Page 73 of The Marriage Auction 2: Part 2

“I’m not ready to go there. I haven’t been back since the funeral and the reading of the will. The same one we confirmed was forged. I know we need to look into things.” She shook her head. “I can’t today. I need a few days to process all that we learned, our marriage, the shitstorm that is my brother, thebusiness…” As she continued, her breathing picked up as though she was starting to panic.

“Hey, hey, hey, if you’re not ready, we’ll wait. There’s no rush. The lawyers are doing their research; the authorities have been informed, and we’ll follow up as we see fit.”

She nodded and closed her eyes while she took a full, cleansing breath. “Okay, you’re right. No need to rush. We’ve got this.”

I smiled and kissed her. “We’ve got this.” The limo had been idling by the front door of my building, and I pushed the door open. “Check in with me in a couple hours?”

“Absolutely. See you later, husband.”

Every time she called me husband, it felt like the sky opened up and the angels were singing loud enough for all the world to hear.

“See you later, wife,” I shut the door.

She rolled down the window as the driver started to move into traffic.

“Love you!” she called and waved wildly.

I chuckled, blew her a kiss, and waved, watching the car disappear before I turned around to take on the enormous task of moving into my wife’s house. No, not my wife’s house,ourhome. I’d have to figure out what she owed on it and pay the remainder off. There was no need for her to have a monthly mortgage.

“Mr. Falco,” the doorman greeted as he held open the door.

“Thank you. It’s a beautiful day in the city, isn’t it, Tony?”

“That it is, sir. Looking forward to grilling out on the deck with my wife when I get off work.”

“Steaks?”

“Pork chops,” he grinned.

“Nice. Sounds delicious. Maybe I’ll check in with the missus and see about grilling dinner as well. Great idea.”

“The weather calls for it, that’s for sure. Nothing but sunny, blue skies. Perfect for grilling.”

I glanced up at the sky, and it reminded me of Julianne’s eyes. I clapped the man on the shoulder after doors on the private elevator opened for the penthouse floor. “Well, enjoy, my friend.”

“Will do, sir. Call down if you need anything.” Tony said the same thing every time I arrived.

I lifted my hand in goodbye as the doors shut.

My mind was on Julianne and whether or not she had a grill as I rode the elevator up. I’d not inspected her place, outside of the bedroom, kitchen, and bathroom. I pulled out my phone and texted her.

To: Julianne Myers

Do you own a BBQ grill?

From: Julianne Myers

Why do you ask?

I chuckled as the doors to my place opened and I entered, my attention focused entirely on my phone.

To: Julianne Myers

Because I want to play music on it.

I laughed at my own joke as I continued to type.

To grill my wife dinner of course!

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