Page 11 of Guilty As Charged (Love and Lawyers #3)

Chapter Eleven

ABBIE

I swing my legs back and forth over the arm of the sofa, fiddling with the new phone Spencer got me.

I'm starting to suspect he's a magician.

He is rather magical, especially that tongue of his.

My whole body warms at the reminder. That man devoured every part of me, and now there isn't an inch on my body he hasn't tasted.

Since he gave me the phone, I’ve taken a million pictures with it. I want to remember every second of being here, and that includes pictures of Spencer and me together. I managed to get a few sneaky ones of him on his own, but I want some with both of us.

A couple days ago, I barely wanted to touch my phone. Now that I have someone that wants to protect and support me, everything is a whole lot less scary. It’s been a really long time since I experienced that kind of support, but even then, I don’t think I’ve ever had it to the extent Spencer gives.

My parents mean well, but I was one of those pregnancies where the mom didn't know until she was at the hospital in pain. She didn’t understand why until they told her she was in labor. A few pushes later and there I was, a not so fun surprise.

They had never planned to have kids and were already in their early forties. When I graduated, they were not only rushing me out the door but themselves too.

They put their condo up for sale my senior year.

I'm not mad about it. My unexpected arrival completely transformed my parents' lives.

They didn't kick me out per se, but they helped me get into my apartment and paid for the first year of rent before they took off. Now they’re on some kind of world cruise that extends over years.

It was never a thought for me to reach out to them when things started to go bad.

Over time, the frequency of our calls decreased significantly.

I'm uncertain whether this is a natural part of growing up, where communication with one's parents diminishes, or if they simply moved on with the life they originally wanted.

The tapering off over time made it easier for me to not get stuck in my feelings about it.

I could wish for something different, but what good would that do?

"How’s it going with the new phone?" Spencer asks when he walks in the room. He comes to stand on the other side of the couch so he can stare down at me. He was in his office earlier taking calls and answering emails. That’s when I’d snuck in and taken pictures of him.

Every time I see him, my heart gives an excited flutter. I thought it was an expression people used, but it turns out it’s real. There’s definitely something that feels like butterflies in my chest when he looks at me.

“So far so good. No social media, but I’m logging into my emails.

I suppose I can’t completely drop off the map.

” I might be locked away here, but the rest of the world is still doing their thing.

I have to make sure I’m keeping up on bills and all those boring things in life.

“How about you? Did you get some work done?” I slide my legs off the arm of the couch and sit up.

“I did.” His brows pull together, the flash of irritation clear.

“Oh, sorry.” I turn so my feet hang off the couch.

“I didn’t realize I had my feet on it.” It’s an old habit of mine that irritated my mom.

She’d say I was going to ruin the furniture.

When I got my own couch, I rebelled and did what I wanted.

I’m not the best at sitting still either. I usually flop around like a fish.

"What?” He looks confused before coming around to sit next to me. “You can be on any furniture any way you like.”

"Really? I don't want to ruin your things."

"Abbie, I promise you're not ruining anything." He tucks a piece of my hair behind my ear.

I've noticed he's always finding small ways to touch me, and I find myself doing the same. Even in my sleep, I somehow end up all over him. However, the last few nights, we dozed off while cuddling, so it’s not actually my fault. I can’t be blamed when he’s the one pulling me on top of him.

"Actually you should sit like this." I giggle when he pulls me into his lap. "There. Much better."

"Well, then what's bothering you if it’s not how I was sitting?" I shift a little so I can fully straddle him. "You had this face on." I do my best impression of his scowl as I scrunch my eyebrows while pressing my lips together in a grim line.

Spencer’s expression was not as intense or dramatic, but it was close. Plus, I'm trying to get a chuckle out of him. The sound is almost as sexy as when he groans my name as he cums.

He rewards me with a little grin as his hands move down my back and grip my butt.

“Geoff is staying off the radar. We’ve been trying to have him served.”

Now the scowl makes sense. Geoff is always irritating Spencer.

We’ve spoken more about my contract, and Spencer told me it’s bullshit.

Not only what he was asking me to do, but my percentage of the money.

Spencer let me know that it didn’t hold any weight.

It was clear Geoff was taking advantage of me. And not just when it came to the money.

“Served?”

“Taylor has already confirmed that Geoff is behind the harassment. He found out not the legal way , but if I have him served with the restraining order and a lawsuit, I’ll be able to then legally pull his record and have a preservation order issued on all his electronics.”

“I don’t understand why he’s doing this.” I never had any problems with harassment or threats before Geoff.

“He wants you, and I don’t think only for sex,” Spencer grits out. Jealousy looks kind of sexy on him. “You’re a brilliant artist, Abbie.”

“Thank you.” To be fair, the man thinks everything I do is brilliant. At least his expression always shows that. "But why harass me? It doesn’t make sense. His actions made me retreat more."

"I think he thought you'd run to him for protection. That's my best guess."

I scrunch my face. “Geoff is not that white knight. He’s not even one of the good/bad guys. He’s not even an anti-hero, for that matter. He just plain sucks.” I give a hard thumbs down. I find people take it worse when you thumbs down them than when you flip them off.

Spencer chuckles, taking my hand and kissing my thumb. “I’ll get it worked out,” he tries to reassure me.

“I know you will, but you have to find him, right?” It’s ironic that now Geoff is the one hiding.

“He can’t stay hidden forever. I’ll find him.”

I nod in agreement. If anyone can, I know it’s him.

“Oh! Crap.” Two thoughts hit me at once.

“What?” Spencer sits up straighter, his hand gripping my hips as his eyes scan the room.

“I just remembered something.” Spencer waits for me to continue. “I know where we can find Geoff. There is a convention coming up, and he’ll be there. He loves fans.”

“When is it?”

“In a couple of days. I signed up for it, and I’m supposed to be there too.” When I sink my teeth into my bottom lip, Spencer grips my chin to stop me.

“Do you want to go?” he asks, his voice gentle and patient.

“Normally, I’d be excited about it.”

“But do you want to?”

“I do, but I can’t.” I hate that Geoff has this control over me and my life.

“That’s not what I’m asking, Abbie. I’m asking if you want to go.”

“I do,” I admit with a shrug. As much as I’d have fun, it is what it is at this point.

“What if I go with you?”

“You’d do that?” I sit up straighter, excited by the idea.

“Abbie—”

“Right.” A small laugh bubbles free. “You’d do almost anything for me.”

“Almost?” He lifts one brow teasingly.

Yeah, he’s right. He would do anything for me. Spencer is a total hero.