Chapter 10 #3
“What the hell have you done, Laura?” Her husband Justin’s angry voice startled her.
She hadn’t heard from him since the ugly night several weeks earlier when she’d confronted him about their divergent definitions of marriage and thrown him out of their apartment.
“You filed for divorce? Are you out of your freaking mind?”
Laura forced herself to remain calm. “What would you expect me to do?”
“Have you given any thought to how this will look to people? We haven’t even been married for four months!”
“And whose fault is that? Were you thinking of how it would look to people when you made a date with one of my friends—after we were married?”
“I told you that was a mistake. Nothing happened. I haven’t been unfaithful to you. I don’t know how many ways I can say that.”
“You were unfaithful the minute you made that date and showed up to keep it.”
“You’re being ridiculous. Meet me at the apartment tonight, and we’ll talk it through.”
“That’s going to be impossible for two reasons—one, I’m not in Providence, and two, we no longer live in the apartment.”
“What’re you talking about? This is just a bump in the road. Of course we live there.”
Laura hated the way her hands shook and her heart raced. Not trusting her legs, she lowered herself to the stairs that led to the second-floor guestrooms. “No, we don’t. I cleaned out the apartment and returned the keys to the landlord two days ago.”
“You did what? Where’s all our stuff?”
“Our stuff, the wedding gifts we hadn’t even opened before you started dating again, were returned. Your stuff will be delivered to your mother’s house on Tuesday, and my stuff is with me.”
“You sent it to my mother,” he said, his voice flat and cold. “Fabulous. That’s just great, Laura. And what am I supposed to tell her when everything I own lands on her doorstep?”
“You can tell her the same thing I was forced to tell my father when I informed him that my marriage is already over.”
“You told your father?” Justin asked, his voice shrill and nearly hysterical. He’d spent years sucking up to her father, the judge, and was no doubt sorry to see all that hard work be for naught.
“He’s extremely disappointed in you, but shockingly, he wasn’t as surprised as I’d expected him to be. I guess he saw your true colors before I did.”
“You’re making a huge mistake, Laura.” Now he sounded seriously pissed, and Laura was relieved to have a good chunk of ocean between them.
“I made a far bigger mistake in May.”
“If you think I’m going to support you—”
“I want nothing from you.”
“This isn’t over. I won’t sign these papers. Not now or ever. I’m not interested in being divorced.”
“You weren’t all that interested in being married, either.”
“That’s not true. You’re being hysterical, but once you come to your senses—”
Laura had heard enough. She pressed End and clutched the phone in her trembling hand.
“Everything okay, Princess?”
Owen’s soft voice cut through her shock and dismay. She looked up at him and shook her head, mortified to realize tears were rolling down her cheeks.
He sat next to her on the step and put his arm around her.
It was most natural thing in the world to rest her head on his shoulder.
“I take it the divorce news didn’t go over very well.”
She wiped the tears from her face. “He said he won’t sign the papers. Not now or ever.” The phone rang again, and Justin’s name appeared on the screen.
“Once it sinks in that you’re not coming back, he’ll sign.”
Ignoring that call and the one that followed, Laura said, “I don’t think he will. He’s an up-and-coming lawyer, and I’m starting to realize he valued his association with my father more than he ever valued me. He liked telling people that Judge Frank McCarthy is his father-in-law.”
“Surely your father won’t have anything further to do with him.”
“Oh, he won’t, but that won’t stop Justin from taking full advantage of the family connection for as long as he can.” She released a deep sigh. “I can’t believe I was such a fool. He was always so smooth and full of ambition. I saw what I wanted to see and ignored the rest.”
“Don’t beat yourself up because you loved the guy, Laura. None of this is your fault. You know that.”
She shrugged. “I guess.”
“Hey, what do you say we leave this here,” he said, prying the phone from her hand, “and go get some dinner? Anything you want. My treat.”
“Don’t you have to play at the Tiki Bar tonight?”
“Not until nine. I’ve got plenty of time.”
“That would be nice. Thank you.”
“Sure thing.”
“I’m sorry to inflict my problems on you. I hope you don’t feel like you have to babysit me.”
“You haven’t inflicted anything on me, and babysitting you is fun.
” He flashed an irrepressible grin that drew a reluctant smile from her.
That grin was hard to resist. “You’ve got enough on your mind right now.
Don’t worry about me.” He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and looked at her wistfully, as if he had feelings for her that he was trying hard to keep hidden.
Was that possible? Before she could process the discovery, his usual lighthearted expression was back in place. “Shall we?”
She took the hand he offered and let him help her up. “By all means.”