Chapter Thirteen Alex #2
I don’t answer but she can read the truth in my silence. If I could keep it a secret, I would have.
“Okay.” She takes a deep breath and nods firmly. “You don’t need Richard. I’ll handle your annulment.”
I stare at her for a second, stunned. “What?”
She straightens up and takes both of my hands in hers. “We can’t be together if you’re married to someone else and, frankly, I’d rather be involved with the process than sit on the sidelines while you try to fix your mistake.”
“What?” I should probably think of something else to say but it’s the only word I can manage.
“Annulments are tricky, but if you were drunk, we have a good case. In fact, we might even have a civil case against whoever married you while you were too intoxicated to consent. They should have their ordination stripped from them at the very least.” Her brow furrows as she works through the problem.
“How did you get married so quickly? The County Clerk’s office was closed for the weekend by the time we finished dinner. ”
“Virtual Vows,” I reply, my voice faint. She’s moving too fast for me to keep up.
“We’ll investigate them too.” She squeezes my hands until her nails dig into my skin, but I don’t think she even notices. “This never should have happened, Alex. It’s going to be a long, difficult road, but you and I will get through it together.”
“And Euan.”
Her brow furrows. “Who?”
“My husband.”
She laughs, the sound strained and disjointed. “He’s not really your husband.”
“He is until the annulment goes through.” I don’t know why I’m arguing. I just don’t want him to be forgotten in this equation. This isn’t ‘Theresa and I against the world.’ This is Euan and I trying to navigate a situation that impacts us both. If anyone doesn’t belong in the picture, it’s her.
“Well, you certainly don’t have to call him that. You can just call him Owen.”
“Euan,” I correct, slowing down the pronunciation so she hears the differences.
She takes a deep breath and finally releases me. Shallow crescents mar the back of my hands. “You’re right, I should know his name before we serve him.”
“Serve him?”
“Yes, someone will have to serve him the annulment papers to make it official. I know you came here together today but that’s not necessary. You won’t have to see him at all outside of the courtroom.”
Except for the fact that he’s staying at my apartment. “I don’t want to avoid Euan.”
She shakes her head. “You’re too nice, Alex. You don’t even have a real relationship with this man outside of a flimsy piece of paper we plan to tear up.”
But I want to have a relationship with him.
I don’t think Euan and I can have a romantic relationship—our start is tangled into too many complicated knots—but I don’t want to ignore him either.
I want to see him more often than just across the courtroom aisle.
Why can’t I be friends with my husband just because we plan to annul the marriage?
“Don’t worry,” Theresa says, placing her hand on my cheek.
I stiffen, resisting the urge to flinch away from her.
“I’ll take care of everything.”
This time, she doesn’t try to kiss me goodbye. She pats my cheek in a mix of assurance and condescension, then strides out of the conference room. If she didn’t already have another client waiting for her, I’m sure she would be heading straight to the office to start on the necessary paperwork.
I follow her at a more sedate pace, allowing the distance to grow between us. She doesn’t notice until she pauses at the other conference room door and turns to say something to me. Her lips pinch in irritation as she waits for me to catch up.
“I’ll come over tonight to discuss the details,” she promises.
I nod and pass the room without another word.
Euan is waiting for me in the lobby. His dark eyes meet mine and silently ask how it went.
“Better than I expected, worse than I hoped,” I reply out loud.
He stands up and for a moment I think he’s going to hug me. Instead, he sets his hand on my arm. “Do you want to talk about it?”
“Not right now.”
“What do you want?”
The first thing I want is the easiest to accomplish. “To get out of here.”
Euan smiles softly and without another word we walk out of Richard’s building. We return to Euan’s rental car and get in, but he doesn’t start it yet. “Your apartment?” he asks.
God, the last thing I want to do is stay cooped up in my apartment all afternoon.
I shift in my seat to look at Euan. He’s here on vacation and while I’m sure he and Nick could find quite a lot to do alone together, they must have made some other plans.
“What’s something you want to see while you’re here? A place you want to go?”
Euan chuckles and there’s a mischievous glint in his eyes. “Well, there is this sex shop …”
I can tell he means it as a joke, but he must really be interested if it’s the first thing that came to mind. I latch onto the idea and declare, “Let’s go.”
His grin fades, replaced with concern. “We don’t really have to—”
“No. I want to go. I’ve never been to a sex shop before—the back corner of a Spencer’s doesn’t count—and I want to see what all the fuss is about. It’ll be fun.” I sound more like I’m bearing down than gearing up for something exciting and I can see Euan hesitate.
“Alright, but it’s an hour drive.” He types directions into his phone and they pop up on the car’s digital screen. “We can turn around at any time if you change your mind.”
I don’t care what Theresa says about keeping my distance from Euan. I’m going to enjoy him while I have him, however long that might be.