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He doesn’t need them. “I saw the timer on your computer. You’re counting down the days until you’re out of this marriage, until you get rid of me. I don’t want to shackle you to me for a day longer than you want to be. This,” he says, touching the divorce papers on the table, “is an offer to you. No strings attached. I’ll still mentor you if you want. The money is still yours, Nadine will continue to get as much press as I can throw her way.”
“You’re offering me a divorce… if I want it?”
His jaw tightens. “Yes. I’ve signed it. You can do whatever you like with it. Sign it now. Sign it in six months. But after you divorce me, I want to ask one thing.”
“Yes?”
“Will you let me take you out on a date? Properly, as you deserve. Not as equals, because you’re much better than me, but I think I can change,” he says. “It just won’t be overnight.”
I shake my head. It’s slow at first, but soon becomes so strong my hair whips at my neck.
His eyes look pained. “No? You wouldn’t go out with me afterwards.”
“No, I don’t want to divorce you. I don’t want this piece of paper.”
“You don’t?”
“No. Not at all. Victor, I… God, the stupid timer on my computer. I’d forgotten about that. I’m so sorry you saw it. It was something I had when I worked as your assistant. Because I heard you say to Tristan that you doubted I’d last a year.”
A flush creeps up his cheeks. “I don’t know how to apologize to you for all the shit I’ve pulled. I could spend a lifetime trying to make it up to you, and it wouldn’t be enough.”
I grab his hand with mine. It’s stiff beneath my fingers, but then he flips it over, fingers twining with mine. “You’re a different man now than you were back then. You’re letting me see a different side of you.”
“I can’t relate to the person I was then. To have you right under my nose and not recognize the treasure. I’m sorry, Cecilia.”
“I forgive you. You know that, right? The timer was such a silly thing. I reset it when we married, and then forgot all about it.”
“You don’t want to get rid of me?”
“No, and don’t you dare try to get rid of me either. I’m not going anywhere.”
His eyes search mine, and I look back at him, letting him see just how serious I am. A smile starts on his lips. It spreads, transforming his face. “Really?”
“Yes. Really.”
“Well, then. I like that.”
I laugh. “I like that too. But Victor… a divorce. Wouldn’t you lose the house if we’re not married for a full year?”
He nods. “Yes.”
“But it’s your grandfather’s house. It was where your father grew up, where you grew up. You couldn’t—”
“It’s just a house,” he says, and there’s steel in his tone. “It’s the past. I’m looking at my future right now.”
My tears well again. His eyes turn alarmed, the hand beneath mine tensing. “Cecilia?”
“These are happy tears. Victor. I really thought you were going to divorce me. I saw the papers yesterday.”
“You saw them?”
“I always opened your mail when I was your assistant. The envelope was from Irving and Hardmann, and I thought it might be urgent. I’m sorry.”
“Was that why you were so nervous tonight?”
“You noticed?”
“Yes. I’ve learned to read you pretty well.”
