I snorted. "No."
"Ah." She pointed at me. "That was immediate. Not ugly. Noted."
"He's good," I said, and the words came out before I could make them less pathetic.
Chloe's teasing expression shifted.
I looked down at my hands. "He's really good, Chlo. He built steps so I could reach things. He notices when I'm scared and doesn't make me feel stupid for it. He..." I stopped myself before I said too much and melted into a puddle on the kitchen floor. "I like him."
The delay gave Chloe a second too long to stare at me.
"Oh, Maisie," she said softly.
"Don't use that voice."
"What voice?"
"The voice where you're happy and terrified at the same time."
"That's just my voice now. You moved to another planet."
"Fair."
She glanced away from the holo, and when she looked back, the teasing was gone. "I have to tell you something."
My stomach dropped. "It’s James," I said. It wasn’t a question.
"Yeah." She winced. "James."
Of course.
I rubbed my forehead. "What did he do?"
"I did some asking around. Quietly," she added when I opened my mouth. "Very quietly. Through Devon. You remember Devon? He worked reception at Kerrin & Holt for like three minutes and somehow still knows everyone?"
"Unfortunately, yes."
"Well, Devon says James didn't just throw a rich-boy tantrum after you left. He lawyered up hard. The breach-of-promise thing isn't just him being dramatic. He has an entire suite of lawyers working on it."
My fingers went cold around the mug.
Chloe kept talking, faster now, like if she got it out quickly enough it would be less awful. "They’re corporate contract guys. The expensive kind. They file everywhere, bury people in forms, and keep going until the other side gives up. Devon said something about an off-world agency network. I didn't understand half of it, but it sounded bad."
"I know," I said.
She blinked. The image froze for half a second, then caught up. "You do?"
"It's already here. He sent a bounty hunter to try and bring me home and now there’s some auditor coming."
Chloe went very still. The lag made it worse. I could see the moment the words reached her.
"Maisie."
"I know."
"No, I don't think you do." She leaned closer, and her image fuzzed at the edges. "What’s an auditor going to do?”
I shrugged. "Decide if the marriage is valid. Decide if I get to stay."
