blessing, not a curse.” She stood and moved to Ellis’s lap.

  “How do you figure that?”

  “If either of us had found the right person, we wouldn’t

  be here.” She put her arms around Ellis’s neck and kissed

  her again. “And I happen to like where I am and who I’m

  with. Think you can live with that?”

  “I’ll try my best to muddle through.”

  The knock at the door stopped them from kissing again,

  and she got up to answer it, not wanting Ellis upset any

  more that night. She didn’t recognize the guy at the door

  but opened it anyway, since she wasn’t alone. “Can I help

  you?”

  “Depends,” the short, pudgy guy said. “Are you Charlotte

  Hamner?”

  The guy’s demeanor and smirk made her wary, but she

  nodded. “I’m Charlotte. What can I do for you?”

  “Nothing at all but to take this.” He handed over a thick

  envelope. “You’ve been served.”

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  The summons was from New York and was Kyle’s attempt

  to get Sawyer away from Charlotte. Ellis had cleared the

  food away and called Bill, but nothing was breaking through

  the numbness her fear had brought on. Bill had said all the

  right things, but nothing in life was a sure bet. Kyle wouldn’t

  be doing this if he didn’t have a chance to win—no way

  would he spend the money on the attorney.

  “Charlotte, try to get some rest, and I’ll deal with this in

  the morning,” Bill said, taking the paperwork the guy had

  delivered. “You have my word that Sawyer isn’t going

  anywhere.”

  “Thank you,” she said with no enthusiasm. She was

  suddenly exhausted, but no way was she getting any sleep.

  “Give me a minute, and I’ll be right back,” Ellis said, but

  she shook her head.

  “Go on and go to bed. I doubt I’ll be very good company

  tonight.”

  “You think I care about that?” Ellis kissed her forehead

  and held her, but she stiffened at the contact. She used this

  survival mechanism when she knew the worst was getting

  ready to happen. “But if you want to be alone, that’s okay

  too.”

  “It’s not you, and I’ll call you if I change my mind or need

  something.”

  “I’ll have Malcom bring Sawyer up when they get back so

  she doesn’t freak out over this. She can spend the night on

  the sofa in my room.”

  “Thanks. You’re the best.”

  The silence boxed her into a bad place as soon as Ellis

  closed the door, but she was sure it would get worse. Kyle’s

  call twenty minutes later confirmed her intuition. He could

  never help but gloat whenever he thought he held the

  advantage.

  “Did you get my gift?” Kyle said, and his voice had a

  strange echo.

  “What do you really want, Kyle? What is it, since we both

  know it’s not custody of Sawyer?” She sat on her bed and

  lowered her head. As much as she loved Sawyer, being

  trapped in this nightmare of a relationship with Kyle was

  absolutely draining.

  “I know you don’t believe me, but I want what’s best for

  Sawyer. I also want to be able to take care of her, so maybe

  we can work something out. You know—just me and you.

  There’s no reason to get the court involved if we don’t have

  to.”

  “Like I said, what do you want?”

  “I only need one thing from you, and I’ll drop all this. Hell,

  if you want, I’ll even sign something that’ll keep Sawyer with

  you.”

  “Kyle, just spit it out.” He started talking, and she was

  having a hard time comprehending what he was saying. She

  understood his words but not his motive.

  “How do you expect me to pull that off?”

  “You’d better think of something, because I’ve got shit on

  you that’ll give any judge no other choice not only to give

  the kid to me, but to force you out of her life forever. Think

  about that before you say no.”

  “If I do what you’re asking, I’ll lose custody anyway when

  I end up in jail.”

  “Not if you do it right. From what I hear, you’re not down

  there alone, so listen to me.” He kept talking but sounded

  like he was reading from a very comprehensive list.

  Whoever had put him up to this had put a lot of thought into

  their demands.

  “Does it matter to you at all that I worked really hard to

  get here? If I do this, I’ll never work for anyone in this

  capacity again.”

  “Sometimes you have to take your chances, babe. You’re

  the one who left, not me, and you’ve always known you’ve

  been free to come back so we can be a real family.

  Remember that whenever you’re looking for someone to

  blame.”

  “You can try to rewrite history, but you left the second I

  told you I was pregnant. What about that is going to

  convince a judge to give you a child you never wanted?”

  Kyle laughed, and she knew he had that condescending

  expression on his face that she’d seen every day they’d

  known each other when he was this pleased with himself. If

  he could cash in on his ego, he’d be incredibly successful. “If

  you want to play it like that, I’ll give my lawyer the go-ahead

  to use all the stuff he’s got on you.”

  “Is it illegal now to wait tables and go to school? What

  the hell else can you have on me, as you put it?”

  “Wake up, Charlotte. The guy I hired will make it up as he

  goes along, if he has to. All I want is to win, and we’ve

  known each other long enough that you can tell I’m not

  bullshitting this time.”

  “Ask me anything but that.”

  “You got three days. If you don’t cooperate, I’m going to

  make it so you never see Sawyer again. You can forget joint

  custody because I’m going for the kill. Don’t take too long,

  or I might do it anyway for all the shit you’ve put me

  through.”

  She pressed the phone to her forehead and started

  crying. Kyle didn’t have any reason to be this cruel, but he’d

  changed in the short time since they’d seen each other last.

  Her tears started slowly, but she ended up in the bathroom

  when the onslaught of emotion made her sick. She heard

  the door open as she wiped her face, then heard Sawyer

  and Ellis come in.

  “Where’s Mom?” Sawyer asked.

  “You go get your pajamas, and I’ll check on her,”

  Charlotte heard Ellis say, and she sounded close.

  Charlotte started brushing her teeth, and she had to

  hang on not to cry again when she thought about how

  different her night had turned out. “Hey,” she said around

  her toothbrush.

  “What’s wrong?” Ellis asked as if she had a special power

  to see right into her soul.

  “I…he wants full custody of Sawyer.” It was all she was

  able to say before her tears started again. She didn’t have

  the courage to tell Ellis about what Kyle had demanded of

  her, but it was the simplest way out of this. The truth was

  the key to getting out of this mess, but that would cost her

  more than she could bear to pay right now with Ellis

  standing in front of her.

  Giving in to Kyle, though, meant the end of any kind of

  career she’d have in this industry, and while that was

  important, the hardest thing would be letting go of Ellis. She

  wanted both Ellis and the career, but would both those

  things balance out the loss of her child? It wasn’t an easy

  choice, but for her, Sawyer would always win out.

  “Let me call Bill,” Ellis said, but Charlotte grabbed hold of

  her.

  “I’ll call him in the morning. All I want to do now is sleep.

  This is making me so tired.”

  “Whatever you say.”

  “Will you stay with me?” The answer was letting go—just

  forgetting Ellis and her promises, but having her here made

  her want to hang on for the little time she had left.

  “Finish up in here, and I’ll be right back.” Ellis placed her

  hand on Charlotte’s neck and smiled. “It’ll be okay, I

  promise.”

  “If only that were true,” she whispered when Ellis walked

  out.

  * * *

  Ellis waved and kept the smile on her face until her

  mother had gone into the house with Sawyer. It had taken

  some convincing to get Sawyer to go after she told her

  Charlotte wasn’t feeling well, but Amis had answered and

  reassured her about every one of her objections. If she had

  the same success doing the same for Charlotte, it’d be a

  good night, but that wouldn’t be anywhere as easy.

  “Can I ask you something?” Charlotte had turned off the

  lights in the bedroom but not the bathroom, so she made

  her way to the chair next to the bed and moved it closer.

  Being this close, she could hold Charlotte’s hand.

  “Sure. It’s only fair since I ask you stuff all the time.”

  Charlotte sandwiched her hand between hers.

  “Why does this guy Kyle only call you at night?” She

  knew the question was petty and made her sound jealous,

  but he seemed to have a pattern.

  “I’d say it was because of his work schedule, but I think

  he does it hoping Sawyer’s around to see and hear it. I’m

  sure it doesn’t make sense to you, but he’s making sure I

  suffer.” Charlotte started to move over but didn’t let go of

  her hand. “It’s not what you think, believe me.”

  “I’m not thinking anything. I’m just curious.”

  “It’s not.” Charlotte moved over but didn’t let go of her

  hand. “All of that was over long ago.”

  The silent offer to join her was one she’d waited and

  hoped for since they’d started becoming friends, but she

  didn’t crave sex now. “No matter what, I’m going to help get

  you through this. You can count on me.”

  “Thank you,” Charlotte said, resting her head on her

  shoulder. “You’ve been so kind.”

  “There’s always a first time for everything, I guess.” She

  wanted to hear Charlotte laugh again, but she sat up a little

  so she could look at her.

  “Stop it.” Charlotte reached up and put her hand over her

  heart. “Have you let the world define you for so long that

  you’re starting to believe the lies? I know you, Ellis Renois,

  and I know the truth of you.”

  She covered Charlotte’s hand and gazed down at her.

  “What truth is that?”

  “You’re a good person and an even better friend.”

  “Thank you, and this is going to sound hokey, but thanks

  for being my friend. It’s nice to have someone to talk to that

  isn’t in it for the money.” Her compliment made Charlotte

  close her eyes tight, but that didn’t stop the tears from

  leaking out. “Hey, that was supposed to make you feel

  better, not cry.” She rolled them over so that Charlotte could

  lie on her chest. In that position, she gently wiped her face

  while keeping her other arm around her.

  Charlotte opened her eyes and put her arms around her

  to get even closer. Their kiss was full of hunger, and she

  tried to pull back, only to have Charlotte move with her. This

  she understood, but it wasn’t how she wanted it to be with

  Charlotte.

  “Wait,” she said, breaking their kiss.

  “I don’t want to wait anymore,” Charlotte said, lowering

  her head so she could reach her lips. “For once I want to

  make myself happy.”

  “I want to make you happy, but slow down a little,” she

  said as she kissed Charlotte’s eyelids before moving to her

  cheeks and ending at her lips. “I told you we have all the

  time in the world.”

  “With everything that’s happening, I think I might be out

  of time.” Charlotte peered down at her with an expression of

  certainty she hadn’t seen in many women before her. “I

  want this…I want you.”

  It seemed so reasonable since it was something they

  both seemed to desire, but the small voice of caution in the

  deep recesses of her skull was starting to grow louder.

  Charlotte kissed her again before moving away to take her

  nightgown off, and all her doubts went silent. She’d been

  with a long list of beautiful women, but she forgot them all

  when she looked at Charlotte naked and waiting.

  The notion that any woman would erase all the ones

  before her was fucking ludicrous, but here she was. And

  that’s when the reality of this very important situation hit

  her like a brick to the side of the head. All those women

  would never be Charlotte because she didn’t care to see a

  future with them. In Charlotte, though, she could see a

  lifetime stretched out before her like a feast.

  “Touch me,” Charlotte said, and she lay back down.

  She stripped her clothes off after that and almost cried

  when they met skin to skin for the first time. Charlotte’s

  body was perfection with her curves and softness, so she

  took her time running her hand from her shoulder to her

  knees. The trail of her hand puckered Charlotte’s nipples to

  hard, thimble-like points, so she lowered her head and

  sucked the closest one in.

  “Oh yes,” Charlotte said in almost a hiss, so she let go

  and kissed her.

  “You’re so beautiful,” she whispered into Charlotte’s ear

  as she caressed her.

  “Please, Ellis, I need you to touch me.” Charlotte grabbed

  her by the wrist and guided her hand between her legs. “I

  need you.”

  She moved one of Charlotte’s legs over hers and slowly

  spread her open, smiling at how soaked Charlotte was. Like

  Charlotte, she didn’t want to wait any more, so she wet her

  finger and gently ran it over her clit. Charlotte took a deep

  breath and spread her legs wider.

  They kissed again as Charlotte’s hips moved in sync with

  her hand, her clit now a hard stone under her fingers,

  signaling that Charlotte was close to coming. She got a

  string of yeses when she paused at her opening, and

  Charlotte’s hips came off the bed when she buried her

  fingers deep. This rhythm of give and take she knew better

  than most anything else in her life, but she wanted to savor

  and memorize the moment. There’d been others, yes, but

  no one had stolen her heart before now. This was the first

  time she’d made love to a woman she wanted in her life.

  There’d be no leaving and forgetting her in the morning.

  Charlotte held on to her as her back arched higher, and

  Ellis felt her open up before clutching her fingers inside as

  the wave of desire seemed to build and crest. She stopped

  when Charlotte went rigid, then kissed her when she

  released. This time Charlotte’s tears didn’t bother her, and

  the room grew a bit blurry when she joined her.

  “That was amazing,” Charlotte said as Ellis slipped out of

  her.

  Before she could say anything, Charlotte lay over her and

  touched every part of her face, paying extra care to the spot

  where Jennifer had bitten her. It was almost healed, but not

  quite, so Charlotte kept going.

  Since Charlotte’s reach wasn’t as long as hers, she knelt

  between Ellis’s legs and put her hands on her thighs. She

  looked like she was about to devour her whole, and Ellis

  couldn’t wait.

  “It’s been so long,” Charlotte said softly before placing

  her hand where Ellis desperately wanted it.

  Charlotte moved her thumb from the bottom to the top of

  her clit, and Ellis was ready to come like a teenager her first

  time around. “Harder,” she said, and Charlotte pressed

  down as her fingers went inside and gave her what she

  wanted…no, what she needed.

  “Damn,” she said as she crossed the line where she

  either had to come or die trying. Charlotte had kept up with

  her and stayed inside, even after the orgasm had rendered

  her mute. “Thank you,” she finally said.

  “Believe me, I wanted that as much or more than you

  did.” Charlotte finally moved but kept close by lying half on

  top of her. “Hopefully I wasn’t too out of practice.”

  “I’d have lost the top of my head if it had been any

  better.”

  Charlotte scratched Ellis’s abdomen and hummed.

  “You’re only my third, so I’m not the most experienced at

  this.”

  “Let’s not get into numbers so we don’t ruin the night,”