Chapter Twenty-Five
ETHAN
“Oh my God! You’re in love!” Belle squealed. She looked from me to Tristan, her brown eyes wide with glee. “Isn’t it great?”
Tristan, good mate that he was, barely nodded and appeared thoroughly absorbed in a sci-fi movie on the telly. Belle was seated between us on the sectional couch and swung to look back at me.
“It’s about time. I’m so happy. You need to do something big now,” she declared, her honey-blonde ponytail bouncing up and down.
I wasn’t quite sure how my little sister had come to this conclusion, but she had.
Thing was, I was in a pissy mood and had been since yesterday when Zoe took off from her office.
I still didn’t really know why Belle had shown up unannounced.
She’d given me some breezy explanation about missing me, her only brother, and needing a change of pace.
Under normal circumstances, I’d want to know more, but I was fit to be tied because I couldn’t reach Zoe.
She’d ignored all of my texts and wasn’t home.
Last night, I’d barely slept. This morning Belle kept asking how come I kept checking my phone, so I finally mentioned Zoe.
Belle was like a dog with a bone, so she’d kept at it until I explained the mini-fiasco of yesterday.
Apparently, the whole story led her to conclude I was in love.
Merely thinking the word made my heart give a hard thump.
I swallowed against the tightness in my chest and wondered where the hell Zoe was.
I couldn’t think about my feelings when the more pressing matter was Zoe’s whereabouts and making sure she saw reason and didn’t try to shut me out.
Once I solved that, I could ponder this whole love thing.
“Belle, what the bloody hell do you mean?” I asked.
She hooked a foot under her knee and sighed. “It sounds like she’s stressing out and doesn’t know if it’s worth everything to be with you. So you must show her.”
Tristan flicked a glance to Belle. “Everything?” he asked, his tone droll.
Belle blew her breath out, effectively blowing a lock of hair out of her eyes. “Yes, everything. I mean, her career is on the line.”
“Her career is not on the fucking line,” I muttered.
Belle had a tendency toward drama. She was overly romantic. Most of the time, it was amusing. Right now, I wasn’t finding it so.
She must’ve sensed my low threshold for annoyance because her gaze softened.
Twirling the end of her ponytail around her index finger, she eyed me.
“Well, maybe it’s not, but it sounds like she’s worried.
I think you should call Jana and make sure that Ted jerk is taken care of. Then, we can find Zoe.”
“Not a bad plan,” Tristan said with a sage nod.
I stared at him and then looked to Belle.
“We?”
She nodded, a tad too enthusiastically. “Yes, I’m here to help.”
“Oh, so that’s why you’re here?” I countered with a roll of my eyes. “I’ll go with the first part of your plan though.”
I slipped my phone out and called Zoe’s office. I couldn’t help but hope Jana would tell me Zoe was there today. Once she answered, I jumped in.
“You wouldn’t happen to know where Zoe is?” I asked.
“Ethan, oh my God. I’m so glad you called.
She asked me to give you a message, but she forgot to get me your number.
If you were worried about the team staff giving out your contact info, you can rest easy knowing they absolutely will not.
I called over there, and they got all uptight on me,” Jana said with a little huff.
“Is Zoe there?”
My heart set to thudding against my ribs and that knot of tension in my gut started to ease. Until Jana spoke.
“No, hon. She’s not. She told me to tell you not to worry, and she’s at her parents’ for a day or two.”
I sat in silence, wrestling with a mix of disappointment, anger and frustration. I needed to see Zoe, and she was making it really difficult for that to happen.
“Don’t suppose you’d tell me where her parents are?”
Jana’s sigh came through the line. “I can’t. I want to, but I promised Zoe I wouldn’t, and she’s my best friend.”
“Fuck.”
“Oh Ethan. She’ll be back soon, and you can straighten everything out.”
Much as I wanted to badger Jana into telling me how to find Zoe, I sensed it would be futile. I turned my attention to the one thing I could try to resolve.
“Since I can’t do a bloody thing about that, let’s you and I sort this mess she’s worried about. Does she need to be as worried as she is?”
“No and yes. No, because she technically didn’t do anything wrong. Attorney’s getting involved with their clients isn’t a legal problem. If the relationship started before she took your case, there’s not even an issue.”
I couldn’t resist cutting in. “It did.”
Jana laughed softly. “I suppose it did if you’re counting that time you kissed her.”
“I am,” I said firmly. Because I’d been obsessed with Zoe straight through ever since, so as far as I was concerned that was the truth.
Jana continued, “That doesn’t mean people don’t gossip about stuff like that.
She’s worried because she has a really good professional reputation, and she feels like she messed up.
The thing is, that’s why she transferred your case.
The reason she might need to worry is how things get twisted.
Ted Duncan is a class-A jerk. I talked to Sarah today.
Between the dirt I have on him and Sarah being present for his little blackmail threat, I don’t think you need to worry. ”
I had all kinds of things to say, but most of them were pointless at the moment. I asked the main question, “Are you sure he won’t hang this over Zoe’s head?”
“No. My guess is she’ll probably come clean with whoever she’s made up in her head she needs to.”
Precisely what I was worried about.
“If you talk to her, tell her not to do that.”
Jana laughed softly. “Boy, you’ve got it bad. I’ve already told her that, but I’ll tell her you said so too.”
I bit back a sigh and stared up at the ceiling. “Don’t suppose you’ll reconsider telling me where to find her?”
“Definitely not, but you get points for asking,” Jana said cheerily.
We ended the call, and I stood up from the couch. Restless, I paced in front of the windows. I was a doer. I liked to have a plan and put it into motion. That helped me a lot when I was playing ball. Right now, all it did was make me feel helpless.
“So?” Belle asked.
I turned to her with a shrug. “Jana’s got the thing with the other attorney handled. Zoe’s at her parents’ but Jana won’t tell me where that is.”
Tristan glanced up, his shrewd gaze scanning my face. “Belle’s right,” he said flatly.
Belle grinned and then looked to him. “About what?” she asked, saving me from the same question.
Tristan kept his gaze on me. “You’re in love.””
Coming from him, it didn’t have the frilly excitement of Belle’s earlier declaration. As such, it hit me hard—a bolt to my heart. I stared at Tristan. My breath lodged like a fist in my throat, jumpstarting with the next thud of my heart.