Chapter 10 Claire
CHAPTER TEN
claire
“Too bad you didn’t want alimony,” my lawyer, Blake, grumbles under his breath before pasting on a fake smile and shaking hands with my ex-husband’s attorney. “Jameson, always a pleasure,” he drawls, and I snicker quietly when he turns to me and whispers, “and a pain in the ass.”
Jeremy glances my way, and I offer him a counterfeit smile that rivals Blake’s before we take off in opposite directions.
I clear the emotion from my throat, not because I’m sad to watch the man I thought I’d spend the rest of my life with walk away for good, but simply because my best effort wasn’t enough.
“Why do you hate that guy so much, anyway?” I ask, trying to lighten the mood. “I mean, he’s obviously a tool, but …”
Blake smirks as he leads me through the courthouse. “But Ryan Jameson is no worse than I am, right?”
“Oh, is this where I’m supposed to say you’re not like all the other lawyers?” I quip, and he snorts.
“He’s Ethan Robin’s biological father.”
“Ohhh,” I reply, thinking back to the custody battle Blake had helped his brother win just over a year ago. Of course my ex would hire the douchebag who refused to claim his own kid until there was something in it for him.
“Yeah. It’s always personal with Ryan,” Blake mumbles. There’s a twinge in my chest, a reminder that I’m alone today, without any family or real friends willing to go to bat for me or even hold a grudge on my behalf.
“Wish I’d known earlier, before I left all that pettiness on the table,” I say, making Blake laugh again. He probably thinks I’m kidding, but I’m not. Ethan’s a great kid, one of my favorite students, and I enjoy working with his foster father, JD.
“Can I walk you to your car?” he asks as he opens the door for me.
“I’m fine,” I tell him. “But thanks again for everything. You’ve made it all relatively painless.”
He shakes the hand I offer, but he doesn’t linger. “I’m sorry about the circumstances, but I’m glad I could help,” he reassures me, flashing me one of his perfect smiles before he pulls his phone from his pocket.
There’s no denying he’s a handsome man. The former playboy might have topped my list for a rebound fling, had he not settled down with another one of my coworkers a few months back.
Blake and Loren had stunned everyone by plunging headfirst into marriage and family life, not long after JD and Tenley had done the same when they eloped and secured custody of Ethan.
Wonderful as that may be, the loss of Camellia’s two most eligible bachelors has left the local dating pool as dry as a desert wasteland.
Apart from the proposition I’d received a while back from one of Jeremy’s coworkers, my prospects look pretty bleak. Not that I’m all that eager to risk another belly flop after the events of last weekend.
My eyes catch the glint off Blake’s wedding band when his thumb swipes across a lock screen photo of Loren and their twin baby girls. His smile kicks up on one side as he reads a text message, and that hollow feeling in my chest returns.
“You know, I can’t help thinking you and Lo should be friends,” he says, gesturing to his phone. “You’ve got the same sense of humor.”
“Didn’t think we had much in common,” I reply quietly, trying not to give myself away.
“You’d be surprised,” he reaffirms. “I’d better get back to work, though. Jada will let you know when all your paperwork is ready. In the meantime, you’re officially a free woman.”
I huff out an awkward laugh. “Yeah, thanks. Guess I’ve got some prowling to do.”
“Take it easy on them, Claire.”
He grins and goes back inside, leaving me amble over to my powder blue 1970s Ford Bronco. At least I managed to finish the restoration before downgrading to a single-salary household.
While I’m not usually one to fish for an invitation, I pause to send a text to my closest work friend, mostly because I can’t bring myself to go home just yet.
I’m mostly okay with living alone, but the arrival of Aunt Flo always seems to knock me down.
And with my period due any day now, I’d rather not chance a pity party tonight.
Claire
Hey, how’s it going?
Daisy
Great! I was actually just about to text you. Loren’s coming over to finalize some of the wedding plans, and I was hoping you could join us!
Lovely.
Wedding planning doesn’t top my list of ideal activities for today, but I can’t exactly back out of the offer now.
I reply that I’m on my way, attributing Daisy’s oversight to her naivety.
She’s not usually this insensitive, but I doubt she’s had much experience with divorce or even marriage, despite already having a legal husband of convenience.
Now that she and Landry Reed have decided to tie the knot for real, they’re preparing for another ceremony to validate their union in the eyes of the Catholic church.
From what I’m told, their marriage has to be blessed in order to consummate it, a concept I haven’t been able to wrap my mind around.
But maybe I’m too jaded after giving myself to the same man for so many years and never noticing a difference.
Married or unmarried, in or out of love, it was just sex.
Sometimes it was fun, sometimes it felt more like a chore, but it’s always been an essential part of a relationship.
In my experience, men prefer to have their physical needs met without the hassle of emotional intimacy, and they certainly weren’t willing to wait until marriage.
“I know you said it’s just sex, but it’s still going to mean something to me.”
I bite my lip as I’m hit with another unfortunate flashback from this past weekend, but I can’t even begin to deal with that right now.
No, I refuse to let myself think about the kind of man I let slip through my fingers or whether things might have gone differently had my divorce been finalized a week earlier.
I sniff once and square my shoulders, stuffing my emotional wreckage back inside its box and resealing the airtight lid before I drive over to Daisy’s place. It’s a good thing, too, since her sister-in-law’s minivan is parked in the driveway when I arrive.
“Okay, so we’ll have a garden party motif for the bridal shower, and then we transition to the bachelorette party theme, ‘Daisy Gets Her Garden Watered,’ ” Loren announces proudly as I walk inside.
I stifle a laugh and watch as Daisy’s cheeks pinken, thinking my super-conservative friend will shoot down the idea.
“I love it!” Daisy says with an excited squeal, and her seizure response dog and I both raise an eyebrow in surprise.
I’d expect a little spice from Loren, since she isn’t shy about her propensity for romance novels. Not to mention, she is married to Blake. But sweet, wholesome Daisy is another story. The woman’s sewing her own wedding dress for crying out loud.
“What do you think, Claire?” Daisy asks, yanking a needle through the pile of white linen in her lap. Her recently acquired SRD, Juniper, settles at the foot of the sofa, watching dutifully.
“Sounds like fun,” I fib. “Just let me know how I can help.”
“Don’t worry, my sister and I will plan everything. All you have to do is show up,” Loren reassures us, barely casting a glance my way.
I nod and force a smile, wishing I’d gone straight home after all.
I look around for a distraction and pick up a framed family photo on the side table.
A middle-aged man and woman huddle together, grinning widely as they pose among their nine adult children, judging from the resemblance.
My gaze automatically zeroes in on Daisy’s angelic smile.
But my heart begins racing as soon as I recognize the blue-eyed, blond-haired hottie with his arm slung loosely over her shoulders, especially once I spot the brown cord peeking out from beneath his collar.
“So I’ll be with Rowan?”
My head pops up when Loren speaks the name already caught in my throat.
“Who?” I blurt out like a belligerent owl.
Daisy glances my way, her brow furrowed. “My brother, Rowan? He’s Landry’s best man. They were roommates throughout college and medical school. You probably haven’t met him yet.”
My pulse throbs in my ears, and I blink down at the photo as I’m hit with one realization after another.
Holy shit …
Did I really have a failed one-night stand with Daisy’s brother?
No, it couldn’t be the same Rowan, right? I mean, what are the chances?
Besides, my Rowan wasn’t a LaFleur. He was a …
Now that I think about it, I’m not sure I got his last name. Despite everything else I learned about Rowan during the ER visit, the only surname I remember is that of his emergency contact.
“Dr. Reed … my college roommate and my closest friend … he and my baby sister kind of eloped in secret … the big church ceremony they’re planning … he wants me to be his best man, of course …”
I curse under my breath as more of the pieces fall into place.
“That’s actually how I ended up here, in Camellia,” Daisy continues when she sees the confusion etched on my face.
“Rowan’s an MFM specialist, and he looked after Lo when she was pregnant with the twins.
She mentioned needing a substitute teacher while she was on maternity leave, and he introduced us.
Then I moved into her old house, and so did Landry, and the rest is history. ”
She grins at me, but I’m too busy panicking to return the favor. Having to live with Rowan’s rejection is enough, especially after I was stupid enough to let down my walls for him. The last thing I need is Daisy and Loren finding out about the whole ordeal.
“Didn’t … didn’t you go out with him before, Loren?” I venture, setting the picture down on the table and praying the others haven’t noticed my reaction.
“Yeah, once, right before Blake and I got together,” Loren replies, shrugging. “But we’ll be fine to pose for a few pictures together at the wedding.”
I accidentally let out a squeak. Scratch that earlier thought, because actually having to confront Rowan in front of everyone is the worst form of humiliation I can imagine.
“I’ll just have to remember to avoid the peanut butter that day,” Loren adds to herself, and my stomach practically hits the floor. Then her brows lift, as if she’s just had an amazing idea. “Isn’t Dr. Athanasius still available? Claire, you’ll be back on the market soon, won’t you?”
This time I stifle a whimper, and Daisy looks distressed.
“Oh, no,” she says on a gasp, taking a step toward me. “It was today, wasn’t it? Oh, Claire, I’m such a terrible friend. I didn’t even ask you how your hearing went!”
“Nah, it was fine,” I say too quickly, bumping into the table and tipping over the photo. I catch another glimpse of Rowan and Daisy together when it takes a couple of tries to get the frame to stay propped up, and my stomach turns.
“Yeah, just glad it’s over. And thanks for letting me borrow your husband, Loren. I told him I might as well keep him on retainer for my next divorce.”
“Sure,” Loren says, narrowing her eyes at me, and my face heats.
“You know, if you want to talk about it, Lo and I both—”
“I’m good, Daze. Seriously,” I reassure her. “In fact, I’ve gotta run. I, um, I forgot to let my dogs out before I came over.”
“Oh, okay then.” The disappointment in her big, green eyes immediately triggers my guilty conscience, but I just can’t … not today.
I know I owe Rowan an apology, but I’ll never work up the courage to face him again while I’m busy struggling to put on a good front for Daisy.
“I’ll see you later. Or text me if you end up needing help with the wedding plans after all,” I say as I back out of the door without waiting for a goodbye from either of them.
And I break the seal on that box as soon as I’m back inside my Bronco, letting out an exhale that sounds more like the beginnings of a sob.