LITMIR.BIZ

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there were one or two occasions when things got a little out of hand, but as they weren’t my fault, they didn’t count.”

      Jill grinned. “I like your rules. I always have.”

      “Good. Now go get changed before dinner. Oh, Gracie phoned about an hour ago. I gave her the number at the law office. Did she catch you before you left?”

      “No,” Jill said, disappointed to have missed the call. “I’ll try her right now.”

      She hurried up the stairs and into the airy guest bedroom she’d claimed as her own. After peeling off her suit and pulling on shorts and a T-shirt, she flopped onto the bed and grabbed the phone.

      Thirty seconds later she heard Gracie’s answering machine and left a message. When she hung up, she closed her eyes for a second, wishing her friend had been home and they could have talked. She needed to connect. So much had changed in such a short period of time, it seemed as if her world had started spinning out of control. Gracie had a way of keeping things in perspective.

      “Tomorrow,” Jill whispered to herself and headed downstairs.

      She found her aunt in the kitchen, fixing a salad. “Let me help,” she said as she moved to the sink to wash her hands. “I smell lasagna, which means you worked hard this afternoon.”

      “Gracie not home?”

      “No. We’ll talk tomorrow. So what happened today with Emily? What’s she like?”

      “A sweet girl. A little unnerved by all the changes in her life.”

      Jill dried her hands on a dish towel, then crossed to the island and picked up a cucumber and a knife. “Mac’s worried about them bonding.”

      Bev nodded. “She’s been living with her mother for the past couple of months, so being with her father is strange.” She sighed. “There’s so much pain inside of her. I can feel it. She dresses monochromatically. Today was all purple. Shirt, shorts, socks, everything. And she’ll only eat the color she wears.”

      Jill stared at her. “What?”

      “I know. It’s a silly way to express her pain, but she’s eight. How many choices does she have? Mac wasn’t happy when he explained the problem to me, but I didn’t mind. It made making lunch much more interesting.”

      “What did you do?”

      Bev’s green eyes twinkled. “I cheated. I had some beef stew in the freezer, which I defrosted for lunch. While she was setting the table, I mixed a little of the liquid with beet juice and put it in a white bowl. Of course it looked completely purple. Then I asked Emily if the color was all right. She said it was. I served lunch in colored bowls so she couldn’t tell it wasn’t purple. We agreed that bread was neutral, so that was good. Oh, and we made sugar cookies with purple icing.”

      “Smooth move.” Jill sliced the cucumber. “Aside from the color thing, what was she like?”

      “Friendly. A little sad and confused, but good-hearted. Smart, too. We read some this afternoon and she’s a couple of grades ahead.”

      Jill dumped the cucumber into the salad bowl. “You didn’t do her cards or anything, did you?”

      “Of course not. She’s a child. Besides, I’d ask Mac first.”

      “Good idea.” She could only imagine what he would say if his baby-sitter wanted his permission to read his daughter’s future in tarot cards.

      “You’ll meet Emily tonight. Mac’s dropping her off in a few minutes. He has a meeting with the social worker.” She sighed. “I hope he can handle it.”

      “Mac? Why wouldn’t he?”

      “There’s a lot of pain there,” Bev said as she shook the bottle of dressing. “That man needs to be loved.”

      “Don’t look at me. I’m not interested.” Jill smiled. “Okay, so maybe I’m a little interested, but not in something serious. Could we substitute sex for love? Because then I’d sign right up.”

      The phone rang before Bev could answer. Her aunt glanced at Jill. “It’s for you.”

      “You just do that to creep me out, don’t you.” She walked to the phone and picked it up. “Hello?”

      “Jill? What the hell do you think you’re playing at.”

      Lyle. She wrinkled her nose. “You never did see the value in common courtesy, did you, Lyle?” she asked, more resigned than annoyed. “That was always a mistake.”

      “Don’t you talk to me about mistakes. You had no right to take the car.”

      “On the contrary, I had every right.”

      “You really pissed me off.”

      “Huh. Thanks for sharing. Do you want to talk about all the things I have a right to be angry about? Because that list is a whole lot longer than a car.”

      “You’re playing a game, Jill, but you won’t win. By the way, the new office is really great. I can see the bridge.”

      Bastard. He had her office and her junior partnership while all she had was a stupid car and a bunch of fish.

      “Was there a point to this call?” she asked, holding on to her temper with both hands. “I’ve filed for divorce. You’ll be served tomorrow. Except for the property settlement, this is long over.”

      “I want my car back.”

      “Sorry, no. You drove it for a year, now it’s my turn. Community property, Lyle. You remember that, don’t you?”

      “I will get it back and when I do, there better not be a single scratch on it. If there is, I’ll make you pay.”

      “I doubt that. I’ve always been the better lawyer. If you want to discuss anything else with me, do it in e-mail. I don’t want to talk to you again.” She hung up without saying goodbye.

      Her insides shook a little, but other than that, she felt okay. Not great, but not crushed, either. Still, she wished he hadn’t called.

      “He wants his car back,” she said as she turned back to face her aunt.

      “I gathered that.” Bev turned off the oven and pulled out the bubbling lasagna. “He isn’t going to play fair on the divorce. Have you protected yourself?”

      “Yeah. I did all that before I left town. I transferred half of our savings into my own account, canceled all the credit cards in both our names, that sort of thing.”

      “Is he really being served with papers?”

      “You bet. They’re coming to his work. I almost wish I could be there to see the whole event.”

      Her aunt poured a glass of red wine and handed it to her.

      Jill took it. “After what happened with the brandy yesterday I was going to lay off liquor for a while, but maybe not.”

      

      MAC ARRIVED with Emily exactly at six. Bev let them in, which gave Jill a chance to brace herself for yet another close encounter with the guy next door. He didn’t disappoint when he entered the kitchen. Gone was the sexy uniform from earlier. Now he was dressed in a sports shirt and slacks. He looked like a powerful man ready to close the five-billion-dollar deal over drinks at an exclusive club.

      Which only went to show how active her imagination had become where Mac was concerned. He was going to be nothing but trouble, she thought as she turned her attention to the little girl behind him.

      Emily was small and slight, with big blue eyes and short blond hair the color of champagne. A beauty, which made Jill instantly dislike the girl’s mother. No doubt another stunner. But then, when had Mac ever dated a female who wasn’t gorgeous?

      “Hi,”

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