“No.” She spins me around on the stool and cups my face. “This is on me, not you. I should have told you about him, and I should’ve texted to say he was at my place. I never want to cause you pain, Jared.”
“It’s clear we have some trust issues to work through.” I haul her into my arms, badly needing a hug. Sydney always grounded me, and I need that now. Clinging to her, I inhale her scent and absorb the feel of her soft curves against me, instantly feeling some of the stress seeping from my body.
“Yeah, but we’ll get there.” She holds me tight as one hand inches up my back and into my hair.
Her touch feels so fucking good, and it’s exactly what I need. I briefly close my eyes and memorize the moment.
“I’m all in, J.” She tips my head back so we’re eye to eye. “We have shit to work through, but I’m one hundred percent committed to you. I have wanted to be with you from the time I was a little girl, and that hasneverchanged. It never will. You’re it for me.”
Tears prick my eyes, and it feels like I’m drowning in emotion. “I need you, babe.” I hug her again. “I need you real bad.”
“What’s wrong?” she asks, easing back to look at my face. “You’re trembling, J.”
“I got arrested this afternoon.”
“What?” Disbelief is etched all over her face. “Why?”
“Toria went to the cops claiming I hit her. Clearly someone did as she has a black eye and some bruising on her face, but it wasn’t me.”
“That fucking spiteful, jealous, selfish shrew!” Poison pours from Sydney’s eyes. “She’s lucky she’s pregnant because, otherwise, I’d be over there beating the shit out of her until she confessed to lying.”
A smirk graces my lips, and it’s a miracle I can smile at a time like this. “Is it wrong I wish I could see that? Or that seeing you all riled up kind of turns me on?” There’s no kind of about it, but now isn’t the time or place.
“I’m not lying. Someone needs to teach that despicable woman a lesson. How dare she fabricate claims when other women are subjected to domestic abuse and often not believed? It makes my blood boil. Not to mention if she set the assault up to frame you, she risked harm to her baby. That woman is legit insane, and she deserves to be locked up.”
“She’s dangerous,” I agree, all hint of humor fading at the reminder of how careless she is with the new life growing inside her. “And this is only the start of it.”
“When is she alleging this happened, and do you have an alibi?” she asks.
“Thursday night.”
“We were together all night. I’ll make a statement, and they’ll have to dismiss it then.”
“No.” I shake my head. “I’m not dragging you into this. John has a few tech guys he works with already on the case. They’ll retrieve footage from the video cameras outside the yoga studio where she alleges the assault happened, and he’ll take camera stills from my house to prove I was at home and not in L.A. He’ll make it go away. The guys are also going to give statements to confirm she threatened to do this a couple months ago.”
“She can’t be trusted with your baby, J.” Concern trips over her face.
I sigh. “I know.” I rest my head on her chest. “It’s a fucking clusterfuck to end all clusterfucks, and it’s all going to play out in public.”
“We’ll get through it, and we’ll find a way to get you full custody. If we can prove she’s lying, maybe you can charge her for making false claims and trying to damage your reputation. Perhaps we can use it to show her state of mind and how she poses a risk to your unborn child.”
I love how she’s naturally including herself in the equation. When she said she was all in, she meant it, and I’m relieved. The only reason part of me feels like this will be okay is because Sydney is in my corner. I honestly don’t think I could do this alone. “The guys think she wants money,” I admit, running my hand up and down Syd’s spine. “I haven’t ruled out offering to pay her off in exchange for full custody.”
“She won’t get away with this, J. I refuse to let her win whatever fucked-up game she’s playing.”
I tilt my head up. “I love you.”
She leans down and kisses me sweetly. “I love you too.”
It’s late, but I’m starving, so Syd heats up the food she brought. I wolf down the scrumptious spaghetti and meatballs, and then we cuddle on the couch, half-heartedly watching TV as I attempt to de-stress. I need to get my shit together. Sydney seems antsy, and I sense she has something additional on her mind, but when I ask, she tells me it can wait, and I don’t push it. I’m not sure I could handle more crap tonight.
We fall asleep on the couch, and I wake a couple hours later when an icy chill crawls over me from behind. Very carefully, I lift my sleeping beauty and carry her to my bed. We lie side by side, in our clothes, on top of the comforter, and I pull a thick blanket over us and promptly fall back to sleep.
“J.” My shoulders shake as I’m roused from sleep. “J, wake up. Your phone is going nuts.”
My eyes pop wide in alarm, and I reach for my cell as I curl my other arm around Syd, keeping her close. The clock on my phone reads six a.m., and this can’t be good.
“It’s about time,” Amanda snaps when I pick up.
