He cringes. “I’m sorry. I am grateful for your help, and I wish you the best. But I can’t stay here.”
“Where are you going?” I ask, not even bothering to hide the desperation in my voice. Because even though he’s shattering thatsense of safety I felt earlier, I can’t help but worry about his well-being. And I probably deserve this, if I’m being honest with myself.
“Home,” he replies, as if I should have known the answer.
“Okay, but how?” I wrap the sheet around myself and follow him to the door.
“I’m okay to drive, I promise,” he says, softening his tone. Then he reaches out to pull me in and places a kiss over my forehead. “Goodbye, Claire,” he whispers before he lets me go and slips out the door.
CHAPTER TEN
claire
“Too bad youdidn’t want alimony,” my lawyer, Blake, grumbles under his breath before pasting on a fake smile and shaking hands with my ex-husband’s attorney. “Jameson, always a pleasure,” he drawls, and I snicker quietly when he turns to me and whispers, “and a pain in the ass.”
Jeremy glances my way, and I offer him a counterfeit smile that rivals Blake’s before we take off in opposite directions. I clear the emotion from my throat, not because I’m sad to watch the man I thought I’d spend the rest of my life with walk away for good, but simply because my best effort wasn’t enough.
“Why do you hate that guy so much, anyway?” I ask, trying to lighten the mood. “I mean, he’s obviously a tool, but …”
Blake smirks as he leads me through the courthouse. “But Ryan Jameson is no worse than I am, right?”
“Oh, is this where I’m supposed to say you’re not like all the other lawyers?” I quip, and he snorts.
“He’s Ethan Robin’s biological father.”
“Ohhh,” I reply, thinking back to the custody battle Blake had helped his brother win just over a year ago. Of course my ex would hire the douchebag who refused to claim his own kid until there was something in it for him.
“Yeah. It’s always personal with Ryan,” Blake mumbles. There’s a twinge in my chest, a reminder that I’m alone today, without any family or real friends willing to go to bat for me or even hold a grudge on my behalf.
“Wish I’d known earlier, before I left all that pettiness on the table,” I say, making Blake laugh again. He probably thinks I’m kidding, but I’m not. Ethan’s a great kid, one of my favorite students, and I enjoy working with his foster father, JD.
“Can I walk you to your car?” he asks as he opens the door for me.
“I’m fine,” I tell him. “But thanks again for everything. You’ve made it all relatively painless.”
He shakes the hand I offer, but he doesn’t linger. “I’m sorry about the circumstances, but I’m glad I could help,” he reassures me, flashing me one of his perfect smiles before he pulls his phone from his pocket.
There’s no denying he’s a handsome man. The former playboy might have topped my list for a rebound fling, had he not settled down with another one of my coworkers a few months back. Blake and Loren had stunned everyone by plunging headfirst into marriage and family life, not long after JD and Tenley had done the same when they eloped and secured custody of Ethan. Wonderful as that may be, the loss of Camellia’s two most eligible bachelors has left the local dating pool as dry as a desert wasteland.
Apart from the proposition I’d received a while back from one of Jeremy’s coworkers, my prospects look pretty bleak. Not that I’m all that eager to risk another belly flop after the events of last weekend.
My eyes catch the glint off Blake’s wedding band when his thumb swipes across a lock screen photo of Loren and their twin baby girls. His smile kicks up on one side as he reads a text message, and that hollow feeling in my chest returns.
“You know, I can’t help thinking you and Lo should be friends,” he says, gesturing to his phone. “You’ve got the same sense of humor.”
“Didn’t think we had much in common,” I reply quietly, trying not to give myself away.
“You’d be surprised,” he reaffirms. “I’dbetter get back to work, though. Jada will let you know when all your paperwork is ready. In the meantime, you’re officially a free woman.”
I huff out an awkward laugh. “Yeah, thanks. Guess I’ve got some prowling to do.”
“Take it easy on them, Claire.”
He grins and goes back inside, leaving me amble over to my powder blue 1970s Ford Bronco. At least I managed to finish the restoration before downgrading to a single-salary household.
While I’m not usually one to fish for an invitation, I pause to send a text to my closest work friend, mostly because I can’t bring myself to go home just yet. I’m mostly okay with living alone, but the arrival of Aunt Flo always seems to knock me down. And with my period due any day now, I’d rather not chance a pity party tonight.
Claire
