is going on here?”
We both freeze at Tris’s booming voice, our eyes widening as we stare at each other. It’s not until now I realize how close we are. Every breath we take causes our chest to hit the other’s. The burning of his hand on my waist makes me acutely aware of the pads of his fingers and how much they light my skin on fire.
We move as one, Nate dropping his arm and me stepping away from him.
“We…” My voice trails off as I look at Tris, knowing it doesn’t matter what I do or say because he’s still hurting.
“We’re having ice cream, Tris. Lighten up a little,” Nate says as they continue to stare at each other, Tristan’s jaw twitching from where he’s grinding his teeth. “Orrrr not.” I watch Nate walk over to the kids, kissing each one on the forehead. “Be good for your dad and Amelia, I’ll see you guys later.” His gaze falls on me and he winks behind Tristan’s back making heat rise in my cheeks. “Tris? Can I have a quick word?”
“No.” Tris’s voice echoes around us, the finality of it almost shocking me. “I’ll call you.”
Nate waits a beat, his eyes boring holes into the side of Tristan’s head before he makes a noise in the back of his throat and walks out of the kitchen. The door slams shut seconds later, leaving the house in silence.
“I’ll be in my office.” He doesn’t say another word before spinning around and leaving the same way he came in.
“And he’s not talking?” I listen as Holland, one of the in-house investigators, recounts his talk with one of the board members of Tris’s company.
“Not a peep.”
“Make him talk or move onto someone else.” I stop to think of all the Carter Enterprise’s board members. “What about Jamie Cromwell? He’s a loose cannon at the best of times.”
“I’ll make some calls.”
“Good. Keep me informed, Holland. We need this locked down.”
I hang up and blow out a breath as I look at the time. I still have twenty minutes until I need to be in court, so I pull up Facebook and scroll through my newsfeed.
I write a congratulations to an old friend that’s just had a baby girl before scrolling on, getting bored. I click on the search bar and type in Amelia’s name, scrolling down the list of results but coming up empty. Why doesn’t she have Facebook? I’ve never thought to look before now.
A notification pops up and I click on it, smiling. Harmony has finally accepted my friend request from a while back. I scroll through her profile, of course it’s full of photos of her art and shares from her studio’s page. Everything is on social media these days. Everything and everyone except Amelia and Tris that is.
A throat clearing has me looking up into Stacey’s eyes—one of the junior associates at the firm who is working the case with me.
“You ready for this?”
I pocket my cell and stand up. “I was born ready.”
She chuckles, gazing down the hallway. “Savage here yet?”
I shake my head. Derek Savage is one of the most well-respected insurance brokers on the West Coast. He also happens to be a complete pain in my ass and sure knows how to keep us on our toes with this sexual assault case. But hopefully we’ll receive a verdict today and this will be all over and done with.
Stacey and I turn toward the raucous belly laugh of none other than Derek himself as he’s followed by two leggy blondes coming toward us.
I look down at my watch and he scoffs. “I’m on time, Cole, calm down.”
“Wasn’t gonna say anything, Savage.” I motion to the courtroom. “Let’s get in there.”
I open the door and let Stacey and Derek walk in ahead of me, steeling my features before walking through after them.
“All rise.” I stand as Judge Ferguson walks into the courtroom and he motions for everyone to sit once he’s settled in his chair.