Lucasand I were on my couch enjoying a lazy Saturday night. At the last minute, Marc’s mother asked me if she could switch weekends. We really didn’t have any solid plans so, although it seemed sort of fishy, I gave in without a problem.
There was a loud bang at the door, sounding like someone trying to break in. I shot up to check, but Lucas stopped me and jetted to the door to look through the peephole.
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.” He shook his head, and my stomach sank.
“What? Who’s at the door?” Lucas moved aside so I could take a look.
Marc. Trying to use his key. Robyn was right on the money when it came to douchebag husbands deciding to come back home because they felt like it.
“Seriously?” This explained why his mother wanted Bella tonight. Marc probably told her we needed to talk alone. But we were sonotalone. There was a third person in this situation, and I had a bad feeling tonight would not end well.
I opened the door—and found the husband I hadn’t seen or really spoken to in an entire year. He looked exactly the same, although I could swear his black hair was starting to recede a little bit and he looked a little heavier than when he left. He had to be living the ultimate bachelor’s life in Michigan. The one thing I didn’t see on him was an attitude. He gave me a shy smile. Did he really come here thinking we would reconcile? He was about to find out that was not happening. Ever.
“Can I help you?”
“Something’s wrong with the lock, babe. My key doesn’t work.”
Babe?Oh,hellno.
Lucas was standing behind the door but pushed it open. I could tell he was agitated by Marc coming here, and hearing Marc speak to me like we were still a happily married couple infuriated him.
“That’s because when you left a year ago—she changed the locks,babe,” Lucas answered for me through gritted teeth. The only time I’d ever seen Lucas this tense was in the deli when we ran into Carmine. Lucas was holding onto the doorknob so tightly his knuckles turned white. I was afraid my normally cool and level-headed boyfriend was about to commit murder.
Marc smirked at him. “I see pretty boy is still around. Congrats on being part of his little harem.” He shook his head and laughed. Maybe Lucas wasn’t who I had to worry about; I’d strangle the son of a bitch myself.
“Yes, and he’s not going anywhere, so I’m not sure why you’re here. I told you when the job in Chicago was over, you don’t live here anymore. Unless you have the signed papers in your pocket to hand over, you can leave.”
“Look, Samantha.” Marc walked in past the both of us. I looked over at Lucas and shook my head. His jaw was shut tight, and he didn’t take his eyes off Marc.
“We both said some things we’re sorry for, and you’ve had time to get this,” he motioned back and forth between Lucas and me, “out of your system. So, I’m ready to come home.”
I thought my head would explode.Ready to come home? Get Lucas out of my system?Then, it hit me. This was going to be the only time I may be able to really talk him into signing. We’d been separated long enough that Robyn was able to draw up divorce papers. I had my own copy he could sign tonight. Did I think I could actually reason with him? I wasn’t sure, but there was also a lot I still felt I needed to say to Marc. If he still wouldn’t sign the papers, Robyn had other plans. It was worth a try.
The hard part was asking Lucas to leave so I could talk to Marc alone.
While Marc made himself right at home again, sitting on the couch and flipping channels like he never left, I pulled Lucas into the kitchen.
“You stay in here.” Lucas kept his eyes on Marc as he spoke to me. “I’ll deal with throwing that asshole out. That arrogant fucker thinks he can come back here like it’s nothing. You’re with me now, and if I have to bash it into his skull, he’ll realize that tonight.”
I took a deep breath. Lucas wasn’t going to take this well at all.
“Lucas, I need you to stay calm. I’m going to talk to Marc—and I’m asking you to let me speak to him alone. Maybe I can get him to sign the papers tonight if I can make him see that it’s really over.”
“What?You can’t be fucking serious! He’s had the papers for months and didn’t sign them. You think you can magically convince him tonight? How?”
“In his stupid little head, he thought it was me having a tantrum, and I wasn’t serious. Now, I have the chance to tell him exactlywhyhe got served with those papers.”
“Fine, I don’t think you’re going to get anywhere, but I’ll go in the bedroom.” Lucas shrugged and turned away. I grabbed his arm, silently praying he wouldn’t flip out.
“If you’re here, I know you, you’ll make sure you can hear the entire conversation, and it’ll turn into a pissing match between the two of you. You can’t be in the house when we talk. Please, babe, I’m asking you to trust me.” I reached for his hand, and he yanked it away.
Lucas ran his fingers through his hair, looked up at the ceiling and with an angry laugh.
“Right. That’s why you need me to leave. I knew this would happen. He’d come back at some point and make you listen to his bullshit. I love you so much it fucking tears me up inside, but you were never really mine, were you?” I thought his voice might’ve cracked at the end. My marriage to Marc was Lucas’s Achilles heel, his weakness. I knew that, but I hadn’t understood the magnitude of it until that point.
“Lucas, I love you too, so much. You know that. I’m trying to make this easier for us. Robyn’s trying to go around him, but it’s much harder and takes longer. This is the quickest way to get what we want. If it doesn’t work, then it doesn’t work. We’ll wait out the other option. I know you’re angry and hurt and frustrated as hell right now, but this has nothing to do with buying into Marc’s bullshit. This is about a fresh start. For us.”
Lucas didn’t look convinced. “Go talk to your husband. I’ll leave so you can be alone. Work out whatever you need to.” I had never heard Lucas sound so cold before. I grabbed his hand.
