Free Almost Doesn't Count by Angela Winters Page A

with a pang of guilt when he mentioned the U Street project. That project was a lie. She had used it as an excuse to spend more time with the Chains, the ladies’ club she was trying to get into, and more time with Ryan Hodgkins.
    It suddenly struck her. Was Justin lying to her? He was calling her from work on a Sunday saying he’d be skipping dinner. Was he at work? Had he been golfing yesterday? She thought of all the excuses she’d made when she was spending time with Ryan, including that fateful afternoon when she’d met him in a hotel and made love to him that one time. That one time that she thought might have changed her life forever.
    Who was she kidding? This was Justin she was talking about. Cheaters always suspected everyone else was cheating, and that is what she was. She had cheated on her husband twice, and it was only natural that she believed he was cheating on her. But Justin wasn’t a cheater and he would never cheat on her. One of main reasons she married him was because he was reliable and trustworthy.
    â€œI’ll see you when you get home,” she said sweetly before hanging up.
    She rushed over to her baby, and to Cady’s great delight, picked her up and held her in her arms.
    â€œMommy is being silly,” she said. “All kinds of crazy thoughts. She needs to calm down and you and I need to order Italian.”

4
    B illie regretted a lot about having to leave the public defender’s office for big law, but things were getting better for her. With her new pro bono case, she was finding a way to love her new life. And she was finding a way to love her new shopping budget.
    Running her weekend errands, she couldn’t help but stop by the Bottega Veneta store. She was eyeing the Fire Opal Waxed Cervo bag and was falling in love. The little angel on her shoulder telling her she did not need an eighteen-hundred-dollar bag was on its last breath. The little devil telling her how much more fabulous she would look, and besides, she deserved it for working so hard, was clearly winning.
    The battle between common sense and fashion sense was interrupted by the tiny beeping sound her phone made, telling her there was a text message. Grabbing her phone out of her Burberry purse, which suddenly seemed old and worn now, she noticed the number on top of the text was unfamiliar. She read the text.
    Otis Redding tribute concert at the 9:30 Club tonight. Remember getting your groove on?
    Billie smiled, remembering the short moment she shared with Ricky during their meeting earlier that week. The 9:30 Club was a local club on U Street where mostly R&B bands performed. She wasn’t sure if it was the lawyer in her or the woman in her, but her overanalyzing gene kicked in. Was he just trying to ingratiate himself with his new lawyer or was he flirting with her? Was he asking her out or was he just mentioning it for friendly purposes? He couldn’t possibly be asking her out. That was silly. She would have loved to have gone though.
    She pressed the button to reply, trying to think of something witty to say, but as her fingers typed the first few letters, she stopped herself. She was giggling like a schoolgirl and this was wrong. This was her client, and if it was true he was flirting with her, these were not the conversations they should be having. She knew this and wondered what had made her temporarily forget it. This was her first pro bono case and she had to be perfect. She couldn’t make stupid mistakes.
    She canceled the reply and put her phone back in her purse. Just as she let it go, she heard the beep again. Grabbing it again, she read the text.
    Wanna meet up there?
    Oh, no. Billie realized this could be dangerous. Not because he asked her out. She had defended more than a few men, and one woman, who asked her out during or after their professional relationship. The problem was, for the first time, she wanted to go. She wanted to see the concert, and she had been