I really want to kiss him. Or run out of here, letting him chase me back to the car. That would raise too many questions though, and I’m bouncing on my toes trying to keep my impatience from showing.
Now that court is over all I can think about is getting out of this building. It doesn’t hold good memories for me.
Laci and Myla wander over, and it's odd to see the two best friends outside of the club. Seeing Laci and Anita together was weird too, but Myla’s dressed in business casual without her choker for once while Laci looks like she walked through a cloud of pink. They are so different from each other at the moment, it’s interesting to see how the three friends are the best versions of themselves no matter whose company they are in.
I almost ask why they came. Or if Anita and Russell are doing well. Or if anyone else at the club is now in the loop about my personal life. Instead Laci cuts through all of that, reaching forward to grab my hand.
The smile on her face slips. “I’m sorry. We didn’t warn you enough about Jonah. He was just a clingy dickhead to me at Feel Good once. I hit him with a chair if that helps.”
Rich snorts, but doesn’t comment. I try to smile back, but I don’t think it reaches my eyes. “You didn’t know.Ididn’t know. I thought-”
I thought I could fix him.I wanted to smooth out the sharp edges, thinking he needed some refinement and skill. That wasn’t what it was at all. Some people are damaged by choice. Jonah could’ve been a decent guy if his ego and his anger didn’t fight each other until it turned to abuse.
“You thought he’d turn out differently,” Rich says, and I glance at him. His eyes aren’t angry, something I worried about because the Biggins’ argued pretty much everything David presented. At least the judge was reasonable and sided with us. “You didn’t need someone you could fix, Kimber. You needed someone who could help mend you.”
I sink into his embrace a little more. Today’s been exhausting, and if he keeps saying things like that I won’t be able to focus on the way back to the office. I’ll want to go and just be with Rich, which can’t happen until at least we get back to the car.
“I never saw you at S&S again with him,” Laci says in a rush. “Never after that one time. I thought maybe you caught onto what kind of person he was and dumped him. I didn’t realize you dated him for months.”
“It’s not your fault,” I say uncomfortably. It’s true that she never said anything, but she also had no idea I saw Jonah outside the club either. I was angry before, but now, it feels wrong to hold the grudge. We weren’t close, and she had no reason to assume something was still going on between the two of us.
Emilio walks up and catches Laci’s hand. She shoots him a look, and he just stares back. He speaks after a moment. “We’re sorry, Kimber. If you had told us, told me, we wouldn’t have let it go on for so long.”
“Thankfully she won’t have to rely on you anymore,” Rich says dryly. I spin around and glare at him. “That’s what she has me for.”
“That’s not a bad thing,” Emilio muses, and when I glance back he’s turning Laci to walk away. She shoots me a smirk and waves, heading off past the Biggins’. She pauses with him just long enough that I think she says something to upset the couple before she steps back as Emilio keeps pulling her along.
I glance up at Rich, who watches along with me and shrugs. “Did she say something to them?”
David groans beside us. “Probably. At least she waited until after court to cause issues.”
“She’s not causing issues,” Myla says, catching his hand. “She’s sticking up for Kimber.”
I smile when she grins at me, and it's nice to have someone on my side. I didn’t ask anyone to be here, everyone just… showed up.
I didn’t ask them, they just wanted to be here for one reason or another.
Before we leave the hall, I turn and kiss Rich. His hands fit easily around me, holding me close. I usually run out of the courthouse as fast as possible feeling ashamed. But my attorney isn’t running off to his next case and I’m not standing here all alone while it feels like the whole world judges me.
Rich’s fingers skim my cheek when he pulls back, that gentleness back in his touch. “Let’s go home, Kim. You don’t have to face them alone anymore.”
