“Stop saying his fucking name!”
“Hurts, doesn’t it?” Erin’s kneading slowed. She was reconsidering something. I could tell by her heavy sigh. “Look, Jeremy. I don’t want to use Cal like a pawn in our divorce. Don’t get me wrong, the sex with him is amazing, but what we have is so much more than that. I love him.”
“Erin, you don’t love him. This is a normal reaction to infidelity—”
“Don’t bother with your psychiatrist babble. You might’ve been able to use it to guilt me about Lila, but I’m on solid ground with Cal. I love him. I didn’t feel that way before, but now that I do, I can’t imagine how I wasn’t with him my whole life. I’m even more certain I have no feelings for you. I thought I hated you for a while, but now even that seems… almost… pointless.” Her palms worked along the counter, kneading the dough again. “I’d rather put all my feelings and energy into the people that matter in my life. Cal. Til. So many people. But you’re not on the list…”
A small smile stayed with me as I eased away, my steps silent as I headed for the shower.
Ten minutes later, Isneaked up behind Erin and wrapped my arms around her waist. My hair still damp and my face freshly shaven, I rubbed my cheek into her neck. Droplets of water beaded on her skin, but she didn’t wipe them off. Her fingers looped over my arm, absentmindedly tracing the long veins as she held the phone to her ear with her other hand.
“Well, can I get a restraining order against Jeremy or something?” She must have been on the phone with her lawyerthis time. “I don’t care what the letter said. He doesn’t come down here to visit Matilda. He’s just creating trouble.”
I kissed her neck. “Hi,” I whispered.
Erin tipped up her chin so I could see the frustration weighing in her eyes, but also the smile she had for me. “I’m sorry,” she said to the lawyer, her tone sharpening, “but if Jeremy’s making a big deal about me being in a relationship, I’d like you to write back tohislawyer reminding him why our marriage ended in the first place.”
I chuckled into her hair and pressed my lips to her temple.
“Idowant the best settlement I can get. That doesn’t mean he can push me around or that I’ll put my life on hold. Jeremy needs to understandI’min control now. Not him. So, I’m instructing you to go nuclear levels of petty—whatever that looks like for lawyers.” She held her phone away, hit the speaker button, and whispered, “I want a better kiss than that.”
I brushed my lips over hers while her lawyer’s crisp, nasal voice read Erin the riot act to “reconsider forming any attachments before filing for divorce.” That earned me the slip of Erin’s tongue, and she only pulled away from that unforgettable kiss when her lawyer barked, “I’ll draft another letter, but consider your priorities carefully if the maximum settlement is still your goal.”
“I appreciate it,” Erin said. “I’ll review the letter as soon as you send it through. Bye.” She dropped her phone on the counter and sighed. “I think my lawyer will celebrate my divorce even more than I will.”
“What set all this off?”
“Jeremy lawyered up today. It seems that my having a sexy boyfriend tipped him over the edge.”
I grinned. I liked being her sexy boyfriend a lot. “Are you worried?”
“Nope. Bring it on. It’s his money he’s wasting.” She reached up and flicked my damp hair off my forehead. “And what about you? You’re home early. All done for the day?”
“It was either that or the team was about to have me carted off to the emergency room.”
Erin’s eyebrows pinched together.
“I may have had a strong reaction,” I continued, “to a certain game of Unscramble.”
She bit down on her lip. “I saw you’d read it, but you, um… didn’t respond, so I thought…” She lifted her shoulder.
How could she still be scared of admitting her feelings to me? Even before we were an “us,” we’d been through hell and back. “I love you, Erin.”
Her thumb soothed against my scarred cheek. “I love you, too.”
If I thought those words would pack less of a punch to hear them directly from her lips, I was wrong. My dopey grin was too big for my face. My cheeks burned.
“Another thing to celebrate,” I said. “Let’s go out to dinner.”
Erin popped her hip and gave me one of her deadpan stares. “I don’t think people celebrate saying ‘I love you,’ Cal.”
“Why not? We’ll start a new tradition. Where’s Til? She needs to come.”
“She’s watching a movie in the living room.” She untied her apron, but I slipped it off her shoulders. “I’ll go get her.”
“Sounds good.” I folded the apron and was about to drop it beside the mixer on the countertop when I noticed the oversized yellow envelope parked there. “Hey, what’s this?” I tapped it with my knuckles.
Erin shrugged. “Mim left it for you.”
