a mother’s rights trump anything else that might be raised in a court of law.”
“In general,” she echoed. “But in this case?”
He wished he could tell her she had nothing to worry about. But he couldn’t, and she needed to be prepared. “In this case, Elizabeth Dalton has a lot of powerful friends. If she and her squadron of lawyers decide to win by fair means or foul, I want you to realize we’re going to have one hell of a fight on our hands.”
There was only one thing that she wanted to know. “Will we win?”
He didn’t deal in rainbows and fairy dust. He knew he should be prudent and cautiously tell her to be prepared for anything, because in this case they were up against a force of nature. A force of nature who numbered more than one judge in her inner circle of influential friends.
But he knew Lilli didn’t need cautious words. She needed hope. He couldn’t take that from her, couldn’t just dash any shred of hope she might have against the rocks of reality. No matter how much she’d hurt him, he couldn’t bring himself to be cruel to her.
So he gave her the most confident smile he had in his arsenal and nodded.
“Yes, Virginia,” he said, paraphrasing the famous line in the legendary Christmas story, “we’re going to win. It’s not going to be easy, or quick,” he predicted, “but we are going to win.”
Overwhelmed, Lilli hadn’t realized until just this moment how close she was to a complete meltdown. She was only a hair’s breadth away. The sense of relief, of hope, was huge. This time, she allowed the tears to flow. They slid fast and furiously down her cheeks, and registered in direct contrast to the smile that curved her lips.
“Thank you,” she cried, looking at him through eyes that had all but completely welled up. “Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me yet,” he warned her. “You can save that for when the case is finally over and we walk out of the courthouse victorious.”
She knew he was right. That this was far too early in the game to allow her emotions to get the better of her. Knew that they had a hard and very possibly long fight ahead of them.
But she couldn’t help herself. She’d felt alone and isolated for far too long.
And she had missed him.
In one unguarded moment, Lilli let her feelings bubble up and get the better of her. She threw her arms around his neck.
“Thank you,” she cried again, burying her face against his shoulder.
He felt her breath along his neck.
His stomach tightened in anticipation.
Chapter Four
Old feelings came rushing back to Kullen with the speed and intensity of a runaway freight train barreling down a steep mountain path. The urge to close his arms around Lilli, to kiss her with all his bottled-up passion nearly overwhelmed him.
It would be so easy to give in, to let his guard down just for the smallest moment and permit desire to take over.
But he knew he couldn’t let himself do that.
He’d been through this before and was well aware of just how the story had ended. There was absolutely no way he would allow himself to be ripped apart again. Once was more than enough.
Once was a case of being blindsided. Twice would have meant that he was either an idiot—or a masochist. And he was neither. Moreover, he intended to remain that way. So although his heart was racing now, calling him seven kinds of a fool for not taking advantage of this opportunity shimmering before him, Kullen kept his arms rigidly at his side.
Embarrassed, feeling both self-conscious and extremely awkward, Lilli withdrew her arms and took a step back. Kullen all but radiated coldness. She succeeded in maintaining a smile on her lips, although how she was doing so was a mystery to her.
“Sorry,” she murmured. “I guess I got a little overwhelmed for a second. It won’t happen again.”
“Nothing to be sorry about,” he told her, doing his best to sound natural. Doing his best not to demand why she’d left him the way she had and then run headlong into an intimate relationship with someone else.
Someone who he knew couldn’t have loved her half as much as he had.
Kullen took a breath, then said, “Stop at Selma’s desk and ask her to give you a list of documents I’m going to need to see for this case. It’s a standard list,” he explained before she could ask how the administrative assistant would know what to give her. “Just tell her it’s a custody dispute.”
Dispute. What a civilized word for what was about to take place, Lilli thought.
“Selma’s the woman at the front desk?” she asked just to be certain.
Kullen nodded. “Can’t miss her. She looks like the last living cast member from the set of The Wizard of Oz,” he said tactfully.
It was an apt description of the woman, Lilli thought as she turned toward the door. The administrative assistant did look a great deal like an aged Munchkin. “When do you want to see me again?” she asked Kullen.
I never stopped wanting to see you, he told her silently. With effort, he forced himself to focus on more neutral terrain. He should only think of her in light of the actual business they had with one another. Nothing more.
Turning the calendar on his desk toward him, Kullen glanced at several consecutive pages. As near as he could tell, they were filled. It didn’t matter. He’d find a way to make time for her.
Pushing the calendar away, he turned to face her. “Whenever’s convenient for you.”
The word convenient didn’t fit the situation. There was nothing convenient about it. “Mrs. Dalton got the court to accelerate the date, so as soon as possible would be very much appreciated.” She eyed him hopefully. “I can come back with the papers later this afternoon if you like.”
He would have liked to say yes, but he couldn’t. “I’m leaving for court in half an hour.” And more than likely would be there for the rest of the day, until the judge adjourned the proceedings.
Lilli didn’t allow obstacles to deter her, not anymore. She’d learned that along the way as she carved out a living for herself and her son. The meek and mild were stepped on, the forceful were not.
“All right, then I can drop the documents off at your place tonight,” she suggested. “I know it sounds like I’m being pushy, but I’ll feel a lot better the sooner you have all the ammunition you need at your disposal.” And then she realized that she’d overlooked an important, salient point. “Unless your wife doesn’t like work from the office showing up on your doorstep at night.”
“No wife.”
The disclaimer was out of his mouth before he realized that he had just ruined his one opportunity to keep her permanently at arm’s length. If Lilli thought he was married, she would keep her distance. She wasn’t some femme fatale, given to whimsical flirting. There wouldn’t be any more impromptu incidents of her throwing her arms around his neck. Lilli was honorable that way.
How the hell did he really know what she was like, he silently demanded the next moment, growing irritable. He hadn’t been right about her the first time around. Eight years ago he would have bet his last dime—and his life—that Lilli wasn’t the type to vanish without a word, especially after someone had bared his soul to her.
He would have lost that bet.
For all he knew, the challenge of prying a man away from his wife would spur Lilli on.
I really didn’t know you at all, did I? he thought, looking at her.
“You’re not married?”