ATTENTION: THE AUTHOR IS POSTING THE LAST CHAPTER ON MAY 5. TO THANK ALL THOSE WHO HAVE READ HER STORY, SHE IS ALLOWING THE ENTIRE STORY TO BE PUBLISHED UNTIL MAY 22.
THIS BOOK OR ANY PORTION THEREOF MAY NOT BE REPRODUCED IN ANY FORM WITHOUT PERMISSION. THE SCANNING, UPLOADING, AND DISTRIBUTION OF THIS BOOK VIA THE INTERNET OR VIA ANY OTHER MEANS WITHOUT THE PERMISSION OF THE PUBLISHER IS ILLEGAL AND PUNISHABLE BY LAW.
IT TOOK LONGER THAN he anticipated. Glancing at the clock, he figured they'd worked long enough. "We'll pick this up after lunch. I've gotta hit the common room and prep for lunch. I can pick something up while I'm at the store, what do you want?"
She was still avoiding his gaze, hadn't said much other than what was necessary to add to their meeting notes. He couldn't blame her given he'd caught her off guard and she didn't seem happy about her response. He wasn't going to let it bother him. He had too much on his plate.
"I brought my lunch," she said. "I have work I need to do over lunch."
"Alright," he stood and rolled his chair back, took his coat, and pulled it over his shoulders. "I'll drop by Granny's and get her the menus. Might as well eat there," he said. "Do you have the list you wrote out? I'll stop in and grab those table cloths. The frilly ones you want," he said.
He opened the drawer to grab his wallet and keys and loaded his coat while she printed off her papers.
"Thanks, make sure they're not white, but ecru. It's an important distinction," she added.
"I know what ecru is, I've got it," he tapped his temple. "Anything else I should get?" Scanning the list, he wanted to roll his eyes. He could feel his masculinity drop a few levels. Candleholders, candles, fake leaves, sunflowers, paint, scented plugins, glass bowls, pebbles, candy, a list of decoration items, geez, he hated shopping. "Is this all at Marshall's or should I go to a craft store?"
"Here," she handed him a list and the stores he could find them in, with pictures, he noted. The list of stores made him wince.
"You're scary organized, Regina," he noted she'd stayed in her seat. Probably feeling safer behind the barrier of the desk.
"I don't waste time and I'd rather not waste yours or get it wrong. If you get it right the first time, you don't have to go through the mess of returns."
"Practical," he said. "Alright, I'll be back in a couple of hours. If you can carve out some time for the Swan meeting, it'll be something. Do you have time to file the motion?" He took the papers, folded them in half, and earned a hot look from her when he shoved them in his pocket.
"I'll do it right after my lunch meeting. I've got a client coming in and I've got a meeting with Maggie on another case. I'll do it after."
"I appreciate it," he said. Feeling bold, he walked around her desk, took her face in his hands, and covered her mouth in a short hard kiss. "Enjoy your lunch," he grinned and walked out.
In the common room, he tossed the empty box of pastries, cleaned up the mess of half-opened sugar packets, used the rag over the sink to wipe down counters. He opened the fridge and thanked himself that the only replacement needed was half and half. He jotted it down on the order form, added to his folded papers, and loaded a plate with the remaining pastries.
Job well done, he decided.
Traffic was a nightmare, but he didn't mind it during the summer. The A/C in his car was better than the office swamp coolers. He felt the tension ease as he spent more and more time outside and away from Regina. Where the hell he'd gotten the idea to push himself on her like that was beyond him. Hell, if he'd regret it though.
He pulled up outside of Lucas diner and parked. He went in and smiled when greeted with Ruby, Granny's granddaughter.
"Robin, it's been a while. Are you alone?" Her red lips, short red skirt, and platform heels were a staple to the uniform she'd given herself. To annoy her grandmother, he guessed. Damned if he didn't appreciate the view.
"Yea, I thought I'd stop in and get a bite. I'll sit at the bar," he said. Ruby handed him a menu and he winked at her as he walked to take a stool.
Henrietta Lucas, as Regina knew her stood in a flowery dress, her curled graying hair tied in a bun behind her head, and wire-rimmed glasses sat on her pretty face. "Granny, pretty as ever."
Her cheeks blushed pink, "Oh, Robin. You flatter me."
"Can I get some of that lasagna you make so well?" he smiled.
"You sure can. How is the new office treating you?" she moved around with such competency, filling coffee and drink cups, taking dirty dishes and stacking them in a disk bucket.
"So far so good, I'm getting used to the new digs. I'm working with Regina Mills. You know her," he said.
"I do. I've known her since she was seven," she smiled.
Robin thought what a weird coincidence that he'd known Granny going on six years and not once had he run into Regina here or heard Granny talk about her. "Yea? She's a tough one," he commented.
Granny met his eyes, "Tough? Sure, she gets that from her mother. Sweet under it, though like her father.
Regina? Sweet? He doubted it, but he hadn't known her long. "I've yet to see the sweet, just the cold and the tough."
Granny laughed and grabbed a hot plate from behind her when the chef yelled order up. She put the plate in front of him, the steam littering the air. The smell he was fond of made him feel like home.
"Regina?" she laughed a full gorgeous laugh, "Cold? Honey, she's not nearly as convincing as all that. You must have limited contact with her. I always wondered why she tried to pretend to be something she's not. She's as soft as they come," she said. "Be right back."
He watched her go in the back of the swinging doors and sat eating his food and wondering. Regina was calm and relaxed at times when she worked, he'd seen it. But, when she interacted with Gold, Maggie, or even clients, she was short and to the point. He'd rarely seen the vulnerable and was grateful for it. It did things to his insides when women were soft and vulnerable. True and honest, he mused. Was she that? He just couldn't see it.
When Granny returned, he'd eaten half his meal, she smiled at him. "How's Greta?"
He struggled to swallow, "That's done."
"Oh? You looked so happy."
He was losing his appetite with just the thought of her. He couldn't explain to Granny the intricacies of the embarrassment of his relationship with Greta Nash. The woman who had come close to destroying his career, his bank account, and breaking his spirit. "I guess sometimes things don't work out. She's got herself a fiancé," he said.
"What? Already?"
He shrugged hoping to get off-topic, "I guess. Tell me about Regina at seven," he suggested.
"Oh, alright." Pausing she put a hand over his, "I won't ask about Greta. Regina, let's see, she always had spunk. Smart as a whip and learned to argue by the time she was nine. I always knew she'd be a lawyer," she laughed. "Always had a good comeback and knew how to outmaneuver her father."
"She was born to be a lawyer," he agreed. "I've yet to see her lose a case and when she doesn't come out on top, she's gracious and comes back with rebuttals. It's amazing to watch," he admitted. He'd known about Regina Mills for years, admired her from afar, feared her as much. Now that he'd gotten up close, he was yet to figure her out.
Done with his food, he felt he'd pried enough. "Speaking of, Regina asked me to drop the menu off with you," he handed her the pages as she filled his iced tea.
"Some party," she commented. "I don't normally do parties, but she said she loved my turkey and mashed potatoes, I couldn't tell her no. She's like a daughter to me," she said.
"Yea? How did you meet her?" he couldn't help wanting to know the connection there.
"Well I knew her mother, know her mother," she corrected. Pursing her lips, he watched something come into her eyes close to anger. "Cora was a marketing executive in town, and I set her and Henry up. I was there when they married and three years later when Regina came long. They moved when she was just a little thing and Henry insisted, they move back right before she was seven."
Robin put his napkin on his plate, nudged it forward. Granny took it and put it in the bin. "So long history," he said.
"Yea, her mother left her and her father when she was about fourteen or so." The anger he'd seen appeared again as she wiped down the counter. "Her father was a good man, worked hard to provide for her, and well he died just three years ago. She's on her own," she said distracted with tasks. "She's got Ruby and I and during the holidays we're there for her and her son."
Robin's back went up, his stomach knotted, she had a son? How the hell did he not know that? "I didn't know she had a kid."
Granny looked up looking guilty, for what, he couldn't figure. Laughing nervously, she amended, "Her dog, she calls him her son."
Robin noted the flushed cheeks, the darting eyes, and figured she was hiding something. If Regina had a kid, he had no indication. There were no pictures in her office, she didn't seem like a mother, to him.
He had to think about it, he decided. "Thanks for lunch, Granny." He rose after taking her hand and kissing it. "Regina will call you about the menu," he said and strode out.
GRANNY CURSED HERSELF AND picked up the phone in her back office. On the third ring, she heard, "Regina Mills."
"Regina, it's Henrietta," she sighed.
"Is everything alright?"
"No, not really. Robin Locksley was in for lunch. I got your menus. You know me and my mouth sometimes," she began.
She heard her voice tight, "What did you tell him?"
"Well, I may have said something about Roland, but it was a slip and I tried to fix the mistake after I made it. I didn't give his name," she said.
"I'm in a meeting, Henrietta. Can I give you a call when I'm done? We'll work it out," she promised.
"I'm sorry, dear."
"It's alright. I'll call you back," she said.
Henrietta hung up the phone and frazzled, walked out of her office back to the diner.
REGINA SAT IN THE office after finishing up her meeting with Maggie. She managed to run over to the courthouse and file the motion for Emma Swan to extend her court date. When she returned, she expected Robin to be back. Instead, he'd been out longer than she anticipated.
It was a large shopping list, she concluded. Too much for him to handle, maybe. Instead of stressing over Henrietta's slip, she started making calls to her two clients who were due in court in the morning. It took her nearly an hour instructing her clients, jotting down notes in their files, before Robin came in.
"I left the stuff in the car, I hope you don't mind," he said. He took off his coat, threw his wallet and keys into a drawer.
"We'll get to it later, any problems?" she watched him pluck his passcode into the computer, move his mouse and click around.
"No," he said. Then, she started typing as if she didn't exist. Regina wanted to say something but didn't know what. There was tension between them, too much unsaid since he kissed her this morning. She still carried the buzz around with her. Adding the worry of him finding out her biggest secret, her nerves were shot.
Feeling awkward and unsettled, she rose and walked down to the common room. He'd made another pot of coffee, she noted. Swapped out the pastries for crackers and cheese. Nice touch, she thought. It was clean and organized; the tables were moved into a square instead of a line.
Filling her mug, she took a long swallow and leaned against the counter. Breathing deep, she tried to steady herself. When she felt calm enough to function, she walked back to her office and sat.
"Did you file the motion? Shopping took longer than I anticipated," he said not looking at her. He was writing in a notepad.
"I took care of it. I had some time, let's hope they extend it long enough to buy us some time for payment," she said.
"Thanks for going over there, it's a madhouse this time a day," he said glancing up. "I'm not worried about it. You have some time here in the next forty-five minutes to help me strategize?"
Her computer screen held three open case files, each with a different number of tasks needed to be updated on notes, "I should be able to squeeze it in."
"Alright. I've got this bitch of a case with Paulson. It's going downhill but, I've got a line in. I should be able to pull it out soon," he said. "I might need an hour," he said still writing.
Focus, she reminded herself. He needed focus and seemed to have it. "Sounds doable."
They worked in silence outside of the clicking of keys, the motor of the printer, and papers shuffling. There were plenty of pauses in key typing, some in the printer, some pen scratching.
When the hour was up, he sighed, "I could use another hour," he said. "You?"
"Thirty minutes," she said.
"Fine."
When the thirty minutes were up, he clicked on his mouse a few times, and let his face fall in his hands. "Coffee refill?"
"Yes," she said still typing.
He left the room and came back in a span of time she couldn't measure. When she wrote the final sentence on the document, she clicked on the print button and picked up the coffee, drank deep. When she turned her head, he was watching her. "What?"
"I haven't figured it out yet," he said.
Creasing her brow, she asked, "Figured what out?"
"What you have that draws me in," he admitted with a frown. "What you have, what you are," he said. "It's a puzzle."
Regina ignored the flutter in her stomach and averted her eyes. She pulled up Emma Swan's file on the screen, "You ready?"
When he rose and sat next to her, she swallowed. The nerves danced on her skin, as his body shifted closer. He took her mouse and scrolled down, "Let's start here," he suggested.
"If she sets up a payment plan with the landlord, she'll be able to get out from under the sanction, but that doesn't help the landlord from losing his property," she said.
"No, but I've got a line on a bank that could refinance the loan. The property has been in his possession for several years, he's only overlapped on payments twice, never without notice. They could approve it, but he'd have to pay a steep deposit. That could be an issue," he said shifting closer and typing the bank into the search engine.
The bank came up, he clicked around until he reached the loan qualification page. "This is all in the realm of his means. We just need to apply and make sure he has references."
As they spoke, she inhaled his scent, could feel the warmth of his body next to hers. It was a little distracting. It also ate at her that he could know about Roland and that terrified her. "If the bank approves the loan, it could be doable. If not, it'll be another six months before they file notice. If he can come up with the cash and the judge orders eviction."
"Maybe, but it's a long shot. I guess we'll see where we stand with her tomorrow. I'll go talk to the landlord, Strauss, and see if he'll bite."
"Alright, I'll write up a few contract options to present next time you meet with him," she turned and took out an empty folder. Wrote the name on the label, "I'll get this done before I head out. Why are you looking at me like that," she asked pinning documents to the folder? She could see him from the corner of her eye.
"Have you ever been married?" he asked.
"Excuse me?"
"You know, the legal institution of marriage. Ever entered into it?"
Frowning, she looked at him, his eyes were serious. "No, I've never been married. Have you?" Before she caught herself, she saw his eyes change. "Forget I asked that," she corrected. "Stupid knee gut reaction, I didn't mean anything by it. Why do you ask?" She hurried over her mistake.
"Ever been close?" he asked a little forcefully.
Where was this going, she wondered? "Do you mean engaged? No, I haven't."
"Serious relationships?" he persisted.
"Robin," she turned to face him and give her undivided attention. "Ask me what you want to ask me instead of beating around the bush. Henrietta called me, I know what you want to ask," she said feeling her stomach clutch.
"I'm not sure I want to know the answer," he admitted.
"Just ask."
"Fine, do you have any children?" he said watching her face intently. "You'd think as close to a public figure you are, it would be common knowledge."
"Not anymore," she said and turned to avoid his considering eyes.
"What does that mean?"
"I…" she paused frazzled, undone, and sad to talk about it. To be asked by someone she barely knew. "It's complicated and quite a long story."
"Hey," he said putting a hand on hers. When their eyes met, his jaw clenched, "I didn't mean to upset you. I just didn't know you had a son," he said.
"I don't," she said. Pushing to her feet, she crossed her arms and turned to look out the blinds of her office toward an empty grass field. It was overgrown, weeds grew wild, trees were tall and unkempt. Feeling compelled to give him the short version of her story, she turned to face him.
He was standing now, leaning on her desk, she was grateful for the distance.
"A couple of years ago, I applied to adopt a little boy. He was the son of one of Maggie's clients, it wasn't a high-profile case. The mother was an addict, we put her in rehab, put him in foster care, and we tried to get her help. She never passed a drug test and the court decided the boy needed permanent residency."
Pleased that he wasn't asking questions or interrupting, she continued. "The foster mother kept him, and I happened to know her. I became attached, as many would, and applied to adopt him." The pain still surrounded her and filled her when she thought back on it. "They conducted a home visit, looked over my finances, looked at my credit, and did a comprehensive background check. All turned out fine," she said.
Swallowing the lump in her throat, she would not cry in front of him, she continued averting her eyes and turning her back to him. "He lived in the house for less than a month before I was denied." She left it at that and turned to give him a fake smile. "So, no. I don't have children," she said. "I see him during the holidays, and I visit with him every few weeks when I have the time. It's enough."
"No, it's not," he argued. He stood walked to her and shocked her when he put his arms around her. His hands rubbed along her back in a comforting gesture. "I'm sorry," he said.
The lump in her throat remained so she said nothing, but she did take the comfort he offered and relaxed in his arms. He lifted his head to press his lips softly on hers. Then, he just held her.