Chapter 2 #2
She drummed her fingers against her steering wheel as she made the short trip into town, circling around the streets near the park until she found a spot and slid into it. She climbed from her car into the warm summer air, checking the time on her phone as she pushed herself to jog to the park.
She slowed her steps, trying to calm her breathing as she snaked through the cobblestone paths to their usual meeting spot. Chris perused his phone as he paced back and forth in front of their favorite bench.
He spun on a heel and twisted toward her as she closed the distance between them. “Hey,” he said with a grin. “I was beginning to think you’d stood me up.”
“Sorry, parking was a bear, and I had a few things to finish up at home before I left.” She shifted her weight from foot to foot as she glanced out over the green grass.
“Okay, well, you’re here now. And you said you needed to talk in person, so…let’s talk while we head to the food stand.”
“Actually, can we sit?”
Any amusement on his features disappeared, and he swallowed hard. “Okay, now you are really starting to scare me.”
“Sorry,” she said with a shake of her head as she eased onto the bench, “it’s not…it’s nothing scary or even bad. I just…there’s something you should know.”
“Okay,” he prodded as he sat next to her, his features questioning.
She flicked him a glance before she dropped her gaze to her lap again. “I need to go out of town this weekend.”
A loud laugh burst from him. “Ava, this is the bombshell you needed to drop in person? I mean, I’ll miss you, but I don’t think it deserved all this fanfare.”
“That’s not it. That’s just the warm-up.” She winced as she shot him a glance.
“Okay. You’re not going to tell me you’re leaving me for another man, are you?”
“No,” she said, letting her gaze scan her tightly clasped hands again. “But…”
She licked her lips, focusing on his dark eyes. “I was married. Not was, I am married. It’s not…we didn’t…it was a marriage of convenience. We just never got divorced. And now with us getting married, obviously I’ll need to handle that. So, I’m going to do that this weekend.”
Chris’s eyelashes fluttered as he stared at her, his features pinching. “You’re what?”
“I’m married. I’m sorry. I didn’t…intend to tell you like this. I actually didn’t intend to tell you at all but–“
The color drained from his face. “You’re married?” he said, his voice barely above a whisper before it raised. “Are you kidding me? You weren’t planning on telling me you’re married. What were you going to do? Walk down the aisle and be a bigamist?”
“No, could you keep your voice down?”
“Keep my voice down? I’m sorry, my fiancé just informed me she can’t marry me because she’s already married. I think I’m entitled to be a little upset.”
“I didn’t say I couldn’t marry you,” she answered, keeping her voice low and even. “I just…need to get a divorce first.”
“Oh, is that all?” He shook his head, annoyance etched into every line of his face. “Ava, why didn’t you tell me?”
She shrugged. “I didn’t think about it.”
“You didn’t think about it?” His voice betrayed the shock he was still experiencing. “You didn’t think about how you were married when I was sliding that ring onto your finger?”
“I didn’t…I told you,” she said, her voice raising an octave as she rambled, “we were a marriage of convenience. We got married for legal purposes, and that was it. We never were together as a couple. We just got married and went our separate ways.”
“Legal purposes? Did he kill someone?”
“No,” she said with a tilt of her head.
“Did you?”
“No! Chris, are you kidding? It was for an inheritance. That was it. We got married out of college, and we just never officially divorced even after his father died.”
Chris heaved a sigh as he rubbed his forehead. “All right. Okay. So…you’re going to take care of this. You’re going to fly to an island and get a quickie divorce or what?”
“No, I’m going to see him this weekend. We’ll work out the details, and it’ll be done.”
Chris stared ahead for a moment before his head slowly bobbed up and down. “Okay, okay. You’re going to take care of it, and it’ll be over.”
“Yes. No big deal.” She shrugged and grinned, desperate to come across as nonchalant as her words.
He heaved a sigh as she reached for his hand, leaning forward to catch his eye. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” he said, his voice a little shaky. “I’m just…a little shocked.”
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I just…hardly ever think of it. It’s a detail that doesn’t matter to me.”
He finally shifted his gaze to her. “And there’s nothing else, right? No…secret babies or…other surprises?”
“No.” She punctuated her statement with a shake of her head.
“Okay,” he said as he finally softened and slid an arm around her shoulders. “When are you leaving?”
“At three,” she said, checking her phone. “I really should get back to the house and pack.”
“Long drive? Where is this guy?”
“I’m flying. He’s in the Hamptons.”
Chris’s eyebrows furrowed at the words, but he rose as she did and leaned forward for a kiss. “Text me when you’re there, okay? When you’re settled at the hotel.”
She nodded, leaving out the fact that she’d likely stay with Alex. “I will. I’ll let you know. I’ll see you probably Monday, okay?”
“Monday?” he asked.
“A day to figure everything out, file stuff Monday,” she answered.
“Right,” he said. “Okay, yeah. Well, we’ll talk. In fact, no, I’ll go with you.”
“You have the conference this weekend,” she reminded him.
He let his head drop back between his shoulders. “That’s right. Damn it.”
“Chris, it’s fine. It’ll be fine. I’ll text you when I’m there, and see you Monday and we’ll set a date for our own wedding, okay?”
He squeezed her hand as he forced a smile onto his face that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Yeah.”
She twisted to walk away when he grabbed her elbow. “Hey, I love you.”
She offered him a tight-lipped smile. “I love you, too. This’ll all be over soon.”
With a final glance, she left him behind, racing back to her car and making the short trip home.
She tossed the rest of her clothes and toiletries into her suitcase, zipped it closed, and dragged it out.
After tossing it in the trunk, she climbed behind the wheel, fired the engine, and drove to the regional airport.
Alex’s private jet waited on the tarmac for her. With her luggage loaded, she climbed aboard, settling into the supple leather seat.
“We’ll be in the air in just a few minutes, Ms. Collins,” the captain said.
“Thanks,” she said, her stomach twisting into a knot though she wasn’t certain why.
She spent the short flight contemplating her conversation with Chris before her thoughts turned to reminiscing about her college days.
As the plane began its descent, she found herself questioning why she’d not told her fiancé far sooner.
She chided herself for not having been honest as the wheels screeched against the runway before the plane rolled to a stop.
She stepped from the plane into the warm evening air of the Hamptons. The sweet, salty smell of the sea filled her nostrils as she walked to the waiting car to be whisked to Alex’s beachfront property.
The driver dragged her suitcase inside the ultra-modern home as Alex appeared on the balcony overlooking the foyer. He grinned at her as he leaned his forearms against the railing. “Hi, Sparky.”
“Hi, Ace,” she said as he descended the stairs and pulled her into a hug–one that she thought lingered longer than it should have.
He passed the driver a bill as a staff member carried her suitcase upstairs. “It’s been too long.”
She sucked in a breath. “Yeah. Thanks for getting this done so quickly–”
“About that…” He winced as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and led her to the living room.
She crossed to the massive windows overlooking the beach and ocean, studying the rolling waves as they crashed into the sand in the growing darkness. “Yeah?”
He didn’t answer immediately.
She twisted to face him, finding him offering her an apologetic glance as he lifted a shoulder in the air. “There’s a slight problem.”
“What do you mean?” she asked, a knot forming in her stomach.
Alex hesitated, rubbing the back of his neck. “Well, I kind of have a problem at StoneCorp right now and…with the way our stock is set up…we can’t easily separate it for a clean divorce. We’re going to have to solve this issue first.”
A chill snaked down her spine despite the warmth of the room. “What? I don’t need the stock, Alex. We can–”
“Avs, I’m sorry, there’s no way we can do this.”
She pinched her eyebrows together as she tried to parse through the statement. “I’m sorry, what are you saying?”
He winced again, his eyes finally meeting hers. “I’m saying there’s no way we can get divorced right now.”
The finality in his tone, the implication of the words, it all crashed over her like a cold wave. This wasn’t just a simple legal procedure. It was a tangled mess of their past decisions, and now her future ones hung in the balance.
The words hit her like a physical slap. Her jaw flopped open as she stared at him. How could they not end their marriage? And more importantly, what was she going to do about it?