Page 44 of The Billionaire's Wife

“Point taken. Sorry.” Scott blew out a breath. “But if she didn’t sign them, doesn’t that mean she wants to stay married?”

I shrugged. I honestly had no idea. It could mean she had been in such a hurry to disappear again that she forgot. Or she didn’t want to agree to the terms in the papers I’d drawn up and wanted to get her own made up. I was a billionaire now, so maybe she was going to try to take half.

I’d probably let her.

I wasn’t sure what that said about me.

I’d let her have it all if she’d stay.

And I knew, deep down, that solidified just how pathetic I was. Pathetic and in love. Just like the fourteen years had never happened.

12

FAITH

Isquashed the urge to glance over my shoulder and ignored the sense of déjà vu as I strolled down the main shopping street in Old Town. I was trying to do as Special Agent Orbison had recommended and make myself available to Manny—or someone else from the cartel—to find. But I didn’t love it.

I also didn’t love kicking around Tristan’s apartment with nothing to do. I’d been working some kind of job or other since I was fourteen and able to apply for a work permit. Sitting around idle just wasn’t for me. So today I was going to find a job. If I got grabbed off the street, maybe I’d be able to convince the cartel to let me keep living my life and doing work for them in the evenings. I could probably sell it as needing to look normal so Tristan didn’t get suspicious.

I bit my lip.

I thought I could sell it at least. Time would tell.

I looked in the windows as I passed the shops. I didn’t particularly want to do food service, but it might be my best and only option. I wrinkled my nose. I’d go there if I needed to, but I wanted to play out a hunch, first.

I walked past the ice cream shop—definitely higher on the list than waiting tables—and another two shops until I reached the bookstore. The bookstore that Tristan’s friends ran. Or owned. Or something. I needed to get the full scoop there. But since they’d recognized me—eventually—and called Tristan when I ran off, I figured the chances were high that they were good friends. Which made them good people, because other than his association with me? Tristan always surrounded himself with good people.

It had been one of the first things that drew me to him.

I pushed that thought away. I couldn’t concentrate on that right now. I’d looked for the divorce papers when Tristan had brought me back to his place after chasing me on the Beltway, but they were gone. I wasn’t going to ask him about them. But they weren’t signed. I knew that. I was pretty sure he knew that. So…what did it mean?

Ugh.

I didn’t want to go down that rabbit hole. Not right now.

Instead, I fixed a smile on my face and pulled open the bookstore door, my spirits lifting a little with the sound of the jingling bells overhead.

“Hi, welcome—oh it’s you!” Megan’s polite smile morphed into an actual grin. “I’m so glad you came back. Did you get through the fairy tale already?”

“I did, actually. And I really liked it.” Which I hadn’t expected to, but there didn’t seem to be a reason to say that out loud.

Megan’s grin broadened. “Come sit down and tell me what kind of book you’re looking for today.”

“Actually.” I took a deep breath. “While I do want another book, I’m also wondering if you might be hiring.”

“So you’re sticking around? You seemed pretty keen to leave last time you were here.” Megan nodded toward the seating area. “Let’s sit. You can tell me about it.”

I groaned quietly. Maybe I should’ve run this past Tristan. I got the feeling he’d told his friends everything. First, because that was just the kind of man he was. And also, because he’d been a lot more relaxed since Monday, and I figured it had to do with his evening meetup with “the guys.” That was what he’d called them when he let me know he’d be late, because he was having “a meetup with the guys.”

He probably would have told me all about it, but I wasn’t going to pry into his personal life. Was I supposed to?

I chose an armchair rather than the couch this time. I folded my hands in my lap and tried not to squeeze them together too tightly.

“So.” Megan smiled as she sat across from me. “You’re staying?”

I nodded. “Can we be honest?”

“I always prefer that.”

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