Lucas had a meeting he couldn’t get out of but told me he was coming back home right afterward. He was trying his best to comfort me, telling me we had nothing to worry about. I had a feeling he was as anxious as I was but didn’t want to show it.
I spent the entire day cleaning, organizing, and doing any kind of mindless housework to keep busy. Pretending in front of Bella was the worst part. Unfortunately, kids are always smarter than you think. She kept asking us why we were so quiet during dinner. Lucas and I didn’t say much, just kept looking at the clock and counting the minutes until Robyn walked through the door and told us she could stop Marc from getting half of my daughter.
The doorbell rang, and we both jumped.
“Why are you guys being so silly?” Bella wrinkled her nose at us.
“Adults act weird, Butterfly. I told you that, right? Why you should stay a kid.” Lucas picked her up from her seat and tickled her under her arm. She squirmed and giggled, her simple innocence tugging at my heart.
I sprinted to the door, and when I opened it, I was out of breath.
“Hi, Samantha. I’ve wanted to come over to see you guys for a while, but under better circumstances.” Robyn gave me a warm smile. She must’ve been in court today. Her long black hair was pulled back in a bun, and she had on a navy jacket and skirt. I smiled at seeing “lawyer Robyn” for the first time and observing my friend look the part made me feel a little better.
“Hi, Robyn.” I gave her a big hug.
“Stop worrying,” she whispered in my ear. “No one’s taking Bella; please trust me.”
I nodded and invited her in, introducing her to Lucas.
“Maybe we should go into the kitchen to talk,” I noted to Robyn, before getting Bella settled on the couch with a movie.
Robyn nodded. “Probably a good idea.” She followed me into the kitchen.
“The new man ishot, Samantha. Dayam, girl!” Robyn whispered as she fanned herself. I laughed for the first time in a day. “How are things going?”
“Really well. He’s moving in with us.” Robyn gave me an odd look, like the one I usually give Bella when she asks for a second ice cream. I had the feeling she was going to tell me that wasn’t a good idea.
“Lucas needs to be a part of this conversation, then.”
Lucas strolled into the kitchen. “I thought my ears were ringing.” He gave Robyn a big smile and sat down next to me at the table.
“How long have you been together now?” Robyn asked as she was taking out papers in her briefcase.
“I guess, a little over a year.” I looked at Lucas, and he nodded.
Robyn looked between us with a perplexed expression on her face.
“I knew Lucas before. We—”
“Wait a minute!” Robyn’s eyes bugged out of her head. “This isLucasLucas? Daina’s cousin, the college advisor, the—”
“The huge crush. Yep, that’s me,” Lucas quipped.
I smacked his arm, making him laugh at my obvious discomfort.
“Hmm, Samantha, I’m going to have to ask you a few questions you may not like. I don’t want you to get offended. Marc left a year ago, right? Were you,together, at any time before that?”
I shook my head. “We only started dating after Marc left. Before that, we were just friends.”
“How did you reconnect? Didn’t Lucas move away while you were still in college?”
“Facebook, believe it or not. We met up for a drink when he moved back.”
“When was that?” Robyn was taking notes now, and it was bothering me. I couldn’t see what this had to do with anything.
“Last October, I think. Why are you asking me all this?” I huffed, irritated at the time we were wasting.
Robyn put her hand over mine. “Samantha, we all knew Marc. Tim and I hated watching how he treated you. I’m not asking you these questions to judge you. You look happy, and I’m delighted. You deserve that more than anyone. But I need to know if you were with Lucas while you were still married. If Marc’s lawyer plays dirty and tries to use it against us, I can handle it much better if I already know.”
