Look at me. Please.

I was also irritated that she felt the need to bring Sean along, like she needed protection from me. I’d never hurt her, not in a million years. A flash of memory hit me, of how she’d looked when she confronted me in the lockers, the hurt so palpable I could almost touch it. She thought I’d committed the ultimate betrayal, so maybe in a small way I could understand why she brought him.

Still, I eyed my teammate in annoyance. Judging from Eilish’s refusal to look at me, it didn’t appear he’d made any headway in explaining things to her, even though he said he’d try. Though funnily enough, when I looked at him he smirked.

Huh.

“Sign here, please, Mr. Leech,” Mrs. Feelan instructed after a few minutes of back and forth. The custody agreement was in front of me. I picked up the pen, then hesitated. I put the pen down and looked across the table at Eilish again. Not at Sean. Not at the solicitor. Just at her.

“I want you to reconsider the support payments. If you won’t accept all of it, then at least think about taking half.”

Eilish didn’t breathe a word, only shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

“Ms. Cassidy does not wish to receive any child support payments, Mr. Leech,” her solicitor cut in. “We already informed Mrs. Feelan of this before the final agreement was drawn up.”

“Well, nobody informed me.” I crossed my arms over my chest, her stubbornness rubbing off on me.

“I informed you earlier, Mr. Leech. Remember? I would’ve done so sooner but it was all very last minute,” said Mrs. Feelan. “We did what we could in the time provided.”

“But why?” I asked, still only addressing Eilish. “You can talk to me, you know. I’m sitting right here.”

“Mr. Leech—” Mrs. Feelan cut in, but then Eilish spoke, her voice calm and measured. It was only the slight catch when she said my name that alerted me to her nervousness.

“It’s too much, B-Bryan.”

“It’s not too much, nothing is ever too much when it comes to Patrick, or you for that matter,” I said with passion as my eyes bore into hers. “You can’t give this to me? You keep him from me for years and you won’t let me support him now?”

I hit a nerve. I could see it in how she glanced at the table and worried her lip, her eyes stormy and uncertain.

“Mrs. Feelan, can you please control your client,” Eilish’s solicitor requested.

Mrs. Feelan placed a hand at my elbow. “Mr. Leech, please.”

“I’ll agree to support payments,” Eilish blurted, surprising everyone in the room. “But they need to be a smaller sum. Much smaller.”

I exhaled and shot her a grateful look. “I can work with that.” If I had my way, the amount wouldn’t matter in any case.

“Given this information,” Mrs. Feelan stacked her papers, “we’ll need to draw up a new agreement and schedule a further meeting.”

“Very well,” said Eilish’s solicitor. “I’ll talk through the options with my client and get back to you in due course.”

Everybody started getting up to leave. Both solicitors hung back to discuss something while Eilish and Sean approached the door. They were already gone before I realized this might be my only chance to talk to Eilish in person. Jumping into action, I chased after them to the bank of lifts. Sean pressed the button to go down as I caught up to them.

“Talk to me. Give me ten minutes.”

She turned to look at me, a galaxy of emotion in her eyes. “There’s nothing—”

“Please,” I urged, almost begging.

The lift doors slid open and she stepped inside. I followed suit, while Sean hung back. “Actually, I need to use the bathroom. I’ll meet you in the lobby, Eilish,” he said just as the doors closed.

“Sean!” she yelled, but he was already gone.

If looks could kill, Cassidy would be six feet under. Eilish glared at the smooth, polished metal with absolute murder in her eyes.

I, on the other hand, could’ve fucking kissed her cousin. With tongue.

The lift started to descend, and Eilish blew out a heavy breath. Her arms were folded over her chest, and she stared dead ahead, totally on the defensive.

“Eilish, will you please just look at me? This is all so messed up, and you’re not even giving me the chance to explain.”

“What on earth is there to explain? You don’t trust me. There’s nothing to talk about.”

I stared at her profile, so entirely closed off, and an unexpected surge of anger flared in my chest.

“I don’t trust you? Really? That’s how you’re justifying all this?”

“All what?” she bit out, still not looking at me.

Before I could respond the lift shuddered to a halt.

“Oh my God, are we stuck?” Eilish exclaimed in horror.

Usually, such an incident would bother me, but not today. Today the gods seemed to be smiling upon me, because getting stuck with Eilish was exactly what I needed, what we needed. I remembered the knowing look Sean gave me right before we got on and suspected this was his doing. I definitely wouldn’t put it past him. After all, he had said he’d try to help me.

I blew out a breath. “Looks like it.”

She tugged nervously at her collar. “Wonderful.”

I turned to stare her down. “Yeah, wonderful. Because now you might have to admit you’re just as much to blame for this clusterfuck as I am.”