“Mmhm.”
“Lots of husbands travel for work. This is better.”
Husbands. She said it. Not me. The pretense is over, even if our timing sucks.
She realizes it, too, and she blushes like a beauty queen. My wolf is nipping and biting me inside, begging me to take some kind of action.
“Could you call Alban today? Make sure the papers arrived?”
“His cousin, Alain, was personally going to drive them to Matt. I’m so impressed with the service. And Ardy told me that my temporary order of protection is still in effect, and because Pine Ridge’s court docket isn’t typically busy, the hearing can take place next week, on the 12th. Best part? Because Ardy and Alban convinced the judge that I’m at credible risk for harm, I get to appear on a screen, not in the courtroom. He still won’t see me in person.”
I nod, even though I was there with her when we stopped by the police station yesterday, and I heard the same thing. “That’s wonderful.”
“It’s looking that way, after all,” Loretta muses, and I fall in love with the way she looks at me, like I’m a shooting star that she happened to catch. I take a risk. I bend to kiss her cheek, and her head turns, like magic.
Lips meet. Moons rise, wolves howl, blood boils—and you’d never know it. It’s a three-second kiss that leaves us both wide-eyed with surprise, and grinning like idiots as we wave goodbye.
Chapter Ten: Full Moon
“Mr. Wymark?”
“You’re my neighbor, and Jasper’s friend. Call me Alban, please.”
“All right, thank you.”Why is this place so welcoming? Why do things fall into good places so quickly?
Either this place is magical, or I’m about to have the worst “waiting for the other shoe to drop” moment in my life. And if you look at my life, that would have to be really messed up.“Alban, did your cousin have any luck with the papers?”
“Well, he delivered the petition for divorce with the option to sign an agreement of no-contest divorce. Mr. Lane didn’t sign it at that time, but that’s not uncommon. He’ll want to retain a lawyer to look over it, I’m sure,” Alban says in a calming voice.
“What if he doesn’t sign it?”
“Then we proceed. Refusing to sign like a stubborn person throwing a tantrum won’t stop this from happening. We have to wait twenty days from yesterday to proceed, which was when he was served, and Alain has the proper service notices and paperwork. At the forty-day mark, we can get you on the docket. I guess New york likes to offer a ten-day window for the unforeseen.”
“Oh. Th-that soon?”Wait, what? No, it can’t be that easy. Won’t be that easy.
“If he doesn’t sign and doesn’t follow up by asking for a hearing to determine the split of assets or custody. All yourpetition states is that you would like full custody, no visitation. You didn’t even ask for personal belongings.”
“I don’t need them. Just her,” I whisper.
I think Mr. Wymark—I mean, Alban, just sniffled. “It’s a full moon tonight, isn’t it?”
“Uhh, is it?”
“Come to dinner, I know Jasper will be busy. Harper is making lasagna.”
“Well, I...”
“I’ll pick you up and drive you home if you’re worried. And don’t worry about being worried,Iwould be worried ifIhad what you have to worry about.”
That string of word vomit makes me laugh. “Okay. But I’m eating early with Jasper. I’ll save room, though. I love lasagna.”
I LIKE THE WYMARKS. Their kids are adorable, a twin boy and girl of about three, I think. The wife, Harper, looks like the kind of woman who models for understated brands that actually cost a month’s rent, with long dark hair and gorgeous eyes. Despite this, their big home is loud, colorful, and kid-friendly.
Harper holds Ari and whispers that she has baby fever again, and she wants Alban to hold her so he can catch it.
I laugh along, watching their interactions. I hope they’re as happy as they seem. I wonder if they have cracks under the surface. I wonder if others could see the fractures between Matt and me? I never, ever would have believed I’d be the one to leave a marriage, to pick someone who was so volatile.
What if you’re being stupid again? You kissed another man today, a man who’s not your husband. You’re living with him. People are going to get the wrong idea.
