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“I’m filing for divorce today. As soon as the lawyer’s office opens.”
“But… I thought you already did that.”
My brother and I exchange a glance. He shrugs. “I don’t think I ever said anything about it. Only that she left.”
“I know. But…” She uses the scrunchy on her wrist to pull back her long, golden locks, then wraps her arms around herself. She won’t look at me anymore, I realize.
“Talk to me. What’s going on?”
“You’re still married to that woman? I figured you were at least in the process of getting a divorce.”
“I’m sorry. I guess we both made assumptions. But I’m getting it worked out now.”
“No, I understand.” Yes, but she still won’t look at me as she quickly throws together a cup of coffee, which she then carries out of the kitchen. “I’m going to take a shower. If Lilly gets up, I’ll take care of her when I get out. I won’t be long.”
Her rapid footsteps quickly fade to silence while my brother and I stare at each other. “She’s upset,” he points out as if I didn’t know.
“No shit.” It’s not even seven-thirty in the morning, and already, I have a headache.
10
CLAIRE
It’s stupid. I know it is. Caring like I do. I haven’t even been here a week, and it’s not like anybody has made promises to anybody else. I have no reason to be this upset or feel betrayed.
And that’s the problem. I feel like he betrayed me. But he’s right—I made assumptions I shouldn’t have. Even so, he wasn’t completely honest. He’s still legally married to that woman, even if she is a complete monster, and I can’t imagine why he married her, to begin with.
Instead of jumping in the shower right away, I leave my coffee on the nightstand and stretch out face down on the bed. Last night… was it a mistake? It didn’t feel like it at the time. Things tend to look a lot different in the light of day. I can’t help but wonder what they think of me. And now, I don’t know if I can trust Nathan anymore. What else is he conveniently forgetting to tell me? Can I even trust him enough to work for him? Because, at the end of the day, that’s why I’m here. We sort of lost sight of that, I guess.
I must drift off to sleep at some point—it makes sense since I didn’t get very much last night. My sleep is troubled, full of ugly, unhappy dreams. Not quite nightmares, but nothing nice, either. By the time I hear a knock at my bedroom door, I’m damp with cold sweat, and the blankets are a mess.
“Are you okay in here?” It’s Nathan, tapping at the door again before opening it an inch. “Just checking on you. We didn’t hear the shower, and I was starting to get worried.”
A glance at my phone tells me I slept for more than an hour. It’s now closing in on nine. “I’m fine. I just fell asleep. I’m sorry if Lilly cried, and I missed it.”
“No, it’s all right. I’ve got it covered.”
“Oh. Thanks.” I sit up and run my hands through my slightly sweaty hair. I must look a mess, but I probably still look better than Nathan’s wife. She was pretty rough this morning.
“I have an appointment with my lawyer in an hour,” he explains in a low voice. “I wanted you to know that. And I want you to know that, even without this meeting, and without my name on the paperwork, for me, my marriage is over. It’s been over since the minute she walked through that door and left me and our daughter. There is not a chance in hell of us ever putting things together again—and even if there was a chance, I wouldn’t want to try. Anything I ever felt for her has turned rotten, and frankly, I wouldn’t care if I never saw her again. I wanted you to know that.”
“Thank you.” But I’m not going to let him off that easy. I’m still hurting, confused, and sad. Last night might not have happened had I known he was still married.
And what a shame that would’ve been because last night was something I don’t want to ever forget.
“I’ll take Lilly with me to the lawyer, and I was thinking about driving her over to my office to introduce her to my team. They’ve been hinting at it for weeks, wanting to meet her.”
“Are you sure? I could?—”
“You deserve a breather today. I’ve got it covered.” The hopeful, faint smile he gives me makes my chest ache. He wants so much for everything to work out.
But is that because he wants me or because he wants a nanny? Wonderful. Like I needed something else to question.
I make it a point to stay in my room until I hear Nathan leaving with Lilly. But there’s something I didn’t hear and expected to. There was no sign of Keaton leaving.
And not a minute after the sound of Nathan’s engine dies off, there’s another knock at my door. Rather than wait for me to respond, Keaton opens it and leans inside the room. “Hey. How are you doing?”
I look up from my phone, where I was mindlessly scrolling to avoid thinking about my life. “Fantastic, thanks.”
