“Are you all set for drinks?”Julian asked.
“We are, thank you,” Isla said.“Mattie took good care of us.”
“She’s the best.”
“So you and Cresley Dane, huh?”Denny said with a smug grin.“Keeping secrets from your buddies?”
Julian smiled.“She’s my client, and what was reported on TMZ was a business lunch that’s now causing us a number of headaches, but enough about that.”
He directed his attention to Isla, and the impact was similar to how it felt to look directly into the sun.“Denny showed me the photos.I’m so sorry for what was done to your home.”
“Thank you.”
He glanced at the kids.“If they want to get down to explore, there’s nothing they can hurt in here.”
“Are you sure?”
“Absolutely.It’s all boring old books.Let them roam.”
“Do you want to look at Mr.Remington’s books?”Isla asked Theo, who nodded.He loved books.“Don’t touch anything, okay?”
“You can touch the books, Theo.But some of them are really heavy, so be careful.”
Theo made muscle arms.“I’m strong.”
“Wow,” Julian said, “look at those biceps!There’s a basket of toys over there, too.”
Hearing that, Theo perked up even more.“Let’s look at the toys, Mila!”
She squiggled out of Isla’s arms to follow her favorite person wherever he chose to lead her.
“They’re beautiful kids,” Julian said.
“Thank you.I got lucky with them.”
“Yesterday was a rough day for you guys.”
“Yes.”Understanding that he was easing her into the point of this meeting, she glanced down at a gorgeous area rug in shades of blue.“The latest in a series of tough days.”
“Denny told me about your hiding place in the apartment.I’m truly impressed with your ingenuity.”
She gave him a small smile.“I was hoping I’d never need it.”
“Do you want to tell me about what led to you setting it up?”
Isla took a second to organize her thoughts and began with the thing she most wanted him to know—that she wasn’t a fool for love.“I… I used to wonder why women didn’t just leave when their domestic partners turned out to be dangerous or unstable or unkind or whatever it was.I’ll admit to having judged friends who put up with awful crap for so long.”She accepted a tissue from the box Julian offered her.“I’ve learned the hard way that it’s not as simple as deciding to leave, especially when you haven’t worked outside the home in years and have two kids to think about.”
“Nothing about this situation is simple,” Julian said in a kind, gentle tone that made her want to curl up to him and let him make it all better.
She shook off that thought almost the second she had it.The only one who could fix this was her, and she needed to remember that.
“After what happened yesterday, I’d advise that we immediately request a restraining order that’ll keep your husband away from you and the children while we figure out our next steps.Would you be okay with that?”
“How does that work?”
“Basically, it’s a court order that requires him to stay at least a thousand feet from you and the kids.”
Isla had been determined to get through this without becoming overly emotional.That was turning out to be easier said than done.She wiped away more tears.“How long would the order be in effect?”
