I grinned. “Fantastic.”
“Well, it’s past quitting time for today. I’m taking you out for a congratulatory dinner, and I’ve invited Keith and Faith to join us,” he told me.
“That’s wonderful. Alright, I will pack it in and meet you in the parking lot in ten minutes,” I said.
“We might as well just go in my car, and then I’ll drive you back tomorrow morning,” Chris said after looking at my new car. “Unless you want to take your new car?”
“How about we go for dinner, and then you can drop Keith and I off here? He can drive my car to my place, and I’ll drive the new one, and then you can drive him home after?” I suggested.
“Works for me.”
Keith was the complete opposite of Chris in so many ways. And Faith was an absolute delight. After we finished eating our meals, Chris looked at me and said,” Keith and I have a huge favor to ask of you.”
I looked from Chris to Keith and back to Chris again. “Okay. What’s that?”
Keith explained everything about what was going on between him and Layla in great detail. After listening to everything, he had to say, I sat for a moment, digesting it all.
“I’ll take your case,” I said.
“You will?” Keith asked as he smiled. I could tell it was a huge weight off his shoulders.
“You’re going to be family now, so I’ll help you fight your ex. I’d be happy to do it for you. I’ll set up a meeting with you, and you can bring me everything your current lawyer has, and we can get all your information switched over to my firm. I won’t charge you our normal rates. I’ll apply a substantial family rate,” I told him.
“Thank you so much, Marilyn. I really appreciate you doing this for us,” Keith said as he looked at his beautiful little girl.
They’d been through so much.
After dinner, Chris drove me to my new car, and Keith drove my old car back to the house. It was an amazing drive. I loved my new car and my new life and couldn’t wait to transition into my new role at the firm, as well as my new role as mother, and possibly girlfriend?
EIGHTEEN
MARILYN
“I’ve decided what I’m doing with some of the extra money that our client in Vegas gave me,” I told Chris.
“What’s that?” he asked.
“I’m going to take the four of us away for the weekend. My aunt has a cabin on a beach. It’s about a two-hour drive. Do you think Keith would be up for that?” I asked him.
“I think Keith would love that. He wants to spend some time with you to get to know you better, so I think that would be perfect. I know Faith will be over the moon. That’s really nice of you. I think Keith needs a breather from life for a few days to get his head on straight, and this would be a great distraction,” Chris said.
“Great. I will call my aunt and make the arrangements. Is this weekend okay? Do you want to call Keith and ask?”
“I don’t think I need to. He won’t say no. We had plans this weekend to build a deck in my backyard. I’m sure he’d prefer to do this,” Chris said as he winked.
“I think you’re right,” I said. “I’m feeling really tired. I think I’m going to sit down and watch a movie. I sat on the sofa. Even though I was just in my third trimester, I felt like I would pop. I had only gained about 22 pounds, but I was pretty thin before, so the extra weight was quite noticeable.
“I know what you need,” Chris said. “Wait a minute, and I’ll be right back.” He went off as I sat waiting. I grabbed the remote and tried to find a movie that interested me while I waited. I found one of my favorite romantic comedies and hugged the blankets.
When Chris came back, he was carrying a foot bath that he had filled with hot water and a bubble bath. He moved the coffee table out of the way and set it in front of me. He walked away and returned with a bucket of products. He grinned at me.
“What is all this?” I asked. I knew what it was, but what would he do with it?
“I’m going to give you a pedicure, and maybe a manicure too, but that depends on how well this goes. I’ve never done this before, but I think I can figure it out,” he said as he sat on my coffee table and placed the towel over his knees. He turned the power on the foot bath and said, “Put your feet in slowly to make sure it’s not too hot.”
It felt divine, and I closed my eyes. He took one foot out and rubbed a lavender scrub all over my foot which removed all the dead skin. He put that foot back in the water to rinse and lifted out my other one. Once he was done with both feet, he took the first foot out again and cut and filed my nails. I wriggled my toes. “It tickles,” I said as I laughed.
“Now, don’t be a bad customer,” he said as he tried to keep a straight face. When he got to the point of applying nail polish, he went to my bathroom and collected his three favorite colors; turquoise, coral, and bright pink.