Page 167 of One Wealthy Wedding

“It’s all here,” Theo says quietly. “Every book I ever saw you read. You were always lost in another world as a kid, and even after. The summer reading you did to get ahead for class.” He points at a shelf of classics. “The ones you never let me see.” He points at the shelf with The Princess Diaries and a bunch of teenage books with kissing in them.

“I was mortified you might discover I liked kissing,” I say.

He grins. “Thought I might uncover your secrets?”

“You did anyway,” I say.

“Yeah. I did.” He looks pleased with himself. “You like it?”

“I love it,” I say hoarsely. “But why?”

“Because there were a lot of things on the list you could do for yourself, but I wanted to do something for you. This is one thing I want you to take.”

“What’s that?” I don’t understand where Theo is going with this.

“A day,” he says earnestly. “One day with no responsibilities. You told me months ago that you didn’t want diamonds. You said if I were in love, that’s not what I’d choose. I think this is what you’d choose.” He smiles gently at me. “One day to be selfish and do what you love. I never see you do this anymore. Think of this as my list, Cat.”

“I can’t. I have to study and I—”

My words cut off as his hands land on my shoulders. He spins me. “No. You don’t. I’ll study with you. You’ll do it in half the time. Take the day, princess.” He presses a kiss to my hair. “For me.”

I lose the entire day to reading. I nap in the window seat when the coffee wears off and the sun rises above the house. It’s warm in here with all the light, but I still wrap a blanket around me and snuggle into the cushions on the seat. Theo brings me lunch—a lobster roll from a restaurant nearby—and eats it with his hands while he sits on the floor with me.

He’s so happy here. Free and uncomplicated.

“Would you move here?” I ask. “It seems like you love it.”

“I’m not sure.” His gaze lifts to the window, where clouds are gathering above the water. “I think it might be lonely. It’s a big house for one person. And there are no neighbors. The landscape is bleak in the winter. Cold and windy too.”

“What if you weren’t alone?” I ask carefully.

His gaze slices to mine. “If I weren’t alone, then yes. I love it here.”

I can see him living here—the perfect husband. Making his wife lunch and never letting her go an hour without smiling. He’d fill his garage with stupidly expensive cars and go boating on hot summer days, throw parties and swim naked and suck up every last drop of joy.

The image of it makes me ache.

Because for the first time, I let myself picture being the one he dotes on, and I can’t bear to let him go.

When I wander out of the room later, the sun is setting. I can’t see it from the house, but the light is golden and soft. Theo’s on the first level of the massive deck, fiddling with the grill. There’s a bottle of wine on the table next to him. I lean against the doorframe to watch him. He lights the grill and closes the lid in one smooth move before he pours the wine into two glasses.

He fixes the already perfectly set table. Is he nervous? I can’t imagine him nervous.

But then again, he’s been trying to win me with no expectation that I’ll return his affection. How did I think I could resist him?

He turns, spots me, and smiles, brilliant and sexy. His hair is tousled from the wind and his eyes are brighter with the way his face has tanned. “Hey, baby.”

“Hi.” Nerves flutter in my stomach as he steps closer and pulls me in for a kiss. His lips slide over mine, his tongue tangling with my own. I spear my fingers into his hair and kiss him back. When he pulls away, his cheekbones are flushed.

“I have something for you,” he says. His face is solemn now. He reaches inside his pocket and comes up with a folded piece of paper. “You said you wanted freedom, Cat. I want to give it to you. I don’t want to control you. I never have. I want to make sure no one can ever control you again.” He clears his throat. “I don’t want to do this. Signing this made me want to cry. But this is what you want, and I’ve never been able to deny you.” His mouth curves up in a sad smile, and he passes me the paper.

“What’s going on?” I ask. I’m frozen. The paper is heavy in my hand. “Theo—”

“Open the paper, baby,” he says gently.

I do. On it are written simple words.

“Agreement of Separation and Divorce.”

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