Page 146 of Push

I lowered my voice to sound as husky as I could. She liked the growly voice. “Something…fun…and…dirty.” I grinned when goosebumps prickled the skin of her neck. “Paintball.”

Gwen groaned. “Toby.” She swatted my arm.

I laughed. “Laser tag?”

She glared at me.

“Bowling?”

She folded her arms and stuck her nose in the air.

“Okay, okay.” I tried hiding my smile to go as deadpan as she was. “I’m being serious now. For real. Your favorite. Let’s go mountain biking!”

Gwen laughed. A real laugh. The type she used to laugh years ago when everything was good between us.

And that was all the courage I needed to get going.

46

He Went to Court

Toby

The courthouse was finallythe seedy underbelly of Sydney I’d been dreaming of—cops hauling perps, brawls being broken up by family members. There was even a shady-looking guy with insane ink wearing a suit and sunglasses milling around the doors, giving me the once-over.

“Now, this is more like it,” I whispered to Gwen.

She charged through the courthouse, missing all the cool stuff. “Monday mornings are always the busiest,” she said in a hushed whisper, focused on dodging everyone to get to Court Five.

I gawked at everything. “Do they do murder trials here?”

“No, it’s mostly low-level criminal stuff… Drugs… Maybe drunk driving.” She froze on the last step. “Oh, great,” she muttered.

I looked around. “What?” There was a punch-up happening outside Court One, but nothing remotely cool was happening outside Court Five.

“The guy in the gray suit,” Gwen whispered. “Over there.” She jerked her head in the direction of the doors. “That’s Dan Calver.”

I scanned the crowd for a guy in a gray suit. He was easy to spot. Short and stumpy with a belly that jutted out of his suit jacket, he had a thin line for his mouth and rosy-red cheeks like Santa Claus.

My lip curled. “Who’s he?” He didn’t look impressive. He looked like the guys who were a dime a dozen at my mother’s yacht club.

“Only one of the most pompous jackasses this side of Sydney. He’s a King’s Counsel. As high as you can get for barristers.” Gwen shook her head. “Let’s take a wild guess who he’s representing.”

I didn’t need to guess. I could see it with my own eyes. Kayleigh stood next to him, drowned head-to-toe in loose black clothes, and her hair scraped back in a severe bun. She looked in our direction. A smile wavered. I quickly turned away, wrapped my arm around Gwen, tugged her against my chest, and dropped a kiss on her head. I wasn’t wasting any more looks on Kayleigh.

“So, King’s Counsel…” I said to Gwen. “I thought the police prosecutor said the restraining order wasn’t a big deal?”

“Some people lawyer up if there’s even a whiff of court action.”

“But…?”

“A King’s Counsel is overkill.” A hint of concern edged her voice, but I let it slip by.

We milled around outside the courtroom, keeping a safe distance from Kayleigh and her overpriced lawyer. Call me paranoid, but I could feel her eyes on me. I refused to acknowledge her. My eyes were only for looking at Gwen and—when he finally arrived, panting about the massive line of traffic waiting for the car park—Zach.

I’d barely cracked two jokes before a voice called out, “Matter of Sullivan and Roberts!”

Panicked, I looked down at Gwen. Her fingers curled around my tie, and she tugged me down to her eye level. “You’re going to do fine.” She kissed my jaw. “Nothing bad can happen. Just sit and listen, and if the magistrate asks you a question, stand up and answer her. I’ll be sitting right behind you, okay? Good luck.”

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