“Think about it, okay? Maybe being married to a doctor will make them take you seriously.”
“Yeah. I’ll think about it.”
Mel stood there, watching him from the hallway. As much as she wanted to blame the alcohol for his mood, she knew there was more than a thread of truth to everything he said. After a moment, she turned and went into her bedroom. She took a fast shower, put on some pajama shorts and a tank top, and climbed into bed. It was still early, but she couldn’t handle the tension between her and Noah, just as she couldn’t stand her own inner confusion. What had she been thinking, offering marriage as a way to help Noah keep Connor? When he had thrust them into their fake engagement, she had been uncomfortable to say the least, but willing to do what she needed to do, to help him with his son. At the time, just a few short weeks ago, her walls had been firmly in place and Noah had been clearly in the friend zone. Now, those walls were crumbling, and the lines were beyond blurred. Adding marriage to the mix, even a marriage of convenience, would surely only make that worse, yet Mel knew that just as she had offered to take Connor in that day at the hospital, she would do whatever it took to help Noah.Except this time, helping him might destroy me… or, it could be everything I’ve never let myself dream of?As she lay in bed, thinking about Noah, Connor, and their future, for the first time Mel truly let her heart open to the idea of spending a lifetime with them. It was terrifying, and the next morning her walls were back in place, but she had to admit, something was different. Those walls weren’t as strong as they once were.
Chapter 16
After a fitful night, tossing and turning, Noah stumbled into the kitchen at some ungodly hour the next morning, with only one thing on his mind. Coffee. Well, maybe two, coffee and marriage. He was still thrown by Mel’s offer to marry him, and any hope that sleep would help clarify things for him was dashed when he finally got up, accepting the fact that sleep was just not going to happen. True, marrying Mel would give him what he always wanted—a wife and family—but did that even matter if his wife didn’t love him? How could he make her do that, tie herself down, when, ever since he had first met Mel, she had made it abundantly clear to everyone around her that she would never enter a committed relationship again? Even if their marriage was just for show, he still couldn’t fathom the guilt he would feel over forcing her into something that went against everything she had ever claimed to believe. And how could he put himself through that torture. Saying ‘I do’ to the one woman he truly wanted to spend the rest of his life with might sound like a dream come true, but he knew the truth. It would simply be another in a long line of mistakes he had made with Mel, starting with the fake engagement. The fact that their friendship was on the rocks, that the ease and comfort they once had with each other was likely gone forever, that was his fault. Marrying her could only make things worse.
He took his cup of coffee back into his bedroom, along with a bottle for Connor, and tried to force thoughts of Mel and marriage out of his head as he began to prepare for what lay ahead. A meeting with a custody lawyer wasn’t something he had ever imagined having to do, but this was his unfortunate reality. This morning he had to drop off Connor with his mother and drive downtown, to meet with someone who would hopefully have a plan for how he could prove himself a worthy father to his son, without Mel by his side.
Two hours later, Noah was fully caffeinated, but no closer to having a solution to the battle ahead. He sat across from Carla Smythe, the high-priced attorney who had a sympathetic look in her eyes, and realized that despite the fact that she claimed to be on his side, even she couldn’t guarantee his success in fighting a custody suit.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Carlisle, but they do have a legitimate case. Now, what you’ve shown me in terms of your financial situation and the fact that you have secured a home for you and your son, that will help. A judge will undoubtedly mark that in your favor. But if you end up with someone who is firm in their beliefs that a child needs two parents, then your son’s maternal grandparents have a shot at winning this. And unfortunately, there are some judges in this state that do hold that notion.”
Carla folded her hands on her desk in front of him and fixed him with a direct stare.
“Your relationship with Doctor Haynes is a mark in your favor, but given the timing of your engagement, being so close to Connor’s birth, again those traditionalist judges may have something to say.”
Noah winced at her words. Was lying to a lawyer a crime? He couldn’t bring himself to admit to Carla that in fact, that conveniently timed engagement was a lie. If that ever came to light, he knew he could kiss his role as Connor’s father goodbye.
“Carla, I know this whole situation is just insane, but I can’t lose my son. Is there anything I can do to help my case?”
She looked at him closely, then, seeming to choose her words carefully, Carla responded, “At the risk of overstepping, may I ask you a question?”
Noah nodded. “Of course.”
“You’re newly engaged, have you started any wedding plans?”
Noah was confused by this apparent shift in conversation. “No, why?”
Again, Carla was silent for a moment before she replied. “Because, a married couple, even newlyweds, would have more impact than an engaged couple. In cases like this, where grandparents are fighting for custody without a legitimate reason, every little bit can help. I hate to admit that I have seen cases go the opposite of what I wanted for my clients because of seemingly minor details such as this. As I said, here in Oregon we have some judges who are open-minded and some who are not.”
Noah thought about Callie. Her father was a former circuit court judge, and if ever there was a man who was a closed-minded traditionalist, it was Phillip Scott. He tried to think how Callie’s father would respond to Noah’s situation and shuddered. Guaranteed, Phillip would side with Gigi’s parents.
“If a judge wants two parents, then I’ll have to show them that Connor will have two parents. Mel and I will move up our wedding right away.”
Carla smiled. “I’m so glad you’ve got someone who loves you and Connor by your side through all this, Noah. Custody battles are not fun, especially when they are as unfounded as this one is, in my opinion at least. I’m certain that if we present our case, with you married to Doctor Haynes and about to move into your home, along with your financial stability and support network, we can win this.”
And that was how Noah walked out of his lawyer’s office as a man not only in a fake engagement, but also about to enter a fake marriage.
* * *
Mel had spent the past two hours agonizing over Noah’s appointment with the lawyer. When she had gotten up that morning, he had already left, the note on the counter saying he was dropping Connor off with his mom before going to meet the lawyer.
Reagan had texted her, asking if she wanted to go for a walk downtown and Mel had eagerly accepted. Hopefully going out with one of her friends would distract her. Unfortunately, the opposite was true, as the second Reagan walked up to Mel, it became clear that the gossip line among the friends was working well.
“Oh my god, Mel. Chase told me what happened at the pub the other day. What a nightmare! I can’t believe those people have the audacity to try and take Connor away. How is that even legal?”
Reagan’s outrage at the situation did little to improve Melanie’s mood. Still she didn’t have the energy to ask her friend not to talk about it, just like she didn’t have the guts to tell Reagan about her ridiculous offer of marriage.
“At least he’s got you now, right?” Reagan turned to Mel with a smile, that quickly faded. “Wait, that’s not the face of the spunky Mel I know and love, this Mel has a sad and mopey face. What happened?”
“Yeah, he’s got me. But only as a friend, Reags. I adore Connor, and Noah is one of my best friends. But I can’t love them the way they deserve to be loved. Which means that even though I hate thinking of my life without them, I have to. Because someday he’s going to find a woman who can love him, and I’m going to lose them both.”
Reagan stopped in her tracks and turned to Mel with her hands on her hips.
“Melanie Haynes, I love you, girlfriend, but you are an idiot.”
