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Love affair? I blink rapidly at my own choice of words.
Do I love her?
There’s no denying that Michelle is unlike any woman I have ever known. She has a deep, instinctive kindness, a zest for life, and brains to outsmart even the cleverest genius.
Not to mention she’s the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.
I frown, my eyebrows furrowing as I wrestle with the emotion I’m feeling.
Is it love? I ask myself again.
But before I can dive any deeper into that thought, there’s a quick rap at the door to the conference room.
“Come in,” I call. There’s a hitch to my voice and Gabe throws me a look. But he knows it’s not because of our impending divorces: it’s because of the girl at home.
One of our lawyers enters, a square, sturdy older man who is known for both his discretion and his acuity with respect to matrimonial issues.
“Well gents, good news.” I sit up straighter as the older man speaks, and Gabriel stops pacing. “I have the last of the papers to sign.” He hands me a stack of papers as big as a book.
“You’re shitting me.”
“I assure you Mr. Costas, that I am not shitting you.” The jowly man smiles widely, apparently pleased with my reaction.
I chuckle at the old man, grateful that he’s not the groveling sort. “Give me a pen.”
“I would suggest you read the last two provisions before you put pen to paper.” He indicates a paragraph at the bottom of a page.
Quickly I skim through the legal jargon, familiar with the topic at hand. “Fine. I’m fine with it. Is it the same with Gabriel’s paperwork?”
“It is sir.” The lawyer hands my brother a similar mountain-high stack of papers. “This provision,” the lawyer points to a paragraph, “Mr. Costas.”
Gabriel nods eagerly. “Tom, you’re good with it?” I nod tersely. “Okay, cool. So this means we’re done?” The hope in his tone is apparent, and the lawyer grins.
“After you sign in about thirty different places, you are completely finished.”
Gabriel yanks my pen out of my hand. “I need that,” he growls. “I need this to be over and done with.”
I merely snort before shoving a box of writing utensils at him.
“There are like a hundred here.”
“No, you don’t get it buddy. I need this to be done.”
Smirking at my brother, I reach for another pen and begin my own round of signatures.
Several moments and a lot of hand cramping later, I slide my stack of papers across the oak table to the lawyer. “So are we finished?”
My lawyer eyeballs the stack.
“Yes, you are.” The older man rises and offers his hand first to me, and then to Gabriel. “Congratulations. You are now single.”
We shake hands all around, and I feel an immediate sense of relief wash over me.
Maybe it is love, I repeat to myself, a new sense of hope making my heart thud. Maybe that’s why I’m so eager to get the fuck out of here. My brother immediately seconds my thoughts, like he can hear.
“Alright, let’s roll,” Gabriel’s rasp interrupts my thoughts and I nod at him.
“Home to Michelle?”
“Home to Michelle.” He grins widely, and we both rush out of the office. It’s unseemly, but at this point, who cares? There’s only one woman who matters.
A few minutes later, settled into the limo, I turn to my brother. His expression is forbidding, as usual, but I don’t care. There’s shit that needs to be settled.
“So about Michelle.” I speak, my voice low so that only Gabriel can hear. Even though we have the privacy screen up, I still want to be discreet. He turns to me, those blue eyes intense.
“What about Michelle?” he asks in a casual voice. But I know he’s listening with every cell of his body.
“I…” I pause, trying to find the right words. “I care for her.”
Gabriel tilts his head to a side, observing me under the passing streetlights. “We both do.”
“Yeah, but brother, this goes further than that. I think I love her.” I speak this information without any embellishments, and it sounds right in the air between us. It’s true. I love her, and there are no two buts about it. At first, I think my brother’s going to guffaw, but instead, his whole face lights up with a smile.
“Well that’s pretty great, because I love her, too.”
It’s my turn to grin. “No shit. Really?”
“Yes,” Gabriel swirls the ice in his drink. “I think I’ve been falling for her for some time now, but I didn’t want to say anything until… well, until everything was taken care of.”
I nod slowly, understanding my brother’s line of thinking.
“Yeah, I feel the same way. But now that everything’s wrapped up, I want to ask Michelle to stay with us for good.”
Gabriel looks thoughtful, his face moving in and out of shadow with the various lights outside the car.
