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“Perfect. Let’s get lunch or something when I’m back in town.”
“Done.”
I hugged Amelia and headed back out onto the New York City streets. I pulled my phone out of my bag and was surprised to find a missed call from my attorney. I listened to the voicemail she’d left, which brought me to a standstill in the middle of the busy street.
I was a free woman. Martin had signed the paperwork. The divorce was final.
“Oh my God,” I said, breathing a sigh of relief.
I hadn’t considered that I was out in public and someone would likely recognize me. I was too ecstatic to be free again that I did a little twirl in the middle of the street.
And despite all the reasons not to, the first person I called was Maddox. We hadn’t spoken in years. Not since I’d driven out to Savannah for him after Gramps died. But still, I wanted to hear his voice even if I had no expectation that he’d answer.
“Josie?” he said softly on the other line.
My body relaxed at the sound of his voice. “Hey, Maddox.”
“Everything all right?”
“Fine,” I said. “Just fine actually.”
“Uh, okay. I thought …” He trailed off. “I guess it doesn’t matter. Why are you calling?”
“Right this minute, I am officially divorced.”
There was silence on the other end. Maybe he hadn’t heard me?
“Maddox, I’m a free woman.”
“Congratulations, I guess,” he said.
“It is a big congratulations.”
“I’d heard that it was happening. I wasn’t sure if you were happy.”
“Joyous. I’m nominated for an Emmy, I’m on a New York City street, and the world is my oyster.”
“You’re in New York?” he nearly choked out.
“Yep! I was getting fitted for my Emmy dress.”
Another long pause before he said, “I’m in New York.”
“Shut up,” I said before I could stop myself.
He chuckled. “Yeah, I’m working on a movie.”
I’d heard that Maddox had moved on from Pixar after winning an Oscar for an animated film and then went right into CGI, winning a second Oscar for his visual effects in a superhero film the next year. I had expected nothing less from his brilliance and was not at all jealous …
“That seems fitting.”
“Look, I’m here until late, but … do you want to get a drink later to celebrate?”
My insides twisted with excitement. “I would love that.”
“I’ll text you when I’m done.”
“Sounds good.”
I said my good-byes and hung up. I had the rest of the day in New York City before I saw Maddox, and I knew exactly what I needed to do—shop.
It was nearly midnight when I stepped into Club 360, the rooftop bar on top of Percy Tower. I was staying at the hotel, and Maddox had agreed to meet me there. It was a random Thursday night in July, but still, the place was packed. I was glad that I’d called ahead to arrange a VIP booth. Maddox hated this many people on a good day.
I followed a bouncer to my booth and ordered drinks when Maddox showed up.
“You got a booth,” he said with surprise.
“I didn’t think you’d be okay with this many people.”
“That is … correct.”
I stood, and he pulled me into a hug. I hadn’t seen him in years. His hair was cut ridiculously short, even for him. No sign of his curls at all. He was in a plain gray T-shirt and jeans, and still, he was the most handsome person in the room.
“God, I missed you,” he breathed against my hair.
“Same.”
I didn’t want to let him go. I wanted to live in this moment forever with his arms around me and his face in my hair and the world disappearing. But I couldn’t do that. I might be divorced, but I was far from ready to jump back into anything. Even if Maddox wanted that, which I had many, many doubts about.
Finally, I stepped back, and he took the seat opposite me. Our drinks came a minute later. I’d gotten him a beer, which he accepted, while I had a sidecar. I’d felt nostalgic as I ordered it.
Maddox held his drink aloft. “To your divorce.”
I clinked my glass against his sweating beer bottle. “To freedom.”
We each took a sip and leaned back in our seats. It wasn’t uncomfortable to be here with him despite the years apart. It never had been with Maddox. Even when he used to go nonverbal at my approach as kids, it had still been easy.
“So, what’s next?”
We chatted about mindless things for an hour. Just two friends catching up. He told me about his work on his current movie. I told him that I was grateful for the break in filming for Academy. He mentioned a new visual effects setup that he was working on, but he felt he was still years away from being able to implement.
We talked about everything, except us and our relationships.
