The World According to Vince - Jane Harvey-Berrick Page 0,80

boxes and spicy aromas that made my mouth water before they even reached the coffee table. The dogs all looked hopefully at Cady and Rick as they started unpacking the food immediately, and I walked to the breakfast bar, taking the opportunity to massage Grace’s shoulders.

She moaned softly and my Johnny-cum-lately stood up and paid attention. I shrugged. He was lonely and lacking the touch of a good woman. Well, he had the choice of my left hand or my right hand until Gracie decided to make an honest man of me. I hoped it wouldn’t be too long. Could I die from blue balls? Or maybe the question I should be asking was: Could I get married in prison?

“Oh, that feels wonderful,” she sighed.

“You’ve got knots in there like a brickie’s biceps,” I murmured, pushing my thumbs into the tight muscles at the base of her neck.

“I’m not sure what that means but don’t stop.”

I kneaded those tight muscles until Cady and Rick had unpacked all the food, and Grace was soft and relaxed, leaning backwards against my chest.

I kissed her cheek.

“Grub’s up! Time to eat.”

Her muscles went rigid again, and she shook her head while grabbing her notebook and pen.

“No, I have to work.”

At which point, I didn’t bother arguing, but picked her up bodily and carried her into the living room, chucking her on the sofa and narrowly missing Zeus whose wounded eyes haunted me as I apologized to him.

“Vincent! What the hell?” Grace shrieked, as she untangled herself from a pile of dog blankets.

“You have to eat, Gracie,” I said gently. “You need protein and carbs and just some fookin’ food. I don’t want me lawyer fainting on the floor.”

She grumbled a bit but I ignored her while I put tiny portions of a little of everything on her plate. I knew from experience that anorexics can’t stand to stare at a full plate of food—it has to look manageable.

We all tucked in while Rick inhaled his food, and Cady looked pretty enthusiastic, too. Gracie picked at hers but I didn’t comment because at least she was eating. I tried not to watch her either, because that can cause performance anxiety in anorexics, and I didn’t want her to think I was judging what she ate (or didn’t eat). I wouldn’t let food be a battleground.

“I need to make the jury aware that Pinter wanted to recruit you as the zoo’s animal advocate,” she said, making a note with one hand as she pushed food around with the other. She glanced up. “He still wants to, right?”

“Yeah, don’t worry,” I said. “He thinks I’m the dog’s bollocks.” I paused as she gaped at me. “He thinks I’m the mustard, the sliced bread in the supermarket, the sparkle in a tart’s vajazzle.”

“Riiiight,” she said slowly. “Vincent, promise me you won’t mention a dog’s, um, bollocks anywhere in front of the judge or jury.”

“Oh, gotcha,” I grinned at her. “Be Saint Vin. Yup, I can do that.”

My grin became wider as she shook her head. But if I was being honest with myself, I wondered what tomorrow would bring.

And I’d never tell Gracie, but I was worried, too.

Grace

“It’s not going well, is it?” Vince said quietly, not looking up as he stroked Tap.

Understatement. Day three of the trial had been a disaster.

Barclay had yelled ‘objection’ and ‘relevance’ so frequently during my questioning of Zoo Director Greg Pinter, that my planned narrative had lacked coherence, and the jury became confused and bored. I had just about managed to get across the two important facts: that Vince had been offered a role (unpaid) as the animals’ advocate, and that he’d returned Jabari to the zoo.

Barclay had been quick to point out that Vince hadn’t yet accepted the advocacy role, and dismissed the second point as ‘a cheap publicity stunt’. I wished he could have seen the way Vince had been with Jabari at Cady and Rick’s wedding.

I could tell that Vince had been furious, but all credit to him, he kept his peace in the courtroom just like he’d promised me.

Cady had gone home in a towering rage, swearing to turn her radio show into a ‘free Vince’ show, if the worst happened. I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to thank her for her support for Vince or suck up the knowledge that she thought I was going to lose the case.

I watched Vince stroking Tap, with Zeus asleep next to him and Tyson laying on his feet, drawing