Chapter 20
Sydney
I glance in the mirror as Maverick zippers the tenth dress and frown. I hate everything I’ve tried on. I look immature or stuffy in every single dress. I even tried a pants suit and it made me look like I was a linebacker with the shoulder padding.
“I give up,” I groan, letting my head fall back until I'm staring up at the sky.
“I have an idea…” Maverick trails off as he whips his phone out of his pocket.
“What?”
“Give me twenty minutes and I’ll be back.” He snatches his keys off the bottom of my bed and heads out of my room.
“Where are you going?” I call to his retreating back.
“I told you, I’ll be back, beautiful. I think I have something that might work.”
While Maverick is gone, I keep sorting through my clothes, looking for anything that could work. A nice blouse, a pencil skirt, anything. But that’s the problem with owning a bakery. I don’t own nice clothing because I’ll ruin them at work.
Twenty minutes later, I'm about to throw in the towel and climb under the covers to go to sleep for the night. Right as I hang up the last piece of clothing in my closet, Maverick strolls through my doorway with three bags in hand.
“Ok, I want you to try these on. I personally like the black one, but any of them could work.” Maverick drops the first two bags on the mattress and opens the last one to reveal a beautiful black dress. It’s stylish without being too much.
“Where did you get these?” I run my fingers over the soft fabric and smile.
“Skylar.” He lifts his shoulder in a shrug. “I figured she has to dress professionally every day for school. I assume you’re about the same size as she is. Try it on.”
He holds out the dress to me and waits patiently while I step into the bathroom to put it on. After I come back out and hold my hair out of the way, he zippers it the rest of the way up.
“I think this is perfect, Syd,” he breathes against my neck as he places his hands on my waist and takes a step closer. “You look gorgeous.”
“It’s not too much?”
“Nah, I think this is the right dress… What is this court case for?”
“We finally get to settle what Rob gets in the divorce,” I sigh. I don’t want to go to court and I definitely don’t want to see Rob. “It will be awful.”
“Is he trying to get custody of the kids?”
“No. He’s barely asked to speak to them since he left. I don’t think he wants anything to do with them.”
“Does he pay child support?”
“He hasn’t yet. I'm happy to go without the child support and alimony if he leaves the bakery alone, but he’s trying to hurt me.”
“Why? I don’t get it.”
“His family took my side when everything blew up. I was invited to Christmas with his parents and he wasn’t. He’s angry and wants to take it out on me.”
“Can I come?”
“To the courthouse?” I blink up at him in surprise.
“Yes, I want to be there to support you.”
“Are you sure you want to?”
I can't imagine him wanting to see Rob and hear all the horrible things he’s bound to say about me. I swear he’s always been happy to jump at the chance to put me down in front of an audience.
“I want to be there for you, Sydney. We’re a team, remember?”
“It’s weird to be a team when I’ve been solo for so long,” I whisper, meeting his gaze in the mirror.
“I know, but I’ll keep reminding you until I don’t have to anymore.”
I suck in a deep breath and blow it out slowly. Though I’ve had to talk to Rob sporadically since he moved out, I haven’t had to see him. I don’t want to deal with the hostility he’ll aim at me in person. I just want this over with so I can move on with my life and forget he ever existed.
Rob likes to act like our entire separation is my fault. He acts like I'm the one who cheated and moved out, even though it was him. I wouldn’t have time to cheat on him even if I wanted to. I was too busy raising my kids and running a business by myself.
I also took our marriage vows seriously. Even though I didn’t love Rob the way a wife should love their husband, I still never would’ve cheated on him.
I'm happy he cheated. I'm happy he ran away with the woman. More than anything, I'm happy Maverick stepped into his place and showed me what it’s like to be with a real man. He’s showing my children what it’s like to have a real father.
The greatest thing Rob ever did for us was walk away.
“It’s ok, sweetheart. This will be over soon,” Maverick whispers as he rubs a soothing hand up and down my back.
“Sydney, I wanted to discuss some things before we go in.” My lawyer guides me over to the side to talk, but I’m barely listening to her. I'm too worried about how this will play out.
If Rob gets any part of my business, I'm not sure how I’ll keep it going.
I can handle our bills on what the bakery makes, but if he takes half of it I'm screwed. I won't be able to support myself and the kids, but I don’t know what else I could do either. If he gets the house, I don’t know where we’ll live.
When she’s finished talking, I don’t really know what she told me. I'm hoping Maverick was paying attention. She glances at her watch before giving me a soft smile.
“Ok, I'm going to head in and get set up. You have about fifteen minutes until we’ll start. You can take your time, but please be sitting in the court room within the next ten minutes. This judge cares about that sort of stuff.”
“We will be. Thank you,” Maverick says when I don’t move a muscle. “Hey, what’s going on? Talk to me.” He kneels down in front of me as soon as the lawyer leaves so he can meet my gaze and takes my hands in his.
“I'm scared. If he gets some of the bakery, I can't support the kids. If he gets the house, I don’t know where we’ll live,” I whisper as tears gather in my eyes.
“If he gets the house, you’ll move in with me,” he murmurs, brushing away a tear as it slips down my cheek. “I’ve already asked you to move in, Sydney. And if you can't support yourself and the kids, let me help.”
“I can't ask my boyfriend to support me and my kids.” I roll my eyes.
“What about your fiancé or husband?” He asks as a smile tips up the corner of his lips. “Could he help with those sorts of things because that’s what I want, sweetheart. I want to marry you.”