Chapter 7
seven
. . .
Presley
Wes moved behind me as the hostess led us to our table, which of course, happened to be just a few feet away from my brooding ex-boyfriend. Cage was seething when I’d interrupted the conversation, and I didn’t miss the wine stain on Wes’s Armani tweed coat.
“Do you have a table in the back that might be a bit more private?” Wes asked, and the hostess was notably uncomfortable as she glanced over at Cage and then back to us. Hugh owned the place, so clearly, Cage had requested that we sit nearby.
Once a cowboy, always a cowboy.
“I, um, this is the only available table for two,” she said, and her voice shook, making it obvious she was not being truthful, especially with there being several open tables on the other side of the restaurant.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake. What does he think I’m going to do?” Wes shook his head and squeezed his eyes shut.
“It’s fine.” I nodded at her. “This is perfect. Thank you.”
“Well, you certainly didn’t exaggerate when you described him.” Wes pulled out my chair, and we both took our seats.
I reached for the wineglass that Wes had ordered for me and brought over from the bar and took a sip. “We aren’t here to talk about Cage. We’re here to talk about the ending of our marriage and you signing those papers.”
“Can I plead my case, and at the end of this, if you still want me to sign them, I give you my word that I’ll do it?”
His word wasn’t something I would put a lot of stock in right now, because I knew Wes well enough to know that he would say or do whatever he could to get what he wanted.
But I’d agreed to meet him here, so I was willing to hear him out.
There was nothing he could say that would change my mind, but I’d listen and then ask him to sign.
The server approached, and we paused to order dinner before handing him our menus. I looked up at Wes. “Go ahead.”
“First and foremost, no matter what happens, I want you to know… No. I need you to know that I love you, Presley. I have loved you since the first time I laid eyes on you.”
I knew that he loved me as much as he was capable of loving someone.
When I first met him, he was possessive and wanted to be with me all the time.
And maybe because I was heartbroken about Cage, it felt like love at the time.
But I realized a few months into my marriage that I was more of a possession to Wes.
One he was proud to take out and show off.
He was impressed with my career and my drive, and I think part of the allure he felt was that I never was all in with him.
He was used to women falling at his feet, and I’d just never done that.
Maybe it was self-preservation on my part, but my heart couldn’t handle any more pain.
At the end of the day, I was very aware that Wes was a narcissist, and he’d always put himself first.
I nodded. I wasn’t going to respond because I was here to let him say what he needed to say, and then we’d be done with it.
“I’m not a perfect man. That much is clear. And I fucked up big time, but I still love you. You are the only woman I want.”
“Your mistress is pregnant with your child. That is clearly not true.” I held my hand up to stop him because I needed to get this off my chest now that he’d brought it up.
“Listen, Wes, I wish things hadn’t ended like this.
We both know that this should have ended a long time ago.
Hell, we never should have gotten married in the first place.
But I was heartbroken, and you saw it as a moment to swoop in and be the hero, which I needed at the time.
And I know that you tried. I do. But don’t say I’m the only woman you want because that statement is clearly not true.
And I won’t say that to you either. We haven’t had sex in over a year.
I don’t fault you for having needs. But I brought up divorce so many times, and you fought me hard enough that I didn’t want to deal with it. You should have just taken the out.”
“I didn’t want to let you go.”
I cleared my throat as our waiter brought our plates over and set them in front of us. Once he stepped away, I looked up to meet Wes’s gaze.
“I know you didn’t. But it’s time now. I need you to let me go. And you should give things a chance with Corona. You’re having a child with her.”
He ran a hand through his hair. “Fuck, Pres. I have nothing in common with her.”
“You have a baby in common. You need to be involved, Wes. That should be what you’re putting your energy into. Not trying to save a marriage that is far beyond being salvaged.”
“What if we went to therapy?” he pressed as he reached for his utensils and cut into his steak.
“Therapy can’t repair this. Please. I’m asking you to give this to me without a fight. I don’t have the energy with all that’s going on in my life.”
He nodded, his eyes welling with emotion. “Okay. Yes. If it’s what you want, I’ll sign the papers tonight. I’ll have the team draft up an amicable statement to send out tomorrow to the press.”
“Thank you.” A huge weight was lifted off my shoulders. I was ready to walk away from this part of my life and move forward.
“Tell me how your father is,” he asked.
“He’s okay. He’s at the house with a team of fabulous healthcare providers. Barbie is off in Barbados, trying to take over the world, of course.”
“And you’re here.”
“I’m here,” I said, dabbing the napkin against my mouth.
“So, what’s the story with the barbaric ex? He clearly hates me, so you must have filled him in on the details.”
I glanced over, and my gaze locked with Cage’s sapphire blues.
I gave him a reassuring smile to let him know I was fine.
The look he gave me managed to say, I will fuck him up if you give me the go-ahead.
We’d always had this strange gift for communicating without words, and clearly, that hadn’t changed.
I gave the slightest shake of my head before turning back to the man in front of me.
“Really? I think the whole world knows what happened, thanks to Corona taking the story public. I’m guessing you didn’t want to tell me, so she decided to take matters into her own hands.”
“Correct. Can you blame me?”
“Um, yeah, I can totally blame you. She’s right. I mean, I wish it hadn’t come out the way it did, but you are having a child with her. You should have acknowledged it.”
“I don’t know if I’m ready to be a father,” he said, cutting another large piece of meat and popping it into his mouth.
I studied him for a moment. He had dark hair with a little gray coming in at the roots that actually complemented him.
He was polished and well-spoken and generous with his money, but the man was too selfish for his own good.
“You should have thought about that before you had unprotected sex.”
He raised a brow. “Well, I wasn’t having any unprotected sex with my wife, or any sex at all with her, was I?”
I rolled my eyes. “I’m glad I stuck to that rule back when we were still… intimate.”
It was a dig at the fact that I’d insisted on being on birth control as well as making sure he always wore a condom, even back when we were actually having occasional sex.
I hadn’t wanted to get pregnant, and I think a part of me always suspected he would stray.
I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that Corona wasn’t the first. It wasn’t something I even wanted to know at this point, but I was grateful that my instincts had set that precedent from the beginning.
I’d used the pregnancy excuse, but truth be told, the only other man I’d been with in my life had not always worn protection.
Cage and I had a different kind of relationship. Neither ever worried about the other straying. It wasn’t who we were.
“Phillip called. I know you’re going to be named an official partner soon, and he’s concerned about the conflict of interest with me being a client. With the magazine article coming out and the mess that I’ve made, I don’t want to make this more difficult for you.”
“It’s already all out there, and I’ve told him there is no issue on my part.” I reached for my glass and couldn’t help but look over again when I felt Cage’s eyes on me before quickly looking away. “I’m hoping we can just move forward in a professional and friendly manner.”
“I’m proud of you, Presley. You’ve worked really hard. You deserve this.”
“Thank you. It’s been the one good thing to happen in my life at the moment.”
His gaze was empathetic, but then he glanced down at his phone a few seconds later. Wes could feel things deeply in one moment, but he was always on to the next so quickly, which made it surprising that we’d stayed married for the years that we had.
“So, how long will you stay here?” he asked.
“As long as my father needs me. They built the guesthouse on the property, so I have my own space. I’ve been able to work a few hours in the mornings, and tomorrow, I’m looking forward to taking Honey out for a ride while my dad is in physical therapy.
He doesn’t like me to sit in because he doesn’t want me to see him struggle, so I’ll go for a ride instead. ”
“She must be getting up there in age now, huh?” he asked.
“Yep. She’s around fifteen years old, and she’s looking thinner than I remember. I haven’t had the time to take her out for a ride yet, so I’m looking forward to it.”
“It’s good for you to be here. Slow things down a little, you know?” he said.
“Yeah. I think I actually needed it.”
Our waiter stopped by to ask if we wanted dessert, but we both declined.
I ordered a hot tea, and Wes chose a cappuccino.
We spent the next thirty minutes dividing up everything we’d shared over the last five years.
He’d agreed I should keep the penthouse in the city, as I spent way more time there.
He wanted the two vacation homes in Aspen and the Hamptons, and I didn’t have any issue with that since I hardly ever spent time at either of them.
It was all very… civil.
Our breakup was as ill-passioned as our marriage. There were no tears or arguments. He claimed he was heartbroken, but I didn’t believe Wes even knew what it meant to be heartbroken.
I knew what heartbreak felt like.
And this was not it.
He paid the bill and then smiled. “All right. You mentioned that you walked here, so how about I take you home and sign the papers in the car where we don’t have an audience.”
“That sounds like a plan.”
When I pushed to stand, Wes did the same, and out of my peripheral, I saw Cage move to his feet.
“Do you need a ride home?” Cage asked before turning his gaze to glare at Wes.
Wes huffed several times before turning toward the much taller man standing in front of him. “Relax. I’m signing the papers and taking her home. How about you let the two of us end this alone? You’ve been present in our marriage enough, don’t you think?”
Now it was my turn to roll my eyes. “Stop being so theatrical. You have a pregnant mistress back home. You aren’t the victim in this situation.”
I didn’t miss the way Cage’s lips twitched, and I noticed that the guys at his table used their hands to cover their mouths to keep from laughing.
“Let me know if you need anything,” Cage said.
“I’m fine.” It came out harsher than I meant it to. I felt like a horrible human being because I liked that Cage was being protective when I should be focused on my five-year marriage coming to an end.
Wes placed his hand on the small of my back and guided me out to the car.
The drive to my house was quiet, and when we pulled up in the driveway, he put the car in park and did exactly what he said he would do.
He signed the papers and handed them to me.
“Thank you.”
“I’m sorry I let you down,” he said, squeezing my hand.
“I think we both did a lot of that.” I leaned forward and kissed his cheek. “I hope you step up to the plate for your child, Wes. It’s the most important job in the world.”
He nodded. “I know. I’ll try my best.”
I pushed out of the car and held up my hand to wave goodbye before walking up the path to the front door and pushing it open. I startled when I saw Lola sitting on the couch watching TV with a bottle of champagne in an ice bucket and a big bowl of popcorn.
I closed the door and chuckled. “Well, hell. What do we have here?”
“I’m watching The Bachelor, and damn, that man is fine.” She shook her head and reached for the bottle. “And I brought some champagne so we can toast this special occasion.”
“I don’t know that divorce is something to celebrate.” I dropped the envelope with the papers onto the breakfast nook table.
“We’re not celebrating your divorce. We’re celebrating this new chapter. It’s time for you to start living again.” She handed me a champagne flute, and I clinked it against hers and smiled.
“Fine. Cheers to new beginnings,” I said, and she squealed as I tipped my head back, and the cool liquid made its way down my throat.
I did feel like something had been lifted from my shoulders.
Like a dark cloud had finally moved aside to allow some light to shine in.
Wes and I were no longer tied to one another.
Maybe this really was a new chapter.
And even with all that was going on, it was the first time in a very long time that I was excited about tomorrow.