Page 81 of Empowered
“If I’m hindering your ability to get custody of your son, then you need to let me go. He’s more important than me.”
“Don’t say things like that. You’re both important to me.”
“If push comes to shove, you need to be willing to give me up over your son.”
“Would you stop talking like that? You’re scaring me, Sarah.”
A text from Nigel said he would be home soon. “Don’t worry about me, worry about your upcoming case.” Besides, Sarah had a nagging feeling in the back of her mind regarding Jill Blackbourne. She wanted time to think on it before sharing her thoughts, however.
“I love you,” Lucas said with such tenderness that Sarah’s instincts told her to write him off. “I’m not giving that up, not even as a last resort.”
He hugged her from behind, his strong arms encasing her in a suffocating embrace that brought her a fleeting moment of safety.
“I’ll stay here tonight, if it’s all right with you.”
“No,” Sarah was quick to say. “You need to go home. I need some space tonight. We’ll see each other tomorrow.”
“Sarah…”
“Please, Lucas. If it’s all right with you, I’d rather be apart tonight while I process some of this. If I need someone, Nigel will be here.”
She was sure he didn’t like her brother coming before him, but she also wasn’t in the mood to explain how things didn’t quite work that way.I’m not saying I need him more than you, Luke. I’m saying he’s here if I need someone. Go the hell home!
“I’ll stay another hour, in case my PR manager breaks a lead…”
“No. Please. Go home, Luke. I’ll be fine.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
He gave her a kiss before heading out. Sarah remained in the living room until Nigel came home, staring at the blank TV screen and wishing she had some ice cream to eat. However, she said nothing, not even thanks, when her brother dropped a one-person serving of Haagen Dazs in her lap.
“Knew you wanted this. I also got a chocolate bar. It’s on the counter.”
“Watch out for the ants.” Sarah popped the lid on the ice cream and pulled back the foil. “Saw a couple when I was doing dishes earlier.”
“Where’s your boyfriend?”
Sarah stiffened. “I sent him home.”
“I see.”
What she liked about her brother most in these situations was that he didn’t push her like Lucas was still prone to do. Her boyfriend didn’t yet understand that it was imperative for her to have space during stressful times. She liked quiet. She liked having a safe haven where she could turn off her phone, the TV, and stay far away from the internet.
Movies from her childhood, ice cream, and a shoulder to cry on was all she needed.
She didn’t cry, however. Sarah had numbed herself too well that day to cry over what this video leak may mean for her job and relationship. Numbing herself meant she got through it, eventually. It also meant a sleepless night as soon as she attempted going to bed.
She checked her phone only once. A text from Lucas said that he loved her and wanted to meet for lunch the next day.
When she rolled over and heard a commotion out in the living room, her first instinct was that Lucas had shown up, demanding to stay the night. Sarah leaped out of bed, ready to go out there and give her boyfriend one last ultimatum telling him toleave her alonefor one night.
She stopped halfway down the hallway, pajama bottoms tangling around her feet, when she realized it was a woman’s voice.
A very familiar woman’s voice.
“Sarah!” Her mother, travel-weary in her crimson red trench coat and leather boots, dropped her overnight bag on the living room floor and turned away from her son. “There you are! Are you all right? What’s going on?”
Her American accent gradually slipped to the British of her upbringing. The more posh Elizabeth Brown-Clayborn spoke, the more Sarah felt like a small child running into her mother’s arms and wishing her day would get over itself. This was the same voice she heard whenever she didn’t perform up to her mother’s standards. It was also the same voice to enter her psyche whenever Elizabeth verbally kicked someone’s ass on her daughter’s behalf.
She didn’t know which would be a bigger blessing right now. She didn’t care.
