Page 34 of Power Plays & Proposals

I was wheezing as Matt ran back in to see what had happened.

"I'm going to get you for this," Dan told me.

"Yeah, yeah." I held out the container of fudge Lia had given me. Her mom had sent it in thanks for helping Lia with the press. The fudge was good, but I wasn't a big fan of the nuts that were mixed in. Not wanting to hurt Lia or her mom's feelings I shared it with Dan and Matt. If Lou came back I'd give him some too.

By the time I got back to my building, I'd decided that Lia and I needed to try kissing. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that it just made sense. How would the judge believe our relationship otherwise? I ignored the little thought that my decision to talk to her about kissing had more to do with my desire to kiss her than it did with the custody battle. As I approached my front door, my heart raced with anticipation and nerves. I couldn't shake the feeling that this kiss could change everything between Lia and me, perhaps even more than I was ready to admit. I knew one thing for certain: I had to take this leap of faith, not just for the sake of appearances, but for the chance to explore the growing connection I felt with Lia, a connection that transcended our fake engagement and touched something deeper within me.

Erin waited on my doorstep for me. She was dressed in a black power suit tailored to her figure. I knew this because I'd paid her personal shopper bill more than once. She didn't believe in differentiating bills for Penelope versus herself, and had tried to pass off anything she could as Penelope's expense. Shiny gold buttons on her jacket matched her gold earrings and rings.

A sense of impending doom settled in my gut as I saw her evil grin widen when she saw me.

"Nate," She almost crooned my name. "I just had to tell you in person."

"Should I have my legal council present?"

She waved a hand dismissively, "Oh it's nothing like that. This is good news."

I waited for her to lay it out. I strongly doubted I'd agree that whatever she had to say was good news. The pause stretched out. She wanted me to ask, and I wasn't going to play her game.

"I'm tired Erin."

Her red lips pursed into a practiced pout. When we'd first been married, I'd thought it cute. Now I knew it for what it was. One of the many tools she used to manipulate the situation as she attempted to get what she wanted. If pouting didn't work then she'd work through the rest of her tactics.

Three... two... one...

She dropped the pout. "Fine. I thought you'd want to know that I found a buyer for the house. We close on the fifth."

The sense of doom grew. "Where is Penelope going to live?"

The smile that spread across her face was absolutely vicious. "That's the best part. I found a penthouse in New York while you took that extra weekend with her. It was so supportive of you to watch her while I found our new place."

"You can't do this."

"I moved here because of your work. Now I'm moving to New York for Penelope's."

"She's twelve, she doesn't work."

"I found a talent agency that's very interested in her. Her classes start after Valentine's Day."

"You can't be serious."

"Oh, I'm very serious about her art."

I wanted to yell at her, but I caught sight of her phone poking out of her purse. No doubt she was recording and hoping for something to prove I was an unfit parent. I took a deep breath and shoved my fury down.

"We have a custody hearing on the 3rd."

Completely unconcerned she shrugged. "You'll still get your weekends with her. You'll just have to fly to New York, or pay for her ticket here."

"I'm not going to let you do this."

"It’s already done." She laughed as she started to walk away. Then paused to look back at me over her shoulder, "I’ll send you the bill for the movers."

Chapter 15

Book club was a once-a-month excuse to pretend we still had the metabolism of a teenager as we gathered in Sofie's bookstore. She had the comfy armchairs circled around a table full of the treats each of us contributed. Maria's were the first to go, followed by Kim's apple pie. A few of Sofie's friends from Crestfield had decided to join us tonight. They only made it once in a while, but it was always entertaining when they did. They were big fans of Maria's and we were big fans of the apple-themed treats Kim brought from the orchard that her in-laws owned.

We enjoyed both as we fell in love with yet another book boyfriend. Our latest read involved a prince who was in love with the woman he could never have, and his enemies were circling to find any weaknesses they could use against him. But unable to deny his feelings, they began to see each other in secret.

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