Page 115 of My Rules

He smiles and takes my hand over the table. “This is for the best, babe.”

I’m not your babe.

I want to rip my hand from his grip. I want to throw my drink in his face. I want to turn the table over and scream to the demons from hell to come and drag him back down.

But I won’t. Why? Because just like him, maybe I’ve turned into the darker version of myself, and I’ll do anything that I can to get that house in my name, even be nice to this prick.

“Okay, so let’s get this straight. I say you will sign the house over to me if I agree not to divorce you for three years.”

“Five years.”

“Five years is too long, John.”

“That’s the deal. Do you want the house or not?”

My eyes hold his, and damn it, how did I ever love this monster? “I do.”

“Great. I’ll get the paperwork signed and the house over to you.”

“Thank you.”

He squeezes my hand in his. “We’re going to get through this, baby.”

“How long do you think the contract will take to do?” I ask.

“I’ve already had a lawyer working on it, so it won’t be long. A week, tops.”

Ugh ... he knew I was going to sign it.

Keep calm.

“Okay, that’s great.” I contemplate saying the next thing because it goes against everything I agree with, but it is true. “Thank you, John. I appreciate it.” He doesn’t have to sign the house over to me, but I know that deep down, he knows I could never afford to buy him out and that this is the right thing to do.

“Can we have dinner on Saturday night?” he asks.

“I can’t, I’m sorry.”

His eyes search mine. “Do you know how much I miss you?”

“John, don’t.”

“Some nights, I wake up in the middle of the night and feel like I can’t breathe because I miss you so much.”

I know that feeling well. I’ve suffered the same affliction. The lump in my throat begins to hurt.

Now those feelings of dependency on John have been replaced by another man.

As much as I hate to admit it, I think I have feelings for Blake Grayson, and I don’t know what to do with them. I’m completely bewildered by the entire thing. It sneaked up on me, and I don’t even know if it’s real or a crush or what the hell it is.

I swore to never make the same mistake again, to never go for the same kind of man. And as much as I hate to admit it, if there’s any man in the world that bears a resemblance to the type of man John is, it’s Blake.

Anyway, that’s a different horror story for another day. I’ll worry about this horror story first.

“Okay, I’ll wait to hear from you with the contract?” I ask.

“Yes.”

“Can we try and maybe meet back here next week for lunch?” I smile hopefully. “We will have lunch just to celebrate signing.”

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