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That just left him with a big “now what?” He had no clue. If she were off mailing their divorce papers, the clock was ticking. There were only thirty or so days left in their illustrious marriage. That was what he wanted, right? He started this because he wanted his freedom.
Heath set down the chain saw and pulled a bundle of red ribbons out of his back pocket. He doubled back over the trees he’d trimmed, tying ribbons on the branches with clumsy fingers that were numb from the vibration of the saw.
He didn’t really know what he wanted or what he was doing with his life anymore. All he knew was that he wasn’t going to let Julianne run away from him this time. They were going to talk about this whether she liked it or not. It probably wouldn’t change things. It might not even get her back in his bed again. But somehow, some way, he just knew that their marriage needed to end with a big bang.
Eight
Julianne returned to an empty bunkhouse. The Porsche wasn’t in the driveway. She breathed a sigh of relief and went inside, stopping short when she saw the yellow piece of paper on the kitchen table. Picking it up, she read over the hard block letters of Heath’s penmanship.
There’s a sushi restaurant in Danbury on the square called Lotus. I have reservations there tonight at seven.
With a sigh, she dropped the note back to the table. Heath didn’t ask her to join him. He wasn’t concerned about whether or not she might have plans or even if she didn’t want to have dinner with him. It didn’t matter. This was a summons and she would be found in contempt if she didn’t show up.
Julianne knew immediately that she should not have run out on him this morning. They should have talked about it, about what it meant and what was going to happen going forward. Instead, she bailed. He was irritated with her and she didn’t blame him. That didn’t mean she appreciated having her evening dictated to her, but the idea of some good sushi was a lure. She hadn’t had any in a while. Daisy’s Diner wasn’t exactly known for their fresh sashimi.
She checked the time on her phone. It was four-thirty now and it took about forty-five minutes to drive to Danbury. She’d never been to Lotus, but she’d heard of it before. It was upscale. She would have just enough time to get ready. She hadn’t exactly gone all-out this morning to run some errands around town, so she was starting from scratch.
Julianne quickly showered and washed her hair. She blew it dry and put it up in hot rollers to set while she did her makeup and searched her closet for something to wear. For some reason, this felt like a date. Given they’d filed for divorce today, it also felt a little absurd, but she couldn’t stop herself from adding those extra special touches to her makeup. After a week surrounded by nothing but trees and dirt, the prospect of dressing up and going out was intriguing.
Except she had nothing to wear. She didn’t exactly have a lot of fancy clothes. She spent most of her time covered in mud with a ponytail. Reaching into the back of the closet, she found her all-purpose black dress. It was the simple, classic little black dress that she used for various gallery showings and events. It was knee length and fitted with a deep V-neck and three-quarter sleeves. A black satin belt wrapped around the waist, giving it a little bit of shine and luxury without being a rhinestone-covered sparklefest.
It was classic, simple and understated, and it showed off her legs. She paired it with pointy-toed patent leather heels and a silver medallion necklace that rested right in the hollow between her collarbones.
By the time she shook out the curls in her hair, relaxing them into soft waves, and applied perfume at her pulse points, it was time to leave.
She was anxious as she drove down the winding two-lane highway to Danbury. The fall evening light was nearly gone as she arrived in town. The small square was the center of college nightlife in Danbury and included several bars, restaurants and other hangouts. Lotus was at a small but upper-end location. She imagined it was where the college kids saved up to go for nice dates or where parents took them for graduation dinners and weekend visits.
Julianne parked her convertible a few spots down from Heath’s silver Porsche. He was standing outside the restaurant, paying more attention to his phone than to the people and activities going on around him.
She took her time getting out of the car so she could enjoy the view without him knowing it. He was wearing a dark gray suit with a platinum dress shirt and diamond-patterned tie of gray, black and blue. The suit fit him immaculately, stretching across his wide shoulders and tapering into his narrow waist.
Heath had a runner’s physique; slim, but hard as a rock. Touching him in that shower had been a fant
asy come true after watching those carved abs from a distance day after day. Her only regret had been the rush. Their encounter had been a mad frenzy of need and possession. There was no time for exploring and savoring the way she wanted to. And if she had any sense, there never would be. Last night was a moment of weakness, a settling of scores.
It was then that Heath looked up and saw her loitering beside the Camaro. He smiled for an instant when he saw her but quickly wiped away the expression to a polite but neutral face. It was as though he was happy to see her but didn’t want her to know. Or he kept forgetting he shouldn’t be happy to see her. Their relationship was so complicated.
Julianne approached him, keeping her own face cautiously blank. She had been summoned, after all. This was not a date. It was a reckoning. “I’m here, as requested,” she said.
Heath nodded and slipped his phone into his inner breast pocket. “So you are. I’m mildly surprised.” He reached for the door to the restaurant and held it open for her to go inside ahead of him.
She tried not to take offense. He implied she was flaky somehow. After eleven years of artfully dodging divorce, it probably looked that way from the outside. “We’ve got weeks together ahead of us, Heath. There’s no sense in starting off on the wrong foot.”
The maître d’ took their names and led them to their table. As they walked through the dark space, Heath leaned into her and whispered in her ear. “We didn’t start off on the wrong foot,” he said. The low rumble of his voice in her ear sent a shiver racing through her body. “We started off on the absolutely right foot.”
“And then we filed for divorce,” she quipped, pulling away before she got sucked into his tractor beam.
Heath chuckled, following quietly behind her. They were escorted to a leather booth in the corner opposite a large column that housed a salt water fish tank. The cylinder glowed blue in the dark room, one of three around the restaurant that seemed to hold the roof up overhead. The tanks were brimming with life, peppered with anemones, urchins, clown fish and other bright, tropical fish. They were the only lights in the restaurant aside from the individual spotlights that illuminated each table.
They settled in, placing their drink orders and coming to an agreement on the assortment of sushi pieces they’d like to share. Once that was done, there was nothing to do but face why they were here.
“You’re probably wondering what this is about,” Heath said after sipping his premium sake.
“You mean you’re not just hungry?” Julianne retorted, knowing full well that he had bigger motivations than food on his mind.
“We needed to talk about last night. I thought getting away from home and all those people,” he said with emphasis, “that you worry about seeing us together might help.”
Julianne sighed. He’d taken it personally last night when she asked to keep their encounter a secret. She could tell by the downturn of his lips when he said “those people.” He didn’t understand. “Heath, I’m not—”
