Page 136 of Push

He snorted. “I wastotallyready to throw down with him or Elias. Not in front of Cat… or, er… the kids…” He grimaced. “Maybe outside on the street.”

“Tobes.” I shot him a stern look.

“Hey, sometimes guys just need to punch it out to sort their differences and clear the air, you know?”

“Or you couldtalkto each other.”

“More storytime with your brother?” His lip curled. “No thanks, doll.”

A permanent smile beamed on Toby’s face for the rest of the drive home. Familiar chatter lit up the dark car.Did you see how red Zach got when Josie screamed her head off because Morag wasn’t served a plate at lunch…? Cat’s potatoes are delicious… I’m thinking of buying a swing set…

There was only one moment where he turned back to me, looking anything but thrilled.

“Gwen, if you ever change your mind and want to know what Liam said, all you have to do is ask, okay?”

I said, “Okay,” but I knew I’d never ask.

43

She Opened the Envelope

Gwen

Our dressing table wasan antique.

Years ago, we’d picked it up from a yard sale when it was shabby and not remotely chic. Toby had spent a few weekends refurbishing it. He’d stripped the timber, restored it, restuffed and reupholstered the stool that matched, and then, with a lot of cursing and one almost-broken toe, he and Ian had hauled it upstairs.

My eyes flicked across the bedroom, but I avoided looking at that beauty with the dark wooden swirls I loved tracing with my fingertip.

The envelope waiting on top was only bad news.

My stomach tumbled. I couldn’t avoid the truth forever. The hearing for the restraining order was the next day. I needed to be ready for anything Kayleigh or her big bad lawyer threw at us.

What was holding me back? I’d opened hundreds of packets of gruesome crime scene photos. Preparing for a case—winning—was in my DNA. But imagining the words waiting inside the envelope made my heart pound, and my thoughts scrambled, topsy-turvy, barely untwisting long enough for me to pad barefoot across the room.

The envelope remained untouched for now.

I wobbled past the dressing table and headed for the shower. Warm water blasted until I was a wrinkled prune. I dried off, slathered myself in moisturizer, and tugged a T-shirt over my head.

Is it time?

I wiped the steam off the mirror with a trembling hand. Wide eyes in a white face frowned back as I reached for my toothbrush.

Can I really do this?

Eventually, I summoned enough courage to drift back into the bedroom. Toby sat on the bed. His head turned.

“Oh, um…” His cheeks flushed pink. He snatched a pillow from the mountain stacked against the headboard and shoved it over his crotch.

I smothered a laugh behind my hand. “Tobes…”

“Sorry.Sorry.You walk around flashing all that”—he waved his hand at the least sexy oversized T-shirt I owned—“and things happen.”

“You’re a dork.”

“Knight,” he corrected. “I’m aknight, remember?”

“Uh-huh.” I leveled a pointed look at the pillow covering his striped pajama bottoms. “With a big sword, huh?”

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