Chapter 3
Maven
The digital clock hanging near the clerk’s counter ticked away, my foot tapping a quick rhythm on the tile floor to rid my body of the nervous energy flowing through me.
We had one chance at this, and Ben wasn’t even here yet.
Which, honestly, wasn’t like him. He was as dependable as inflation.
I straightened the stack of papers on my lap again, mindlessly spinning the thirty-dollar fake engagement ring I’d bought at a local department store on my way to the courthouse.
It was definitely a half size too big, but it was the only one that looked remotely genuine.
A movement in the doorway sent my gaze to Ben.
Without warning, my heart took off at a reckless speed.
The subtle differences in his appearance I’d noticed last night were far less subtle in the daylight.
He wore his dark brown hair longer, replacing the neatly cropped style with a fuller, can-I-please-run-my-fingers-through-it look.
He still had his I-haven’t-shaved-for-two-days stubble, but it now covered a jawline that had transitioned from young-man status to pure-man status.
An upgrade the rest of him had clearly undergone as well.
Everything seemed broader or thicker or sharper, and I… I needed to breathe.
And I needed to stop staring.
“Ben!” I lifted a hand before he had to search me out among the dozen others waiting.
His warm brown eyes locked on me, and he gave a small lift of his chin in acknowledgment.
“Sorry I’m a few minutes late.” He dropped into the seat next to me, smelling way too divine for a courtroom appearance.
Though it was likely unintentional, being that his outfit comprised worn jeans, brown work boots, and a flannel shirt rolled at the sleeves.
At least he’d tucked it in. “My meeting ran longer than expected. I would have called, but I don’t have your new number. ”
“It’s fine.” I’d decided on the drive here that I wanted to keep our communication as friendly, but focused, as possible. We didn’t need to let old feelings surface—the bad ones or the good ones. “I have all the paperwork filled out, and there’s a tab marking each spot you need to sign.”
His gaze paused on my ring when I passed him the stack, and a twinge of guilt shot through me. It was for the best. And only temporary. Besides, it could have been a real ring—and even bigger than this one—had I accepted Colin’s proposal.
“When’s the big day?” Ben asked, not even pretending he hadn’t noticed the square cubic zirconium set on a gold band.
I resisted the urge to clear my throat—it was a telltale sign I was being less than truthful, and he knew it. “We haven’t decided yet. Pen?”
He accepted my offering, his gaze meeting mine. “I’m happy for you.” Surprisingly, he sounded sincere.
“Thanks.” I gave the only smile I could muster. Friendly but focused. “While you’re signing, I’m going to speak with the clerk.”
Without waiting for his response, I headed to the counter.
When a woman returned to her seat, I filled her spot at the window before the clerk could call the next number. “My number was called a few minutes ago.” I showed her the ticket. “But my…” Ex-husband? Husband? “Well, I was waiting for someone.”
The clerk wore her dark hair in a high ponytail that pulled at the corners of her eyebrows in a way that looked slightly painful. More so when she gave an obligatory smile. “How can I help you?”
I leaned toward the glass that separated the court clerk from me. I hadn’t realized they’d take such precautions outside of big cities, but I supposed there were crazies in smaller cities too. “I actually called yesterday on my way here from New York about meeting with a judge.”
Recognition dawned on her features. “Yes, I remember. I was the one speaking with you.”
Shoot, I’d picked the wrong line. “Oh, hey. What are the odds?”
She glanced at her coworkers. “One in three.”
I gave a laugh that sounded as fake as it felt. “Yeah, well… since you probably recall the whole situation, I’ll spare you the sob story. I know you said there was no way to get on the judge’s schedule today, but I’d hoped that had changed. Maybe there was a cancellation or something?”
To my surprise, she didn’t just say no. Instead, she glanced at her screen and clicked the mouse a few times. “I’m sorry, she is booked solid all day.”
“What about tomorrow?”
More clicking before she shook her head. “Unfortunately, the soonest I can get you an appointment is… September twenty-first.”
Two days before I was supposed to fly to Europe? That would definitely not work. “I don’t need an appointment. I just want to speak with the judge for a minute. Five max. It seems silly to wait until the twenty-first for such a brief chat.”
The woman released a slow breath, like her patience for me was running thin. “I’m so sorry. Even brief chats need appointments.”
I strummed my fingers on the counter. There had to be another way. “What if I explain the whole situation in a letter? Could you give it to her? Today? With our file?”
Her long, black ponytail swayed behind her as she shook her head. “I’m sorry. I understand you’re in an… unusual situation, but there are loads of active case files on the docket. I can, however, put you down for a hearing on the twenty-first of September.”
I glanced at her name tag. “Renee, have you ever had something you were looking forward to? Something you’d worked hard for? And when it was almost within your reach, things started to go wrong—like, literally everything—making it unreachable?”
Renee’s gaze softened.
I lowered my voice, making sure Ben wouldn’t overhear me. “I’m so close to an opportunity I’ve worked toward for years, but it likely won’t happen if I can’t speak with the judge. Today.”
Her eyes were full of sympathy, but she gave a slow shake of her head. “Honestly, I wish I could help, but I don’t have the ability to add anything to the judge’s schedule once it’s full.”
I dropped my head into the palms of my hands.
“What’s the matter?” Ben asked, stepping to my side. He set the stack of papers on the counter next to where my elbow was currently propped.
I blew out a breath and faced him. “The judge can’t see us without an appointment, and the next one isn’t for another three and a half weeks.”
“There’s no way to get on the calendar sooner?” Ben asked Renee, whose eyes seemed to have glued themselves to him.
She shook her head, looking even more regretful that she couldn’t magically add in an appointment. “I could put you on a waiting list in case there’s a cancellation.”
“Is there a way to send her a note? I know she’d be disappointed to find out Maven came all this way and she didn’t get to speak with her.”
Renee’s brows lifted. “You two know the judge?”
Ben’s elbow to my arm had me nodding my head along with him.
“Why didn’t you just say that?” She grabbed a blank piece of paper and slid it beneath the glass, looking relieved she’d been able to help him. “Go ahead and write a note, and I’ll see it’s delivered.”
Ben took the paper and jotted down something I couldn’t make out before he folded it and slid it back to Renee.
Renee walked to a desk where a young man sat. She said something to him, gestured to us, then handed him the note. He stood immediately and headed toward the door.
“Is there anything else I can help you with?” she asked, her gaze settling on Ben.
“You’re done signing?” I asked him.
He nodded.
I flipped through the forms, just to double-check all the signatures. We needed no other setbacks. “We’d like to file these.”
She accepted the stack and began sifting through them as well, pulling some out and turning them over.
“I’ll just need a copy of both of your driver’s licenses or another form of government ID.
” Her gaze roved over each paper to ensure all the information and signatures were there.
“And a check or card for the filing fee.”
I slid my driver’s license to Renee, along with the check I’d already filled out.
Ben’s gaze paused on me briefly. “I’m the plaintiff. Shouldn’t I pay the fee?”
“You paid it last time.”
He pulled out his wallet and set both his license and his credit card atop mine, then returned my check to me. “You can grab the tab on the next round.”
I rolled my eyes.
Renee, however, bit back her smile, her fluttering eyes fixed on Ben in a way that made my insides squeeze. How unprofessional. The man wasn’t even divorced yet!
“Fine.” I casually tapped the desk to pull her attention back to the matter at hand.
Renee ran Ben’s card, then placed both of our licenses through a small scanner while she waited for the payment to process.
“I’ll get everything recorded,” she said, returning our cards and having Ben sign the receipt.
“If the two of you want to take a seat, we’ll let you know when we hear from the judge. ”
Ben nodded, offering a small smile. “Thanks.”
Overlooking how the woman’s gaze lingered on Ben, I found a seat and waited for Ben to take the one next to me. “The judge will be disappointed if she doesn’t see me?” I questioned.
The corners of his mouth twitched. “Absolutely.”
I leveled him with a look. “They’re going to figure out pretty quickly that I don’t know her,” I whispered. “And then what are we supposed to do?”
“Oh, you know her.” I didn’t like the way his lips were pulling into a full-blown smile. “Judge Rost.” He said the last name slowly, waiting for me to make the connection. “The wife of your favorite teacher, Mr. Rost.”
I lifted a hand to cover my gaping mouth. “She’s a judge? I thought she was an attorney.”
“She was sworn in last year.”
I leaned back in my seat, my head spinning through my encounters with her. None of them had been good. “Why didn’t you say anything? You know she hates me.”
“You pulled a few harmless pranks on her husband, but that was years ago. I doubt she even remembers most of them.”
I shifted toward him in my seat. “She threatened to press trespassing charges when she caught me releasing those bags of feeder fish into their pool.”
“Probably because you dechlorinated the water.”
It had actually been because the Rosts had long suspected my part in the sporadic rearranging of Mr. Rost’s collection of garden gnomes around their yard. A tradition that had spanned years. “I didn’t want the fish to die.”
“They were feeder fish. It’s their lot in life.” When I didn’t respond, he gave a small smile. “At least she never suspected you were the one who borrowed their chickens for my class’s senior prank.”
“Me? I was just the getaway driver.”
Ben lowered his brow accusingly. “If that’s what you have to tell yourself to sleep at night.”
It was easy fighting off my smile when I thought about the forthcoming conversation with Judge Rost.
Even if she did agree to meet with us, there was no way it was going to go well.
But it had to.
“Excuse me.” The same young man who had delivered our note stopped in front of us. “Judge Rost is taking a short recess and said she’ll speak with you in her office. If you’ll both please follow me.”
Unable to help myself, I sent Ben a panicked glance.
Ben stood up and waited for me to do likewise, allowing me to go first. As I passed him, he stepped up behind me and leaned in, my senses tingling at his nearness. “Don’t look so worried. What’s the worst that can happen?”
I glanced over my shoulder, my eyes narrowing on his widening smirk. “We leave here still married.”