“Please don’t think badly of her. She was thinking of me and Bella.”
“I don’t.” But Danika can’t help but think that her own mother was also thinking of Kim and Bella.
Wasanyonethinking of her?
She pushes that thought aside. She was the one who received everything. It’s only right that Kim is the one who needs the help now.
“Mum told me I should investigate, challenge the will. She’s no lawyer, but she seems to think I’d be entitled to something. How I’d go about it, I don’t know.”
“Lawyers, I guess,” Danika says. The idea of that doesn’t sit well with her. They’ll each get lawyers, who will argue and nitpick that their client is entitled to the greater share—and that greater share will then go to the lawyers. Danika’s seen that happen with the few friends who’ve gone through bitter divorces. She’s heard of six-figure legal bills.
Kim sucks her lip. “Can we work it out ourselves? Add up the money, take into account what we each put into the relationship with Chris and redivide. Draw up a contract and you pay me when you have it?”
Danika considers. It sounds too easy, too simple. Would either of them ever be happy with such a settlement? Or would there always be doubt?
“How would you know I had told you about everything?” Danika says. “What about household things, furniture, art? Both yours and mine.”
“Not much at my end.” Kim takes a bite of Tim Tam, chews, swallows. “His clothes, the gifts he gave me, some things he bought for the apartment. The apartment is in my name; it always was. I bought it before I met Chris—my gran left me some money, and I used that.”
“Chris and I bought our house together,” Danika says. “That’s why it’s in joint names—the sort of agreement where if someone dies, the survivor automatically inherits the deceased’s share. We bought it before Chris met you. But things in it…we bought together. I don’t know how to deal with that.”
Danika’s head spins. What sort of fucking mess has she started? It sounded so easy, so obvious, when her mum brought it up, when she first realised it was what she had to do. But now, her stomach is in knots, and things are suddenly so very, very complicated.
She meets Kim’s eyes. “Are you okay? Really okay? You’re so calm and rational about this. I was expecting…” She looks down at her lap for a moment. “I thought you’d be furious with me for not telling you sooner. For keeping something so important from you.” She lifts a shoulder. “It’s alotof money.”
Kim chews her lower lip. “I’m not angry. It’s a lot for you to process, so I understand you needed time to get to this point.” She sits on the stool next to Danika. “In Bright, you told me there was something you had to work though, and I told you I trusted you to tell me when the time was right. You haven’t betrayed that trust.”
“Thank you.” Danika offers a watery smile.
Kim takes Danika’s hand and cradles it between her palms. “And I should have raised the will with you earlier, but I didn’t know how to begin. I wouldn’t have at all, if it weren’t for Bella.”
Danika nods. She raises her chin. “No more secrets. Not about Chris, not about the will.”
Kim dips her head. “Agreed. I don’t think we can sort this out right now, though. I need to think, maybe talk to Mum. Maybe you need to talk to someone too. But Danika…”
Danika lifts her gaze to meet her eyes.
“I still trust you. You didn’t have to mention this, but you did. You could have protected yourself and Cami. But you’re messing with something that should be long settled, and you’re doing it for Bella and me.” She takes Danika’s hand, strokes each finger in turn. “We’ll get through this. Together.”
“Together,” Danika echoes. But despite Kim’s reassuring words, all she can see is trouble, mistrust, and doubt ahead.
For them.
Will there be a “them” after the dust settles? Or will money blow them apart as it does so many friends and couples?
“Come here.” Kim stands and holds out her arms. “It will be all right. We’ll make it okay. Our…friendship is too precious to me to lose.”
Even as Danika moves into the hug, resting her cheek on Kim’s shoulder, even as her nipples tighten in response to Kim’s closeness, she’s wondering at Kim’s choice of words. Friendship. Not relationship. Not anything, really.
Not anything more than friendship.
And now they’re testing that in the biggest way yet.
Part Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Kim
