“Your father was here?” Toni said as they approached.
“Waving around checks and spouting hate.” Kaelee shrugged, trying to blow it off.
Toni, in a completely uncharacteristic move, pulled her into a hug. “I’m proud of you for standing up. Charlie filled me in, as did your dynamic duo here.” She lowered her voice to a whisper, “If you need to talk to someone, my therapist is really good.”
When Toni released her, Marissa was waiting. “So, Mr. Alden and his legal team have left. We explained that any further contactin any way—call, letter, email, package, in person by him or his representatives—would be considered harassment. It was a productive conversation.”
“So we’re all okay? My book event? My career? All of it?” Kaelee stared at her attorneys. “For real?”
“For real.” Marissa smiled, her face looking softer in the moment. “If he missteps, you have our information.”
She stepped away to talk to Greta, leaving Kaelee alone with Tasha who added, “We’ll be entering the paperwork for an order of protection.” After Kaelee nodded, Tasha paused. “She loves you, you know? Greta.”
“I do know.” Kaelee’s gaze drifted over to Greta and Marissa.
“I asked Risa to distract her for a minute.”
“Oh. Why w—”
“Consider today’s fees for the entire firm deeply discounted,” Tasha spoke over her. “The joy of seeing Tripp Alden sputter was a bonus payment.”
“So pro bono?”
Tasha laughed. “Oh, honey, no. Just discounted as thanks for my joy. I’m not the sort of woman whose services are everfullyfree—even though I was going to just add my hours to Risa’s.”
Kaelee laughed in grudging respect. “If you weren’t Greta’s ex, I think I’d like you.”
“Treat her well, or I’ll see what I can do to amend theexpart of that.” Tasha pivoted and left with a sort of feline grace that Kaelee could admire.
36Greta
Toni insisted that she could take her own car, and she’d gathered Charlie into it with her. That left Greta and Kaelee alone in the back seat of a black car headed to the book event. Houston being its complicated self in weather had managed to offer up more humidity than Greta’s hair ever needed. Her waves seemed to be functioning as a sponge, soaking up the humidity in the air and slowly growing. Even though Kaelee had seen her in morning-afters and with middle-of-the-night after-sex hair, Greta kept trying to contain her hair.
“Are you braiding it again?” Kaelee stared at her in what looked a lot like fondness.
“I don’t want to reflect poorly on you and—”
Kaelee caught her hand. “You’re gorgeous. Always.” She kissed the palm of Greta’s hand. “Why are you freaking out here? I’m supposed to be the nervous author, remember?”
“I wanted everything to be perfect for you.” Greta kept her voice pitched low, although the driver undoubtedly heard them.
“You’re here. The lawyers stepped in because you had planned for crisis intervention. Toni is here, and whether she likes it or not, she’s a huge influence. I would’ve liked Emily and Ian here, but we’ll see them in New York tomorrow, right? Barnes and Noble?”
“Yes.”
“So, honestly, this week is a dream come true. Even if I don’tsign a single book, or get on any lists or any of those other things that Toni makes look easy, today is the culmination of a lifetime of dreams. Getting to tell my father to fuck off and getting to have a beautiful woman next to me is turning my dreams into the sort of perfection that makes me wonder if this is all just a coma dream. My life doesn’t go this well, you know? Where’s the other shoe drop? The failure? The panic?”
“Are you so used to disappointment that it’s so hard to believe things can go right?” Greta stroked Kaelee’s wrist with her thumb absently when Kaelee didn’t answer. The urge to make her world run smoothly, to protect and shelter her, was almost overwhelming.
There are few things I wouldn’t do for her.
Greta marveled at the fact that the big difference in Kaelee was that she’d never ask anything of Greta. Even when faced with the monster from her past, she had tried to handle it herself, to shield Greta. “Things can andaregoing right. In your career, finances, and family baggage. I hope you think they’re going right in your dating life, too.”
Kaelee squeezed her hand. “I’m terrified of trying to move forward and failing. I don’t want to hurt you. Ever.”
“I know,” Greta whispered back. “And if right now—what we are in this minute—is all there ever is, I want you to know that this is still worth it for me.”
A few minutes later they were stepping out of the car and going inside the bookstore. Murder By The Book wasn’t a huge store, although Greta could have easily spent hours in it. What made indie bookstores so remarkable was that the books on the shelves werecurated. They weren’t simply a collection of whatever publishers pushed that season. The store made judicious choices, often based on the shop’s clientele, but sometimes also on what the booksellers or owners liked.
