Marrying Mr. Wrong (Dirty Martini Running Club #3) - Claire Kingsley Page 0,86

leash of a droopy-eared black dog.

With a glance over her shoulder, Sophie flashed me another wide smile. I clapped louder.

The black dog barked, the low sound carrying over the music, and lunged forward. Sophie’s little dog didn’t seem to realize it would be nothing more than a snack. It barked back and charged. The leash went taut, jerking Sophie’s arm.

Everything seemed to move in slow motion. I watched her try to gain control of her dog. It was small but determined, and she hadn’t been expecting the yank on the leash. She pitched forward, arms flailing. One foot kicked back and her shoe went flying into the crowd. The bigger dog lunged again, barking at the little white dog, while another volunteer rushed out to help.

Sophie hit the stage, arms stretched out to grasp her dog, and pulled it out of the bigger dog’s reach just in time. The crowd let out a collective gasp, then fell silent. I was already on my feet to rush to her when she rolled over, sat up, and pulled the white dog to her chest.

After kicking off her remaining shoe, she tucked the little dog under one arm and stood. Her cheeks were flushed, her hair had come loose, and I had no doubt there’d be a few bruises I’d need to kiss better. But she didn’t hide her face or run away, too embarrassed to face the crowd. She held that little dog close while the volunteers got the bigger dog under control behind her. And she curtsied.

The audience went wild.

I stared at her, clapping my ass off, while she waved at the crowd with a sheepish smile, then scratched the little dog’s head.

Oh my god. I fucking loved that woman.

The truth hit me like a freight train. I loved her. I loved her so much. Every sweet, smiling, clumsy, hot mess, golden-curled bit of her.

I’d always thought I was immune. Self-sufficient. An island.

Boy, had I been wrong.

Sophie Abbott had stolen my heart when I was a dick-headed eleven-year-old kid. She’d had it ever since. And looking at her now, ruffled but plucky as ever, I realized that I never wanted it back.

30

Cox

I got off the elevator and nodded to Ty, our receptionist, as I walked by. I’d hit the gym at lunch and my hair was still damp from my shower. It felt good, my muscles warm and tired.

My phone blinked with messages, but none of them were Sophie, so I’d deal with them later. Fortunately, her little mishap at the fashion show the other night hadn’t done any damage. No bruises, but I’d spent the night kissing her better anyway.

All right, so even if she had hurt herself, it wouldn’t have been where I’d spent most of my time kissing her. But making her come with my tongue was a great way to make it all better.

I set my phone on my desk and took a seat. Althea poked her head in and knocked on my partially open door.

“Do you have a few minutes?”

“Sure. Come on in.”

Althea always looked serious, but there was an unusual amount of gravity in her expression. She held a folder against her chest.

“What can I do for you?” I asked.

“I need to talk to you.”

I gestured to the chair on the other side of my desk. “Shoot.”

She glanced around, then shut my office door before taking a seat.

My brow furrowed. “What’s going on?”

She set the folder in her lap and flattened her palm over the top of it. “I’m not exactly sure how to say this.”

“That’s very ominous.”

“I know. But it’s not good news.”

Had something happened with Skyline? She was right; that wouldn’t be good news. “Bad news about Skyline?”

“No. This is personal.” She took a deep breath. “It’s about Sophie.”

Tension rippled across my back. “What about her?”

“I know you told me not to worry about her. But when it comes to your legal interests, it’s my job to worry. And it turns out, we have a problem.”

“What kind of problem?”

“Are you aware of her financial situation?”

“I haven’t asked to see her bank statements, no. Why would I?”

“Because you married her. And I knew you wouldn’t, so I took the liberty of doing some research. At the time of your wedding, Sophie was in a considerable amount of debt.”

“So? A lot of people are in debt. Why is that such a problem?”

She opened her folder and took out several pieces of paper. “She had two car loans, plus multiple maxed out credit cards, all in