Perfect Partners(33)
Author: Carly Phillips

“Want me to accompany you to the shelter?” he asked.

Her lips curved upward in a faint smile. “No, thanks. No men allowed, anyway.”

Griff knelt down beside her. He enclosed her hand in his. “We do have unfinished business.”

“I know.” She shut her eyes and leaned her head back in the chair. “But would you understand if I said I’m not up to discussing things yet?”

He answered with a tender but brief kiss. His lips, warm against hers, almost seduced her into a blessed state of forgetfulness. Before she was ready, he pulled back, leaving her bereft.

“In case you weren’t sure, that’s a yes,” he said.

“I’m shocked, but thank you.”

“Don’t be. As long as you don’t run out on me again, I can give you all the space you need. To be honest, I could use some myself.” He rose from his kneeling position, putting both physical and emotional distance between them.

He’d admitted to nothing more than she asked for herself, yet his admission and withdrawal hurt.

“I’ve got to get back to Amanda,” she said.

“I have a favor to ask first.”

“What is it?”

“Ryan asked me to help his sister move back in with her husband next weekend. As you know, I owe him. Mrs. Baxter promised Saturday to her son and daughter-in-law. Think you could…”

“Baby-sit?” she asked with a grin. “Sure. Would you mind if I took Alix into Boston with me?”

“Either you’re brave or just plain nuts, but no, I don’t mind. Thanks.”

“Friends help each other out, Griff.” She needed to cement their status in her own mind, as much as his.

“Is that all we are?”

“I thought this discussion could wait,” she chided. The real world would not. The life she thought she’d put behind her waited outside the safety of these walls.

“Not for long.”

Ignoring his words, Chelsie slipped out the office door.

* * *

“How did you find me?” Chelsie asked the woman in the passenger seat of her car. Chelsie wanted enough details to understand what she would be dealing with.

“I searched through Jeffrey’s drawers and files for spare money or something that could help me. I came across your divorce decree.”

“He hadn’t told you he’d been married?”

“No.”

Chelsie spared a quick glance at Amanda, then refocused on the road. The woman’s dark hair fell to her shoulders. Griff was right. From a distance, they could have passed for sisters.

“But now that I’ve met you, I can see why he married me,” Amanda said.

“Whoa. There was no love lost by the time we divorced. I can assure you, Jeff would not marry someone who reminded him of me.”

“But he would marry someone he had no trouble manipulating, who did as he said without question.”

Chelsie slowed the car in the back parking lot of the women’s shelter. After shutting off the engine, she turned toward the woman beside her. “You may have done those things, but you got out. You saved yourself and your son. Be proud instead of kicking yourself for things you can’t change.” She smiled. “Counselors here will help you see that you aren’t the one with the problem. He is.”

“You’ll help me, too?”

“I’ll do everything I can within the law, but I think it’s better if Griff handles the specifics. Ethically, you don’t want anything Jeff can hold over you. Having his ex-wife represent you might pose a problem. Anyway, you did set the appointment up with Griff.”

“Only because I thought you might figure out who I was and refuse to see me. I wanted to tell you in person.”

“Did you tell Griff?”

“No. I wanted to talk to you first.”

“Would you mind if I handled that in my own way?” Chelsie asked.

Amanda shook her head.

Somehow, Chelsie would have to explain. Because she’d withdrawn her complaint against her husband for purely selfish reasons, she had freed him to abuse someone else. It wasn’t something she could admit lightly, but she did need to see the past rectified. Now she had her chance.

In the process, maybe she’d even ease some of the guilt that had been building inside her for years. Until faced with Amanda’s courage to walk out before any harm came to her child, Chelsie hadn’t realized what a huge burden she’d been carrying.

Time to face her past, she thought, as well as herself. To do that, she had to begin with being honest.

Chelsie turned towards Amanda. “If you need anything, someone to talk to or whatever, don’t hesitate to call.” After rummaging through her purse, Chelsie withdrew an old business card. Though Amanda probably already had the number, Chelsie jotted down Griff s office phone just in case. “You can reach me here, or leave a message. I check in periodically.” Chelsie paused. “Call anytime.”

Fingering the card in her hand, Amanda gave Chelsie a grateful smile. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome. One more question before we go in.”

“What?”

“Why me? Why look me up? Why ask me to represent you?”

The other woman stared out the window. “The night before I left, I confronted Jeff with the fact that he’d been married. We argued about his lie, and I asked him why you divorced.” She paused, obviously uncomfortable with the rest.

Chelsie could handle whatever came next. As far as she was concerned, the worst had already befallen her.

“He said his—I mean, he said your work came first.”

A grim smile touched Chelsie’s lips. “Please don’t sugarcoat this for my sake.” She’d heard Jeffrey at his most vulgar, maybe not in the beginning of their marriage, but certainly at the bitter end. “Be honest, please.”

Amanda sucked in a breath of air. “He said his frigid wife saved her passion for her work. She couldn’t manage to satisfy him in bed.” Slowly, Amanda turned away from the window. “If Jeffrey bothered to belittle your career, I figured you must be good.” Regret for her admission etched her delicate features. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.

Chelsie shrugged. There might have been a time she believed those words. Jeff had told her the same thing many times in the course of their short marriage. But one night with Griff taught her how very wrong her ex-husband had been.

Chelsie now knew she hadn’t saved her passion for her work. She had saved it for someone deserving. Someone named Griff.